Tsuyokute New Saga (LN)

Archen is located at the eastern tip of Zilgus, close to the neighbouring country. As a result of that, its international trade bloomed, and it became the second-biggest city next to the royal capital. Here, you could see many foreigners and different races.

“Huh, this is pretty different to the royal capital~”

Shortly after they entered the town, Lieze looked around with wide open eyes.

“So, what are we doing now?”

“First, we should find an inn…”

“Hey, I heard something interesting!” Seran ran back from one of the stalls he just bought food at.

“Interesting?”

“Yeah, Princess Milena is supposedly visiting this town!”

“I see…” Kyle gave a fairly calm response.

“The heck? It’s ‘The Pride of Zilgus’ we’re talking about here. Does that not get you excited?” Seran complained, disappointed. “Apparently she’s gonna be here really soon. I really wanted to see her at least once! I heard where she’s gonna stop at, so let’s check her out.” Seran said, already on his way.

“And, are you going as well, Kyle?” Lieze seemed concerned when she asked that, but Kyle chose to ignore it.

“…Well, taking a glance won’t hurt. We’re citizens of Zilgus, so we should have at least seen the face of our future Queen once.”

Not to mention that I’d like to confirm something, Kyle added inside his heart.

“…Makes sense. Then, let’s go.” Urza seemed to have no objection, so the party headed over.

“Barely made it, huh. That was close.” Kyle muttered, following Seran.

The Goddess of Earth Cairys is the chief god of the state religion here in Zilgus, and most cities had a shrine or sanctuary. There are also times when this sanctuary is adjoined with an orphanage. This town of Archen was the same, and the princess has decided to visit here. Around the time Kyle and the others arrived at the sanctuary, a group of curious onlookers had gathered, filling the street. However, Seran knew where to go, and walked between the group of children.

“Out of the way! You brats, you’re ten years too early to look at that beauty!” He didn’t even hesitate to forcefully push them away.

“Ahh, sorry about him. Here, eat this.” Kyle followed after, handing the children the sweets he originally bought for Shildonia.

Thanks to that, the children stopped crying, and smiled at him.

“I feel like praising him for possessing no shame…”

“Really shouldn’t learn from him, though…”

“My sweeeeets…”

Urza and Lieze followed after, feeling embarrassed in Seran’s stead. When they reached the front line, the town guard warned them not to walk any further. In the midst of them were knights, wearing a silver-plated armor, with the simplified emblem of a dragon. They stood out from the average town guard. This dragon emblem was the proof of them being Zilgus’ Imperial Knights.

Around 500 of these Imperial Knights exist, and although their corps is much smaller compared to the average general’s, their special mission is to protect the royalty. Only the most talented elite of the youth are chosen to be trained, and have a chance at joining this faction. Only if you possess the bravery to sacrifice yourself for the better of the country, and swore allegiance to the royal family, you can become one of them. Every knight admires them, and dreams of becoming an Imperial Knight themselves.

These very Imperial Knights were overlooking the area, ready to intercept any attack. This, of course, made sense, since the individual the most important next to the current king would soon arrive.

“Huh? Wasn’t the 5th Knight Corps supposed to be protecting the princess? Rumours said it’s full of young women…” Seran said, tilting his head.

The 5th Imperial Knight Corps of the Kingdom of Zilgus is legendary in the sense that it only consisted of women. Because of their beautiful appearances and gentle atmosphere, there were even operas using them as a basis. Recently, Princess Milena had taken direct supervision over them, as they would always follow when she departed from the royal capital. Of course, with a beautiful princess and charming knights, it made sense that they would become big talk, but for some odd reason, all the knights in front of Kyle were men.

“Maybe the 5th Corps just has business in the royal capital?”

“What a shame. Guess I’ll have to put my hope in the princess then.”

After a short wait, a large horse carriage, with Imperial Knights to the front and back, arrived in front of the building. The horse carriage used innocent white as its base color, with detailed silver and gold engravings everywhere, and had the symbol of the royal family, a lion, engraved at one side. This was proof that this horse carriage was used by someone standing at the top of the country.

Compared to usual horse carriage horses, the ones pulling this carriage were twice as big, a type of magical beasts that possessed two heads and eight legs, called Sleipnir. Normal Sleipnir beasts are always egoistic and rough to handle, not opening up to humans at all. However, if you raise their children from a young age, you can use them as horse carriage horses.

A single Imperial Knight, who could very well be believed to be the captain of this corps, opened up the door to the horse carriage. With calm and dignified movement, a single woman stepped out into the open, followed by rows of cheers by the onlookers.

She possessed almond eyes, a well-formed nose, with crimson-red lips, slender arms and legs, black hair that glimmered in the sunlight, reaching down to her waist, and almost transparent white skin. With all these different factors combined, it created an odd balance that made her look like a saint. Not to mention that she wore a light green-colored dress, with a silver-white tiara on her head. Everything about her screamed royalty, and yet her beauty alone was enough to make her stand out.

In terms of beauty, she was on the same level of Urza, but compared to Urza’s charm resembling a sharp sword, the queen was alluring like a gemstone. She merely started walking towards the sanctuary, and yet the audience couldn’t look away. It was clear that she possessed dignity to move people. Then again, that is about what you would expect from the woman called the ‘Pride of Zilgus’, the next candidate in line for the seat of the ruler, Princess Milena Do Zilgus.

“Hmm…pretty much what I expected…She sure is beautiful. Not to mention that…” Seran looked at the princess’ cleavage about to drop out from her open dress, and sighed in admiration. “Compared to that…It’s like I’m watching a battle between a dragon and a lizard.” This time, he looked at Lieze’s chest, and chuckled in disbelief.

Naturally, this earned him a beautiful uppercut with Lieze’s palm heel.

“I-I was only giving my honest impression…”

“Honesty can hurt even more at times!” Lieze said, tears in her eyes.

“Can you two keep it down already?” Kyle shook his head.

As of right now, Kyle didn’t want to stand out too much. When he saw Princess Milena for the first time, he had about a similar reaction, but now his eyes were glued towards the knight walking after the princess. It was a man with a large stature, presumably in his thirties, wearing a mantle with a different color compared to the other knights, and the emblem on his armor was different as well, making him pretty obvious as the captain of the corps. He possessed a stern gaze that didn’t miss any movement, emitting a different, more calm but talented atmosphere than the other knights.

“Zentos…” Kyle let out a nostalgic voice.

He was most likely the knight everyone inside Zilgus and the neighbouring countries knew of, known best as the captain of the 2nd Imperial Knights Corps Zentos Oldi. Since Kyle was practically staring at him, Zentos must have felt that, as their eyes met for a moment. However, Zentos immediately looked away. Yet, Kyle’s gaze, filled with sadness almost, wouldn’t move.

At the same time, a group of children had gathered in front of the facility. In the midst of that was a girl about ten years old, carrying a flower, as she ran towards the princess. However, most likely because of the tension, she tripped on the way, and fell over. The princess approached the crying girl, and while brushing away the dirt on her knees, she gently spoke out to her.

“Are you hurt?” She smiled.

Thanks to that, the young girl joined in with a smile, saying “No!”, which resulted in a row of applause from the onlookers. The princess responded to this with a smile, and waved her hand. Let alone a smaller country, with a kingdom like Zilgus, you barely get to see someone from the royal family this close to its citizens. The best was them waving down from a balcony.

However, Milena broke this custom, and would often participate in events and rites dealing with children, or visit areas met with natural disasters, to show that the royal family does not forget about its citizens. As a result of that, she was received greatly by the public. This time around, she was on the way home from one of these events, and passed by Archen, so she decided on a spontaneous visit here. Apparently, the other knights had to go along with the princess’ selfish wish, or so Kyle heard from the audience around him.

Keeping a calm and dignified attitude, the princess went on smiling, and entered the facility together with the children around her. Since Kyle’s goal was to merely get a glance at the princess, he had fulfilled this goal. Their next aim was to find an inn.

“Still, that sure was a blessing for the senses~ To think I’d get to see that princess with my own eyes.” Seran said, in a very good mood.

“She really was beautiful…And, that part…was pretty amazing…” Lieze remembered the size of the princess’ chest, which was in an entirely different league despite them being about the same age, and teared up.

“She might become the next ruler of this country, right? Then, she had to be on this level, or nobody would take her seriously.” Urza wasn’t too familiar with human traditions and the like, but even she must have felt that the princess had something other people don’t.

The three were walking on ahead, talking about the previous event, but only Kyle stayed silent, thinking about something. Shildonia quietly called out to him.

“It was her, right?”

“Yeah, there’s no mistaking it. Princess Milena, currently 16 years old, will pass away in two days.” Kyle announced, as he turned towards the facility.

***

After this event, Kyle and the others rented a room at a nearby inn. Right now, it was only Kyle and Shildonia in his room, as the other three went out for sightseeing or shopping.

“And, how is that princess going to die?” Shildonia sat on the bed, eating some sweets as always.

“Two days from now on, in the early morning, while she’s heading towards the Village Sanes, she will get attacked by a magical beast, a Hydra.”

A Hydra was a type of reptile with a long body, possessing several snake heads, generally categorized as a strong magical beast, even able to rival a dragon. The small village it attacked back in Kyle’s timeline was destroyed in a single day. The great forest near Archen was always riddled with magical beasts, and it wasn’t a rarity that traveling merchants or adventurers were attacked even near the main path. Even a month ago, a village near Archen had already been attacked by a Hydra. They sent out a squad to deal with this, but could merely chase it away, or so Kyle heard on the way to Archen.

“The village of Sanes is where this calamity happened, and by coming here to Archen, the princess found out about this, planning to visit that location. Although her private guard Zentos strictly speaks out against this, she doesn’t let up, and eventually makes her way there in two days, early in the morning, only to be attacked by the Hydra. By the time the 2nd Knight Corps realizes that she snuck out, it’s already too late.”

If the 5th Knight Corps, used to Princess Milena’s rashness, had been there, she probably wouldn’t have managed to sneak out, and they would have surely assisted her. However, during this time, the 5th Knight Corps was summoned to the royal capital, left helpless when this tragedy happened to their honored princess.

“Well, to be perfectly honest, she got what she asked for.”

She disregarded the danger of the situation, and moved alone, which left her to die. She was wrapped up in the mess, which made it even worse.

“I see…So, is there nothing going on behind the scenes? Like this being some planned assassination?”

“Lots of rumours went around back at the time.”

Talks about this being an assassination from hostile countries or demons went all around the country. The one doubted the most for this being an assassination was Milena’s half-brother, who was lower in the hierarchy, Prince Carenas. He doesn’t stand out as much as the princess does, judged as a useless prince, and the one befitting the most if she were to die.

“Not to mention that this Prince Carena just so happens to be here in this city.”

“Really? But, nobody is talking about him.”

“Yeah, he doesn’t come to meet the people. Well, that was only a rumour to begin with, and eventually, her death was regarded as an unfortunate incident. I was curious myself, so I looked into it, and my contact said there was no mistaking it.”

The person who gave Kyle this information was a former male spy of the Kingdom of Zilgus. During this time, they must still be active. Normally, giving out such information was strictly forbidden, as it dealt with royal family affairs, but around that time Kyle got in contact with them, the entire Kingdom had fallen to ruin already. At that time, only the most skilled warriors survived, and they had all been in contact with past countries or big organizations. Naturally, these all didn’t matter anymore in their battle against the demons, so after each day they managed to survive, they shared such stories while drinking.

Thanks to that, Kyle held information on many countries and what happened behind the scenes, but had trouble using it fully as it was a double-edged sword.

“A pretty talented spy, and he looked into it all, but there was nothing suspicious to tell me of. Not to mention that I met Prince Carenas myself. He had the ambition for sure, but definitely not the talent to truly pull through with that.” Kyle shrugged his shoulders. “Bluntly said, he’s useless.”

“Hm, so it really was an accidental death. Then so be it…I’m quite curious, do you think you could win against a Hydra?”

“I fought one before, and did win. That being said, the one I fought had 8 heads, and the one this time has more than 10.”

The longer a Hydra lives on, the more heads it has grown, which heightens its overall strength. A Hydra with 10 heads is said to be stronger than a low-ranking dragon.

“Fighting that thing will be tough for sure, but I’m prepared. And, it’s not like I’ll be fighting alone. Everyone will be with me.” Kyle said. “It’ll work out, surely.”

“Indeed. With your current strength, fighting a Hydra with 10 or more heads one-on-one would prove difficult, but I doubt it will even come to that.”

“…Can you not jinx things?” Kyle complained, covering up Shildonia’s mouth.

When Kyle first decided to become a hero, Princess Milena’s death was the first thing that came up in his mind. Roars of sadness and despair passed through the country as the [Pride of Zilgus] died. Now, Kyle had to gallantly appear in front of her, and save her from her predicament. With this, he would take his first step as a hero.

Naturally, Kyle thought of warning the Imperial Knights about the princess’ plans to sneak out, but whether or not they would believe him is up to debate, not to mention that they might restrain him for leaking possibly false information. And, this would lose all meaning. If he didn’t save the princess in her utmost predicament, right as her life was in danger, she would not be as thankful as Kyle hoped her to be. Even if sacrifices had to be made, it was all for the greater good.

“Sorry, but I’ll have to use you.” Feeling guilt inside his chest, Kyle glanced towards the facility with the princess inside.

“Now then, the problem is how I arrive at the scene in danger, as naturally as possible.” Kyle thought about it on his bead.

“Can’t you just follow her after she leaves the town?” Shildonia said. “Here, you should be able to easily trace her.”

This inn was actually the most luxurious and expensive inside all of Archen, and the princess was staying here as well. Kyle and the others had rented rooms on the second floor, whereas the princess and her knights stayed on the fourth and fifth floor, not allowing you to set even a foot on there.

“That’s true, but I’d rather not stand out too much.” Kyle showed a bitter expression. “What if they realize we’re tracking them, you know?”

This time, even Kyle was suffering from a lack of information. Any information related to the royal family was strictly kept secret, which is why nobody knew how long Princess Milena would be staying here at Archen. Looking into this would be nearly impossible, not to mention that it could end up in Kyle getting arrested. Not to mention that, even if he were to save the princess, he might be questioned why exactly he had been present at such a convenient time, and have his motives doubted.

“That being said, I don’t know where the Hydra will even attack, so waiting there is also not possible…I guess the best I can do is follow the princess after she departs.” Kyle came to a conclusion of his own, when Seran returned to the room.

“I went around seeing if I could sniff up anything about the princess’ plans, but no luck.”

“…Why were you looking into her?”

“I mean, is it that wrong for me to hope for a destined encounter with a princess? I was hoping to save her from some sort of predicament so that she falls in love with me, but…Hey, why are you staring at me in disbelief?”

“Well…I just thought that we’re doing the same thing, and that had me taste some real despair…”

Although their ultimate goal was different, their way of going at things was almost identical.

“Same thing? What are you on about?”

“…I have a sneaking feeling that Princess Milena is in danger.”

“What!? So the reason we came to this town was the princess after all?”

“Yeah, that’s why…”

“Alright, leave it to me! Basically, we’ll have to follow that princess, right? I’m good at that!” Seran said, brimming with confidence.