Chapter 28 - The Backs of a Fairy and a Man
Warning: Contains slightly grotesque descriptions.
The season of cold, withering winds had arrived.
The fireplace was kept constantly lit, and the family gathered before it in search of warmth.
And at that very moment, Elenoa and Lumina froze at the work announcement Louis had just made.
"You won't be back for a whole month?"
"Yes. This is my first long-term business trip."
The Demon Lord's presence was growing stronger by the day. It was not only this country that feared the monsters.
Apparently, there had been a request from a neighboring country just the other day. They wished to summon Louis, whose name was known throughout the world, to stay as an instructor and improve their magical standards. His Majesty the King had readily agreed to this, and it seemed he had proposed the idea to Louis.
"I thought you had no interest in other countries, but you're doing something kind."
"No, His Majesty can hardly claim to have no interest in diplomatic relations either. It seems the conditions were commensurate with my value, and of course, they said they would provide an allowance for the household as well."
"Are the monsters really that bad right now, to go to such lengths?"
"It seems so. The rampaging of the monsters appears to be on a global scale. It is all the Demon Lord's fault, so please direct your complaints to him."
"I can't exactly do that, though..."
"Um."
Lumina, who had been silent, raised her hand.
"What exactly is a Demon Lord in the first place? They don't really teach us much about it at school."
Louis and Elenoa exchanged glances. They tried to push the explanation onto each other, but in the end, it was Louis who gave in.
"The Demon Lord is, simply put, the king of the monsters."
"That's straightforward."
"It is. The individual with the highest magical power and strength among the monsters binds them together. The difference from humans is that it is not a hereditary system, nor does it distinguish between species. ...You don't need to take notes."
"Okaay."
"Those who defeat the Demon Lord have the right to become the next Demon Lord. Since succession is determined by brute force, they do not care much for lineage. Monsters have strong beastly instincts, and it is said they submit to opponents they judge to be absolutely unbeatable. In their obedience, they seem easier to handle than humans."
"Oh dear, young man, that line of thinking is unacceptable."
"It was a joke. And Elenoa, that is one forbidden phrase."
Elenoa fell silent.
"I do not know the circumstances, but once every few decades, a Demon Lord appears, harboring some grudge or ambition against the world. The monsters are activated by the Demon Lord's rampage, so the nations hold discussions, mages are gathered, and a Hero is summoned."
"Hmm, hmm."
"The Hero who defeats the Demon Lord also has the right of succession, but since the Hero is always an ally of justice, they do not succeed the Demon Lord. They either return to their homeland or live peacefully in the countryside..."
That much explanation regarding the Demon Lord should suffice.
With that, he returned his gaze to the book he had been reading. While doing so, he casually opened his mouth. His eyes remained fixed on the book.
"If you had to choose between an eternal summer and an eternal winter, which would you choose?"
"Hmm... winter, I guess."
Elenoa answered.
"Why is that?"
"Because I feel like it. So, what is that question about?"
"It is a myth. It is said that people who lived thousands of years ago were forced to make that choice. A sacrifice was required to resolve it. That sacrifice was said to be a woman as beautiful as a fairy, with silver hair and deep blue eyes."
"............"
"Though apparently, her personality was the worst."
"You don't have to say such forced, tacked-on things."
"It is a legitimate line from a myth, however."
Lumina silently watched the two of them bantering.
It was an ordinary, common happiness.
A few days later, Louis was about to head to his 'work' without using teleportation magic. Since teleportation magic could only be used to places one had physically visited before, using a carriage was the quicker option.
Holding simple travel luggage, he placed his hand on the door and looked back at the two seeing him off.
"You understand what to do in an emergency, correct?"
"Go to the Court Mage's place, right?"
"Run away."
"Yes, perfect. My subordinates will also come to check on the situation, so I leave it to you. Well then, I will be away for about a month, so please do your best. ...Ah, Elenoa."
"Hmm?"
Elenoa obediently approached him when he beckoned. He pulled her arm.
A familiar, soft sensation touched her lips.
"Well then, I am off."
Smiling brightly at Elenoa, whose face was red, and at Lumina, who looked as if she had seen something rare, Louis turned his back refreshingly.
Although he had reluctantly hesitated to leave the two women at home, he could not help it if it was the King's order.
If he obtained permission from the other side and laid down a magic circle even just once, he could teleport back here immediately after completing his mission.
Moreover, his subordinates, who knew the circumstances of the House of Stylus, were cooperative.
He had slept and stayed at the Research Institute many times before. This time, it would just be a little longer.
――He never imagined that this decision.
Would become a wound that would not disappear even after 'one hundred years'.
After crossing to another country, his world changed completely in just three days.
＊
Thick gray smoke rose into the air. Flames dyed the night sky red.
A child who had stumbled on the cobblestones was roughly lifted by their mother. Glaring at them as if they were a nuisance, the people ran in the same direction. There were shouts of anger, screams, and sobbing cries.
Elenoa and Lumina were mixed in with that crowd.
"Ugh... Are you okay? Is it not painful?"
"Mn, I am okay."
Following the instruction to go to the Research Institute in an emergency, the two were running.
Everyone in the Royal Capital was aiming for the grounds of the Royal Castle. "This way! Please head toward the center!" Mages in black robes shouted from various places.
While holding Lumina's hand, Elenoa occasionally looked back to check the situation. Lumina could not engage in strenuous exercise. Concerned about her condition, Elenoa watched as Lumina desperately moved her legs to keep up.
It began with a loud, booming sound of destruction.
Elenoa thought of a vehicle accident, but there were no automobiles in this world. While she wondered what it could be, a Court Mage burst into their house.
The black-haired mage shouted from the very start.
'Run!'
'Huh...?'
'Quickly! Take your younger sister too, and head toward the Research Institute!'
The man said that monsters had invaded.
Lumina, awakened by the commotion, was in her nightclothes, but there was no time to urge her to change. Elenoa immediately took her hand and rushed out of the house.
Once inside the main gate, mages stood along the inside of the outer wall. They were maintaining the Barrier covering the grounds of the Royal Castle.
Feeling a sense of familiarity with the black robes, she searched for an empty space near the wall.
She had Lumina sit on the lawn, which they would not normally enter, and draped her own stole over her.
"...It's unfair if it's just me."
"I am not cold."
"…………………………"
Defeated by the silent appeal, Elenoa pulled Lumina close, and the two of them wrapped the stole around themselves.
She let out a breath.
Rubbing against Lumina's back, whose breathing was rough, they confirmed each other's warmth.
Fortunately, there were no injuries, but it was likely just good luck.
"Someone... a Healer!"
"Here too! My arm is in terrible shape!"
"It hurts, it hurts... Mother, it hurts,"
There were many severely injured people.
Those judged to be beyond help, even with the skills of a Healer, waited for death.
Just moments ago, a parent and child had rushed in through the main gate. The girl clinging to her mother had lost her arm, and from that exposed wound, something white and frayed protruded. Without crying, unable even to blink, she wore a face that did not understand what had happened. She simply trembled unnaturally, jerking repeatedly, and streamed cold sweat. The mother, screaming something in a half-mad state, desperately tried to stop the bleeding from the child's wound, wrapping strips torn from her clothes around the girl's arm. And soon, the girl lost consciousness.
A certain man was vomiting repeatedly. Though there was likely nothing left in his stomach but gastric juice, he retched again and again, spewing yellow liquid.
Scary, scary, a child somewhere shouted.
A sound of something being smashed came from beyond the wall.
The earth tremors did not cease.
What scale of monsters, in such numbers, from where exactly――there was no such information.
The peacefully maintained court garden was trampled by the overcrowded feet of humans.
Torches reflected the people's sweat. In this red world swirling with fire, people, and unpleasant things, there was no sense of reality at all, and Elenoa could not move for a while. The scenes unfolding before her eyes were so horrific that she could not even deny the thought, stripped bare by survival instinct, that "it was good that we were not the ones injured."
I understand the intention to gather and protect people in one place, but she looked up.
――Huh?
Elenoa found another Barrier.――The Barrier was double-layered.
"...There are two Barriers."
Noticing Elenoa's doubt, one of the female mages, her face slick with cold sweat, gave a wry smile.
"Two?"
"Yes. One covers the entire grounds of the Royal Palace, and the other surrounds the Royal Capital."
"The Royal Capital... all of it?"
"The Mage Corps Commander ordered us to stop the spread of damage, and the Chief prioritized the safety of the people. They adjusted this entire configuration so that a Double Barrier could be created. They were also concerned that the monsters captured at the Research Institute might revolt, but... it seems this time is different."
The female mage did not lean against the wall, but she did not move a single step from her position, continuing to expend her magical power.
When asked, "Can you not move from there?", the answer was affirmative.
Since the placement of the mages and the magic circles each expanded were all part of a giant magic circle, they could not move.
"But if you gather all the people from the Royal Capital, isn't it too narrow here?"
"Yes. Therefore, we are sequentially sending them to other evacuation sites using teleportation magic. We have Passes entrusted to us for emergencies, so we can send them in units of hundreds."
He was thorough to the end.
She felt as if she were being protected by him even in a place like this.
"I thought Elenoa-sama was someone much harder to talk to."
"That is completely wrong!"
"Why is Lumina-chan reacting?"
She seemed resentful at being left out. However, it was clear that this was also a bluff. The hand gripping the stole trembled slightly.
Lumina strangely entangled herself with the female mage, saying, "Elenoa is cute." The mage at the position next to the female mage――about five meters away――seemed to have been watching the exchange as well. Meeting Elenoa's eyes, she bowed her head in greeting.
The Court Mages were approachable.
"The knights and the Mage Corps Commander are exterminating the monsters. The Chief should be contacted soon as well, so just endure a little longer."
Hearing that, she really felt that everything would be alright.
Although it was a reversal of roles, the fairy believed without basis that if Louis returned, somehow things would work out.
Away from Elenoa and the others, injured people were being carried.
Around them, the few Healers rushed about, and among them was the figure of Ars. He examined the condition of the injured, looked, healed, or shook his head solemnly, moving from one to another.
But when addressed by a man who had quietly approached, he stopped. Making a gesture of "I leave this to you for now" to his subordinate Healer, he rushed into the palace.
Had something happened to the King?
The Healers, with no time to be conscious of that, devoted themselves to treatment.
To Elenoa's eyes, such a scene seemed like something happening beyond a frame. Was it heartless? But within Elenoa, the priority was decided. As long as Lumina was safe, that was enough.
But there was a voice that pierced through that frame, stabbing into Elenoa.
"...Fairy Tale..."
Someone muttered softly.
A circle of silence spread.
That someone was a mother holding a child who would never wake up in her arms. She stared intently at Elenoa.
As if drawn in, the people turned their gazes toward Elenoa.
In this strange scene, Elenoa saw the back of a familiar man――Gilrem――moving away.