Gold strands of hair escaped from her hood and shook in the air as Kristina walked beneath the moonlight. Eugene stared at Kristina’s back as he followed her.
Every dragon has a reverse scale[1]. Although she hadn’t shown anything on the surface, when he had mentioned Anise earlier, Kristina’s smile had faltered slightly. Eugene licked his lips as he felt his heart pounding from the tension.
“Um, I’m sorry,” Eugene decided to apologize for now.
At this, Kristina, who was still walking ahead of him, shrugged her shoulders and laughed, “What’s with the sudden apology?”
“It’s just, well…” Eugene hesitated. “I think I might have been a bit too careless with my earlier question.”
“There’s no need to feel that way. Weren’t you just asking because you don’t know me very well, Sir Eugene? Having seen Lady Anise’s appearance, it was only natural for you to have some doubts about me,” Kristina said as she turned her head slightly to look back at Eugene. “Also… don’t you have quite a lot of interest in the heroes from three hundred years ago, Sir Eugene? That only makes it more understandable that you would have such questions.”
“A lot of interest?” Eugene repeated curiously.
“There are a lot more people paying attention to you than you seem to be aware of. As the foster-child of the main family… that alone would have made you stand out, but your talents, Sir Eugene, are such that even Aroth’s high-brow Tower Masters were forced to recognize you, no?” Kristina asked as she looked forward once more.
As she regained her previous speed, she continued talking. “...While Hogani may be part of Nahama’s territory, it has also been designated as a holy site by the Holy Empire. Every year, many believers make a pilgrimage to that holy site. Naturally, this means that the Holy Empire has many eyes watching that holy land.”
“...,” Eugene silently processed this.
Katrina confessed, “It might be unpleasant for you to hear this, but I was already informed of what you were up to during your stay in Hogani.”
“That’s not enough to piss me off. I had already noticed that I was receiving a lot of attention while I was in Hogani,” Eugene replied with a snort.
Eugene and Laman had stayed together in Hogani for less than a week. In that short span of time, Eugene had indeed felt a great number of eyes watching him.
There hadn’t been any hostility in those gazes, so he hadn’t bothered to evade them. Since there had also been that matter with Amelia Merwin hanging over his head, Eugene hadn’t wanted to kick up a fuss and draw her attention. As such, he had left his watchers alone, but he had kept up constant vigilance while their gazes were directed at him.
From the priests who had prayed to the statue of Anise, to the believers in the God of Light who carried the cross — the symbol of their God — around their necks or wrists, and even the knife-laden warriors of Nahama….
“The way that the Holy Empire has been paying attention to me, is that also because of the revelation?” Eugene inquired.
“Pardon me for repeating what I said earlier, but I am afraid that I cannot reveal anything to you, as you are not a member of our faith,” Katrina repeated her refusal.
“I remember that, but I really can’t help but be curious about it,” Eugene complained.
“I informed you about it because I hoped that it would arouse your curiosity,” Katrina cheekily admitted.
‘She’s got a nasty personality,’ Eugene thought as his face twisted into a scowl.
Not only did her face resemble Anise, Kristina’s wretched personality also reminded him of his old companion. Could Katrina really be Anise’s descendant?
‘...It would be jumping to conclusions to decide that Kristina is Anise’s descendant just because of a resemblance between their faces and personalities. In the first place, wouldn’t it be strange for Anise’s descendant to so closely resemble her after a whole three hundred years have passed.’
Currently, there was no descendant in the Lionheart clan’s main family whose face resembled that of Vermouth’s. The only resemblance that could be seen between the ancestor and his descendants was in their gray hair and golden eyes.
Perhaps it was just a ‘coincidence’ that Kristina’s face resembled Anise’s. Blonde hair and blue eyes were a fairly common pairing. In fact, her facial features and appearance weren't exactly identical to Anise’s. To put it bluntly, it was the characteristics and the aura of a ‘Saint’ that had played no small part in reminding Eugene of Anise.
However, it was true that their looks were similar. That could be why she had been taken in by the Cardinal in the first place — so that he could raise her as a copy of the Saint…. The more Eugene thought about it, the more complicated he felt.
Anise hadn’t talked much about her past. In fact, she hadn’t been the only one; aside from Molon and Sienna, neither Hamel nor Vermouth had enjoyed bringing up stories from their pasts.
However Anise’s attitude towards her past had been different from that of Hamel or Vermouth.
Anise hated her past.
Although she had never said so directly, Eugene—no, Hamel had gotten that feeling from her. They had traveled together for a very long time after all. While going through all sorts of hardships, they had shared a lot of talk about this or that.
Bringing up ‘memories’ was a simple way to pass the time, and it was good to talk about them over drinks. Sienna would rave about how beautiful the elven forest where she had spent her childhood was. And whenever she brought this topic up, Molon also seemed to be unwilling to lose to her, as he would brag about how magnificent the northern snowfields where his tribe lived were.
Whenever they started talking like that, Vermouth and Hamel preferred to pick holes in the others’ stories rather than tell their own stories. Just like Hamel, Vermouth has also lost everything he had to the demonfolk.
As for Anise, unlike them, she hadn’t lost her hometown. After all, she had been born in the Holy Empire, Yuras. Even now, after three hundred years had passed, it was a powerful country that still reigned strong as one of the three empires.
Even so, Anise strangely seemed to hold no desire to talk about the Holy Empire. She spoke about the God of Light several times, but she barely said anything about the Cardinals of the Holy Empire who had been involved in raising her.
Hamel didn’t know what it had been like for Anise, growing up in the Holy Empire. However, considering her silence and the way her smile would have a different twist to it from her usual look, and when he thought about ‘how’ Anise had become Vermouth’s comrade, it wasn’t difficult to imagine that being a Saint was quite a shitty position to be in.
Anise was able to become Vermouth’s comrade, all because the Holy Empire had ordered her to do so.
The reason why Anise had joined Vermouth’s journey, and had gone on his mission to save the world, was simply that it was the will of the Holy Empire and of her God that she do so.
“The path continues down there,” Kristina informed him as she came to a halt.
The two of them had arrived at the rear of the Black Lion Castle and were now standing in front of a cliff, the bottom of which could be seen far below. Eugene walked up next to Kristina, and looked down at the bottom of the cliff.
The first thing that came into view was the forest below. In the mountain ridges beyond the forest, they could see wyverns and other flying monsters soaring through the sky.
“...How far down?” Eugene asked cautiously.
“I don’t know the exact location, but we should be able to spot it as we’re falling,” Kristina assured him.
“Ah-sheesh,” Eugene let out a sigh as he shook his head. “So what you’re saying is that, without taking any safety measures, our next step is just to throw ourselves off the cliff?”
“It isn’t like you’ll be falling alone, right, Sir Eugene?” Kristina encouraged him.
Eugene checked, “Do you know how to use flight magic, Auxiliary Bishop Kristina?”
“Of course I know how to use it,” Kristina said with a wide grin as she offered her hand to Eugene.
Eugene narrowed his eyes and stared at her hand in confusion. “What are you doing?”
“Since we’re going to the same place anyway, there’s no need for us to fall separately, no?” Kristina proposed cheerfully.
“Really now…” Shaking his head in exasperation, Eugene took Kristina’s hand.
Then, Kristina immediately pulled Eugene with her as she threw herself off the cliff. Clicking his tongue at her daring behavior, Eugene pulled in his cloak that was flapping in the wind and wrapped it tightly around his body.
After a while, he thought to himself, ‘Could it be that we need to fall all the way to the bottom?’
The fall was long enough that Eugene couldn’t help but consider this question. At some point, Kristina had gotten closer to Eugene, as if she were asking to be embraced. Eugene, who had still been staring at the ground far below, turned his gaze towards Kristina.
Instead of looking at the ground, Kristina was staring straight at Eugene. As their eyes met, Kristina smiled at him with just her eyes. She extended one of her fingers and poked Eugene in the chest.
“If we die from falling like this, do you think we will go to Heaven?” Kristina asked teasingly.
“Did you trick me into falling because you wanted to lead me into Heaven?” Eugene returned the question.
“Don’t you want to go to Heaven, Sir Eugene?”
“I do want to go there eventually, but I don’t want to leave for Heaven already.”
“If that’s the case, then it seems that I won’t be able to accompany you there.” Kristina giggled and pulled out the wand she carried at her waist.
The blue jewel embedded in the center of the wand’s cross emitted a dazzling light. The blinding light immediately engulfed Eugene and Kristina, forming a pair of large wings.
‘This is…’ Eugene felt warmth coming from the light surrounding him.
This light… was divine power. A Holy Magic spell, the Wings of Light. It was one of the divine spells that Anise had most enjoyed using. Eugene turned his head to look behind him.
Eugene gasped, ‘...?’
For a moment there, Eugene saw the figure of an angel with its wings spread open. Its appearance was so majestic and divine that even Eugene, who didn’t believe in gods, was shocked. At the same time, it conveyed to him a strong sense of dread.
This wasn’t his first time seeing an angel. Three hundred years ago, Anise had summoned angels several times through the use of high-leveled divine magic. However, the angel he had seen back then… had a different appearance from the one he was seeing right now.
The current angel had its eyes closed and a benevolent smile on its face.
Its face was also exactly identical to that of Anise’s, to the point where it gave him goosebumps.
Soon, he could no longer see the angel’s figure.. The majestic wings of light slowed their fall and then wrapped themselves around Eugene and Kristina. Eugene gaped wordlessly for a few moments, before his face twisted into a frown.
“...What was that just now?” Eugene asked.
“What are you talking about?” Kristina asked in turn.
“Just now… that angel…,” Eugene faltered.
Kristina tilted her head in confusion at these muttered words. “...An angel? Sir Eugene, have you been taking any hallucinogens?”
“...”
Eugene wordlessly shook his head.
“The name of this Holy Spell is the Wings of Light. It’s not the kind of high-level Holy Spell that can cause an angel to appear. However, since the spell will be able to keep us both safe as we fall from this height, you don’t need to worry about any threat to our lives,” Kristina reassured him.
It seemed that Kristina suspected that Eugene had seen a vision of an angel because he was worried about falling to his death. Eugene asked no further questions and kept his lips locked up tight.
This wasn’t the time for questions.
Space suddenly distorted. This wasn’t a phenomenon caused by the Wings of Light. Surprised by this, Kristina unfurled the Wings of Light. The feathers of the wings then scattered into light and disappeared.
Thud.
Eugene and Kristina’s feet touched the ground. Eugene suppressed his alarm and took in his surroundings.
A few seconds prior, Eugene and Kristina had been falling to the bottom of the cliff. But now, let alone the cliff, he couldn’t even see the mountains or the forest.
They had been drawn into a strange space.
The grass in the field below was green and the sky was blue. There was no sun hanging high in the supposed sky, but the sky was blue and bright. There was no wind, but the grass in the field was swaying.
Eugene slowly crouched down and tried touching the grass. The feeling he got from touching it was no different from that of real grass, but at the same time, he couldn’t feel any presence of life from the grass. It was the same with the soil.
“...So this place was created using spatial magic,” Kristina muttered, causing Eugene to nod along.
Of course, it was impossible to create a subspace of this size with just a simple grasp of magic. One of Akron’s floors was dedicated to the Hall of Space. Although Eugene had touched on the highest levels of spatial magic while studying there, among all the spells that he had seen, none of them were able to create a subspace of this size.
‘Sienna… no, could it have been Vermouth?’ Eugene speculated.
Since Vermouth was also an Archwizard comparable to Sienna in skill, Eugene suspected that it would have been possible for Vermouth to create a subspace this large. Eugene rose back to his full height and looked ahead.
On the other side of the field lay a beautiful garden. In the center of the flowers, Eugene spotted a white shrine. Though it wasn’t just an ordinary shrine. In front of the shrine, a stone statue of Vermouth had been erected. Eugene stared at the statue for a few moments, before walking over to the shrine.
As he was drawing close to the shrine, Doynes and Gilead emerged from within, with Doynes asking as soon as he saw them, “Don’t you find this place quite beautiful?”
Doynes stared at Eugene and Kristina with a faint smile on his face.
“If it weren’t for the need to guard this tomb, I would have left it open for all the members of the Lionheart clan to pay their respects,” Doynes admitted.
“...I’m sure that our ancestor would be happy to receive the honor and respect of his many descendants,” Eugene spoke up.
“Haha. So it seems that you share my opinion. However, it was none other than our ancestor himself who created this place. If he had wanted to receive the honor and respect of his descendants, there was no need for him to have built his tomb in such a troublesome-to-reach place like this,” Doynes said as he looked up at the statue. “...Hm…. About Sir Hamel’s statue… I think it would be good for you to place it opposite this one. What do you think?”
“...I’m sure that Sir Hamel would be satisfied with placing it anywhere here,” Eugene replied.
“But we also still need to consider whether our ancestor would be satisfied with its placement. Well… I don’t think it would be so bad to place it there either. Since this statue of the founder has been on its own for three hundred years, I’d like to believe that it would be meaningful to set up a statue of an old friend nearby so that they can stay here together,” Doynes said, and then kept his silence for a few moments.
So far, he had simply been leading the conversation in place of the silent Gilead, but now his gaze turned to Kristina before he continued on to more serious matters, “...In order to open the path leading to this space… it requires both the seal of the Patriarch and the seal of the Council Head. These two keys were personally created by our great ancestor, and he also left a message that his tomb should not be entered unless the position of the main family’s Patriarch is being succeeded or if a new Captain of the Knights of the Black Lion is being appointed.”
“So you’re saying that something like this is unprecedented,” Kristina spoke up in acknowledgment of the point he was making.
She glanced down at the flowers that were swaying at their feet. Just like the grass of the field, the flowers below were only for the sake of appearances and moved with a strange lifeless harmony.
She continued, “I also understand why you may want to rebuke my presumptuousness, but I am here for an important purpose, so important that it even excuses subverting such a long-standing tradition.”
“We’re just worried that now might not be the best timing for whatever it is you’re here for,” Gilead spoke up. “...As long as Lady Kristina is following the will of the Holy Empire, how can a mere clan like our Lionheart family disobey the will of a god?”
Gilead’s gaze left Kristina and turned to Eugene. His gaze wasn’t scolding Eugene, nor was it filled with displeasure from being placed in such a situation. There was only regret and concern for Eugene reflected in his eyes. Gilead didn’t want his son to have to be involved in such an unprecedented visitation.
Gilead continued, “Lady Kristina. You have visited us at a time like this, and have stubbornly insisted on accompanying my son in his request to enter our ancestor’s tomb. As the Patriarch of the Lionheart clan, I have the right to ignore such a presumptuous demand, but I chose not to ignore your request out of consideration for the long-standing alliance between the Holy Empire and ours Kiehl Empire, as well as the friendship that has been passed down from our great ancestors.”
“I, too, feel the same way.” Doynes nodded in approval of Gilead’s words. “Lady Kristina. You told us that you wouldn’t be able to inform us of your reason for making this demand until you had entered the tomb. You spoke of a ‘revelation’, and that now that the Demon King of Incarceration has spread his warning to the whole world, the long era of peace is about to be shattered. For a revelation to be given under such circumstances… it must be for something that cannot be ignored. So now that we are here, please, release the tight lock that you have kept on your own lips.”
“Then allow me to say this,” Kristina said, as she stepped past Eugene and placed herself in the center of the room. She raised the wand that she had still been holding ever since their entry into this space in front of her chest, and with her other hand she slowly drew her own name in mid-air. “I am Kristina Rogeris, the adopted daughter of Cardinal Michael Logeris, Auxiliary Bishop of the Alcarte Parish, and the only Saint candidate in the entire Yuras Holy Empire. From now on, I will be representing the will of the Pope, and I stand here before you as the newly confirmed Saint, having received a revelation from the God of Light.
Doynes and Gilead’s eyes widened at this calm declaration.
However, Kristina didn’t pay attention to their surprise and simply continued, “Now then, please open the coffin of the hero.”
“...What on earth are you saying…?” Doynes responded after collecting his wits.
“The Great Vermouth, the Hero who ended the Era of Cruelty by forcing an Oath onto the Demon King of Incarceration, the Master-of-all, our greatest Hero. As the founder of the Lionheart clan, he was a flawless person who truly deserved to be called a hero. With there being no other hero who has accomplished deeds as great as Vermouth’s, then surely Vermouth should have been the first to enter heaven on his passing, before anyone else,” Kristina declared suggestively.
For now, Eugene just kept quiet and listened to Kristina speak. Gilead and Doynes were overcome with astonishment, that was quickly giving way to rage, but there was not a single reason for Eugene to feel upset with how things were playing out.
On the contrary, this situation was perfect for Eugene. The tomb wasn’t just simply sealed away with magic, it was locked up tight, and without the seals that had been divided between the Head of he Council and the Patriarch it would be impossible to open the door to this place. On top of that, Vermouth’s tomb wasn’t located within a barrier as he had expected, but instead within this subspace.
It was absolutely impossible for the current Eugene to forcefully open a door leading to this place. If that was the case, would it be possible for him to do so in the future? Eugene couldn’t be sure of an answer.
But wasn’t Kristina now telling them to open Vermouth’s coffin all on her own?
“Having come this far, I’m not sure you understand what you’re telling us to do,” Doynes said, no longer smiling. “All discussion about our ancestor’s tomb was already laid to rest over three hundred years ago. The Holy Empire canonized our great ancestor as a Saint, and formally ceded the Holy Sword to the Lionheart clan as a symbol of their friendship with him. With that, the connection between the Holy Empire and the Lionheart clan became even stronger than before and has developed into a sacred bond.”
“Yes, of course that’s the case,” Kristina agreed with him. “In an era of peace, that alone would have been taken as confirmation enough. However, now that the Demon King of Incarceration has issued his warning, the world is destined to no longer be at peace.”
“And what does that have to do with opening up our ancestor’s coffin? Also, what did you mean by prattling on about Heaven?” Doynes demanded.
“The Great Vermouth’s soul has not entered Heaven,” Kristina confirmed as she raised her hand and pointed at Vermouth’s statue. “In the revelation, it was said that the soul of a hero continues to wander without any rest. That is why I, as the Saint, must perform a final check on the hero’s remains.”
“...Are you… aware… of how disrespectful… your current words are… to the Lionheart clan?” Gilead ground out slowly, unable to hide his anger.
He unconsciously manifested a flaming white mane of mana as he glared at Kristina, and beside him, Doynes also glared at Kristina with narrowed eyes. However, Kristina wasn’t even the slightest bit hesitant. Instead, she just nodded her head with a heavy smile.
“I have no intention of undermining the great hero’s many accomplishments,” Kristina declared.
“...” Gilead and Doynes remained silent.
Kristina confidently argued, “Yet, instead of mindlessly praising the great hero, we should at least confirm his final moments. We, who are living in this world three hundred years after the last war finally ended, are not able to fully understand the events that occurred during that era. Just why did such a great hero have to be laid to rest so quickly? Why did the Wise Sienna go into seclusion so suddenly, and then why did the Faithful Anise disappear during her pilgrimage? Why has the Brave Molon not apparead in this world since a hundred years ago?”
Kristina resumed walking forward. Crossing the field of flowers, she approached Doynes and Gilead as she continued her diatribe. “Why didn’t the heroes defeat the remaining Demon Kings? What kind of Oath was made between the Demon King of Incarceration and the Great Vermouth? I’m afraid that we don’t know anything about it. Not even God knows what occurred at that moment. All He can say is that the soul of the hero has not entered Heaven. That is why we should at least check the tomb, in order to lay our suspicions to rest.”
“...Would rejecting your request be going against the will of your god?” Doynes demanded.
“We have no desire to enforce the authority of our faith on those who don’t believe in Him, Nevertheless, in this case, yes. As a believer in our God, I would feel a great disappointment at your rejection,” Kristina confessed.
Even back then with Anise, Eugene had this thought several times that it was a damned annoying reasoning to claim that it was all god’s will. No matter what you said in response, after they had put forward that it was the will of their god, they no longer needed any other reason to keep pushing through what they had decided to do.
As a believer, their god’s will was absolute. To those who didn’t believe in their god, their words might sound like bullshit, but it was also hard to just disregard their revelations when the believers placed so much faith in them.
‘How lucky,’ Eugene silently cheered.
Now, of course, there was no reason for Eugene to get involved in this troublesome matter. As he tried not to show any obvious interest in the outcome, he kept watching this situation unfold with as stiff a face as he could manage to hold.
“...What in the world are your reasons for involving my son in this ‘confirmation’ of yours?” Gilead demand.
“That is also part of the revelation, but I’m afraid that I cannot say any more on that just yet,” Kristina regretfully excused herself.
Gilead’s tone grew snide, “‘Saint’ Kristina, do you really understand just how ridiculous and offensive you’re revealing yourself to be[2]?”
“That may be, but this is all the will of God, as well as the will of His Holiness the Pope,” Kristina defended herself.[3]
‘She absolutely refuses to lose the argument,’ Eugene noted.
Anise was just like that. Eugene stared at Kristina’s back, gob-smacked at her stubbornness.
“...A confirmation, you say,” Doynes muttered. He tightened his hands into fists for a moment before loosening them, then he turned to glance at Gilead and said, “I will follow the Patriarch’s decision in this.”
“...Are you sure?” Gilead asked in surprise.
“Even though I am in a position that requires me to lead the Council of Elders, I still can’t take over for the Patriarch when it comes to deciding such issues. However, as Head of the Council, while I will unconditionally abide by the decision made by the Patriarch, I will never allow it to develop into a problem in the future,” Doynes vowed.
Gilead was silent for a few moments as he lost himself in thought. Eventually, he let out a long sigh and then grinned bravely.
“I never imagined that I would actually get to open our ancestor’s coffin with my own hands,” Gilead muttered as he turned around and walked away. “Please, follow me.”
1. The dragon’s reverse scale is basically their weak point that drives them into a rage when touched. In English terms, a good equivalent might be the berserk button. ☜
2. The original text has a pun that uses a formal tone to mock how she keeps using the revelation as a justification of her rude behavior. This is the closest approximation I could come up with. ☜
3. The titles “His Holiness” and “His Majesty” will both be used for the Pope. ☜
