Chapter 123
An Everyday Occurrence
The scandal involving Ferda and Olivia.
Valdrova had only learned about it today.
Why didn’t Luri tell me?
The reason Valdrova had remained unaware for so long was that Luri, her primary source of information, had never mentioned it.
She rarely tells me about things like that in the first place...
Whenever Luri judged that something would trouble Valdrova, she filtered it out herself.
Valdrova was vaguely aware of that habit.
Besides, it must be nothing more than a false rumor.
Ferda had always been devoted to her.
Valdrova believed that without the slightest doubt.
And yet, unease continued creeping into a corner of her heart.
Olivia Arken.
Valdrova had constantly heard of her reputation.
A woman blessed with intelligence and beauty, as well as flawless manners and social grace. She was praised as the most desirable bride in the Empire.
Valdrova had never seen her in person, although she had once had an opportunity.
She had heard that Olivia would be visiting Valdrova Castle.
At the time, however, Valdrova had shown no interest.
More precisely, she had been curious, but she was busy devoting herself to the village’s construction.
Finding fulfillment at a worksite filled with the smell of sweat had seemed more important.
Should I have gone to see her back then?
It had been an event important enough for others to abandon their work and rush over.
Should she have gone to see for herself?
Just how beautiful was Olivia for everyone to praise her so highly?
And did she truly look good beside Ferda?
Ferda is... too good for me.
Ferda had created this place.
He interacted with countless people.
Although there were occasional voices criticizing him, Valdrova heard far more people describe him as a wise and benevolent ruler who cared for his subjects.
But what was she?
A Red Dragon who had shut herself inside her lair.
A dragon who hid beneath armor because she was afraid to face people.
A pathetic dragon who could not even properly show her face to her own fiancé.
He is... too good for me.
To anyone else, Ferda would surely appear far better suited to Olivia, a woman whose beauty everyone praised, than to her.
Her heart sank, and she listlessly dug at the ground with her finger.
She needed something to interrupt these depressing thoughts.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
At that moment, an alarm bell began ringing violently.
It was connected to the monster-prediction device, meaning monsters were approaching.
The workers jumped to their feet in alarm.
“Looks like monsters are coming.”
“Things have been quiet lately, and now they launch a surprise attack at a time like this.”
Monsters.
Thinking that she had to protect the people, Valdrova stood.
The workers hurriedly stopped her.
“Ah! Sir Knight! There’s no need for you to step forward.”
?
“We would like to handle this one ourselves. Please remain seated!”
Confident smiles covered their faces.
What could these people, who were merely ordinary humans, possibly do?
The workers hurried somewhere and returned carrying strange objects.
They resembled staffs.
No, there were far too many things dangling from them for them to be ordinary staffs. They looked more like something a witch doctor would carry.
The workers moved in disciplined formation like soldiers. They climbed onto the unfinished wall, dropped to one knee, and aimed the staffs toward the ground below.
Their posture resembled that of crossbowmen.
Presumably, something would be fired from those staffs.
But what?
At that moment, Valdrova sensed tremendous power gathering inside them—enough to make her previous concern seem ridiculous.
How are they doing that when they cannot use mana?
With her limited understanding of magic, Valdrova had no way to solve the mystery.
A short while later, the women who had been gathering in the forest appeared.
They seemed startled, but they were not panicking.
“Why aren’t you running like your lives depend on it?! Do you want to be eaten?”
“Those monsters were lumbering along so slowly that we took our time too.”
“Lumbering? What did they look like?”
“We couldn’t tell. They all looked like enormous lumps, and they were moving very slowly.”
“Fine! Just get inside quickly!”
One of the men recognized the description.
“They’re Melteds.”
Soon afterward, the monsters appeared.
—Gwooooh...
Unlike most monsters, which resembled beasts, these were closer to shapeless masses.
They had been exposed to so much junk mana that their bodies had mutated excessively, transforming them into creatures that could no longer be identified as anything in particular.
Their strength was uncertain, but they moved no faster than zombies raised by a necromancer.
Even so, monsters were still monsters.
Killing a single Melted normally required an entire unit of spearmen to stab it hundreds of times.
Even then, one or two soldiers would inevitably die in the process.
And there were six of them.
A foreman raised his hand and shouted,
“Aim!”
The workers braced their staffs against their shoulders and aligned their eyes with the sights.
The foreman brought his raised hand down like the blade of a guillotine.
“Fire!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Thunderous explosions and flashes of light shook heaven and earth.
Valdrova’s eyes saw everything clearly.
Projectiles shot from inside the tubes at nearly the speed of light and pierced straight through the monsters’ bodies.
—Gwooooh...
Holes appeared in the Melteds, and their misshapen bodies collapsed.
“Wooooaaah!”
“We killed the monsters!”
The workers roared like soldiers celebrating victory in a great battle.
The creatures might have been slow and clumsy, but they were monsters nonetheless.
These ordinary people, who had once possessed nothing, now had the power to protect themselves from monsters.
Realizing that filled them with exhilaration.
Valdrova could not conceal her astonishment.
Ordinary people killed monsters...
She might not have been intelligent, but she had lived for thousands of years, witnessing and participating in countless battles.
Yet Valdrova had never once imagined such a sight.
No—who could possibly have imagined it?
When the demons first appeared, most immortals had argued that they had no choice but to submit to Godwin.
Humans, however, had refused.
And now they had overturned the predictions of the immortals, whose wisdom had once been considered absolute.
Human beings were truly extraordinary.
When strength alone could not reach their goal, they used wisdom and courage to create power more formidable than anyone else’s.
Valdrova felt incredibly proud of Ferda for giving them that power.
At the same time, the question she carried within her heart grew even larger.
She clasped her hands tightly against her chest.
***
On the night before the Beginning of Spring Festival, Valdrova came to visit Ferda.
As always, she was wearing her armor.
Ferda knew that she had gone out to fight that day.
But he also knew that without an excuse like that, she would never come to see him.
“Do you need mana?”
Normally, she would have answered yes.
Today was different.
“No.”
“Then...?”
“I simply wanted to talk to you...”
Ferda felt as though someone had struck him across the back of the head.
This was the first time she had come to him and directly admitted that she wanted to talk without inventing an excuse.
His heart began pounding.
It felt as though they had finally become a man and woman meeting in secret.
When Ferda said nothing, Valdrova fidgeted with her fingers.
“Am I imposing on you after all?”
“Not at all. Please, come inside.”
They sat down.
Valdrova slipped off one of her gauntlets and placed it on the table.
“I... want to hold your hand.”
“...Of course.”
“...”
She was acting unusually assertive.
Ferda was pleased by the sudden change, but it also made him uneasy.
After all, most of Valdrova’s motivation arose from anxiety.
Ferda placed his hand over hers.
He could feel that she was even more tense than usual.
“W-well...!”
Valdrova struggled to introduce a topic.
“Today... monsters were approaching the city wall.”
“Yes. You must have watched from the summit.”
“What? Ah, yes! That’s right!”
Valdrova nodded repeatedly.
“And there... ordinary people killed the monsters.”
“I did not see it myself, but the report said they killed six Melteds. They may only have been Melteds, but even those are difficult for ordinary people to handle. It must have been an unfamiliar sight for you. What did you think?”
“It was truly... incredible. Watching them made me realize all over again just how incredible you are, Ferda.”
Even through her helmet, Ferda could sense the admiration in her eyes.
He replied,
“That was not my accomplishment. Burnell created those weapons through his own hard work.”
“But if it weren’t for you... those people would never even have imagined that they could kill monsters. Isn’t that true?”
“No. Now that you mention it, I suppose I did contribute in that respect.”
It truly would have been impossible without Ferda taking the lead.
At this point in time, monsters were still widely regarded as beings that humans could scarcely hope to defeat.
“You are... changing so many things here, Ferda.”
A village was being built, and its people were gaining the power to protect themselves.
Valdrova had realized something from watching them.
Struggling to express it, she finally spoke.
“I’ve been practicing the wild dance.”
“...Do you mean the waltz?”
“Yes! That... I said it wrong again...”
It did not matter.
The sight of her becoming flustered was unbearably adorable.
She might have been wearing a terrifying dragon-shaped helmet, but Ferda could vividly picture the young woman hidden inside it.
“It’s tomorrow... isn’t it? The day we dance together.”
The day we dance together.
We meant the two of them.
Ferda and Valdrova.
“That is correct.”
“I’ll... wear a beautiful dress and try to stand proudly beside you. As your h-hostage?”
“Hostess...”
“Yes, as your hostess!”
She seemed to be bracing herself with great determination.
Ferda understood just how much courage it had taken for her to declare that she would step forward so boldly.
He was delighted that he had been the first person to hear that resolve.
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
“I will look forward to it.”
***
The entrance to Hestia Village was extraordinarily busy.
Even before sunrise, processions of carriages arrived carrying young nobles from every region.
A total of two hundred and fifty nobles had been invited.
Yet they did not come alone.
Each brought coachmen, several servants, elite knights serving as guards, and at least ten soldiers.
With two hundred and fifty young nobles attending, their entourages numbered at least twenty-five hundred.
The village, which ordinarily held only a few hundred people, was suddenly overflowing with thousands.
Where large crowds gathered, vast amounts of money inevitably changed hands.
Stephan demonstrated the true capabilities of a merchant.
Under the joint supervision of the Pascal Company and the Hestia Association, numerous events and charitable activities were organized.
They made use of empty lots where buildings had yet to be constructed, holding martial arts tournaments and athletic competitions to improve the region’s image and attract merchants.
Troops were dispatched by the Far Eastern Alliance to maintain security, allowing the day to pass without incident.
Evening at the Beginning of Spring Festival marked the time when the nobles’ banquet truly began.
Chandeliers illuminated the hall as brightly as daylight, lending it a magnificent atmosphere.
As the residence of a dragon, the castle possessed an interior that rivaled even the imperial palace. The visiting nobles could not conceal their admiration.
While the guests busily socialized, Ferda began preparing to enter the hall.
Isabella reported several matters to him.
“After confirming the weapon’s performance in defense, they have decided to begin formally numbering the rifles.”
“Numbering them?”
“According to the report, numbers will be assigned as they modify the design for mass production. Their goal is to manufacture dozens each day.”
“I see.”
They had undoubtedly achieved a remarkable result in national defense.
Several commoners had worked together to kill six Melteds.
Did that not mean ordinary people could now wield power comparable to that of mages?
“I mention this out of caution, but the visiting nobles may steer their conversations toward the rifles. Please take care not to disclose any information.”
“I will remember that.”
If Ferda could not contribute, then the least he could do was avoid becoming an obstacle.
He repeatedly reminded himself not to create an opening that could disrupt the balance Isabella had established.
“Have you finished preparing?”
“I have.”
When Luri appeared, Ferda reflexively asked,
“What about Her Highness the Princeps?”
“...”
Luri did not answer.
Her lowered head and silence were answer enough.
Valdrova would not be coming tonight.
Ferda fastened his remaining buttons.
“I see. She must have her reasons.”
“I apologize for disappointing you.”
Ferda had never expected to hear an apology from Luri.
It showed just how much Luri herself had wanted Valdrova to attend the banquet.
“There is no need. This always happens, doesn’t it?”
“I apologize that my master always stands you up.”
Or perhaps Luri was simply angry.
It would be a lie to say Ferda was not disappointed merely because this always happened.
Valdrova’s words from the previous night remained vivid in his ears.
Even when he opened his eyes that morning, the first thing that came to mind was her hand.
His empty hand still remembered the sensation of her right hand resting beneath it.
Tonight, however, that hand would be joined with those of other women.
...Let’s not entertain pointless thoughts.
Ferda closed his hand around empty air.
Her absence today did not mean there would be no tomorrow.
Therefore, he could not allow today to go to waste when it could be used to prepare for that future.
With that thought, Ferda headed toward the banquet hall.
“The Royal Consort of the Great Flame, Regent Ferda Valdrova, has arrived!”
The planner dispatched from the Empire announced him in a powerful voice.
The music stopped as Ferda, the banquet’s host, entered.
The young nobles offered him polite bows in turn, and Ferda followed the red carpet to his place.
“I sincerely welcome all of you to Valdrova Castle.”
His clear voice captured everyone’s attention.
“Today, we have gathered here to welcome spring after enduring a brutal winter. Hestia is a small village whose construction began only in late autumn of last year. I have likely understood the responsibilities of a lord for far less time than most of you gathered here.”
Ferda eased the atmosphere by humbling himself.
“Nevertheless, all of you accepted the invitation of this inexperienced lord and came here today. What does that mean?”
Olivia Arken.
Everyone knew the answer was their overwhelming desire to establish a connection with the imperial princess.
Because they knew Ferda was equally aware of that fact, they waited for his next words with some apprehension.
“It means that hope resides within your hearts.”
Ferda continued.
“One hundred and fifty years have passed since the Dragon-Demon War ended. Yet the territories of the Far East continue to shrink, while the Demonic Lands remain as powerful as ever. Godwin, once known as the Evil Dragon, is dead, as is the Demon King. Yet their will survives, continuing to reveal its ambitions.”
Ferda met the eyes of everyone below him, one person at a time.
“As humans of Cerdes, and as nobles who refuse to tolerate injustice, you have shown me today that you sincerely desire the Far East’s development and peace. With the arrival of this new spring, you have become new sparks with which we may reforge our tattered armor.”
Ferda raised his glass and delivered his closing words.
“So, for the sake of that flame, I ask that you laugh, celebrate, and dance tonight. As long as love and friendship remain among us, our resolve shall stand firmly united.”
Ferda concluded with a bow.
Thunderous applause erupted, and the musicians immediately began playing a lively melody with practiced ease.
The banquet had begun.