The next day.
I headed to the royal castle alongside Ariel.
Tris was back at base, preparing for his turn to come.
Our two attendants were absent.
So there were six of us.
It was partly because the two attendants would have been a hindrance in battle, but they also had families of their own—and those families were powerful allies for Ariel.
Beyond that, the two had been given tasks by Ariel.
She really did intend to get everything done in ten days.
Anyway, my first time in the royal castle.
The royal castle of the Asura Kingdom was just as enormous as it had looked from afar.
It was probably larger than even the castle sitting atop Perugius's floating fortress.
Moreover, behind this castle lay the royal palace.
A sprawling compound of gardens and palaces where the royal family lived.
Apparently, anyone of noble birth could enter areas outside the palaces, but we had no business there.
I was mildly curious about the rear palace, but again, no business there.
We were here to visit the ailing king and to reserve the "venue."
It was in this castle that I found something astonishing.
No, perhaps "astonishing" was overstating it.
Given where we were, something like this was hardly surprising.
Still, actually seeing it in person, I couldn't help but do a double take.
It was a portrait of Perugius.
One of three hung in a row.
Dragonfolk faces were hard to tell apart to begin with, and that was especially true of portraits.
And this Perugius in the portrait had been somewhat idealized, making him look about ten years younger than he was now.
Honestly, I wouldn't have recognized him immediately.
At first, I just thought "he looks a bit familiar" and moved on.
But the nameplate just below the portrait caught my eye, prompting the double take.
His name was written there.
Perugius Dola.
I was surprised.
Surprised because it was hung right next to portraits of历代 Asura kings.
Beside it hung the face of an unfamiliar human,
and a man with a blend of golden and silver hair.
Having seen the name Perugius, I recognized this one immediately.
The human was the North God Kalman.
And the one who looked like some dragonfolk-human hybrid was likely the Dragon God Urupen.
The Three Dragongod-Slayers who defeated the Demon God.
My old self might have cracked a joke about how they hadn't exactly killed him.
But after hearing Orsted's account, I wasn't really in a joking mood.
In the end, they had fought with everything they had and managed to bring down a piece of the Demon Dragon King Laplace—the being who had likely reigned as the strongest in this world for ages.
That was why portraits like these would be displayed in a place like this.
As living legends, heroes who were still remembered today.
They were extraordinary people.
Honestly, I had been anxious about what would happen if Perugius actually showed up at the "venue."
But seeing his portrait hung this close to the king's... it made me feel like things would be all right.
---
Three days passed.
The plan was proceeding smoothly.
Ariel steadily worked on preparations for the "venue" setup.
The nobles who had been eagerly awaiting her return followed her lead and backed her up.
I served as her escort while being introduced to dozens upon dozens of nobles.
Honestly, I couldn't remember a single name.
High Minister Darius and First Prince Grabel.
I wasn't introduced to them directly, but I did manage to catch a glimpse of them from a distance.
Darius was, in a word, an old fox.
Obese, with sagging cheeks and unpleasant eyes.
He was a grotesque pig of a man—the kind of figure that, for all its hideousness, actually inspired a strange sense of familiarity.
When he looked at me, his expression was one of pure terror.
The way one might look upon the Grim Reaper.
You shouldn't judge by complexion alone, but...
When someone makes their reaction that obvious, it sure made it easy to decide whether he was a servant of the Human God.
First Prince Grabel was a plain-looking man.
He was not the flaxen-haired, youthful prince in his teens or twenties that the word "prince" might conjure.
He looked more like a man in his prime—in his thirties, with a mustache, more suited to the image of a hardworking minister than a prince.
Yet, looking at him, there was something inexplicable that made you think, "I'd want to work under this man."
Perhaps that, too, was its own kind of charisma.
Come to think of it, I had heard rumors about the Second Prince, Halfaus.
He had apparently lost his power struggle against the first prince and was under house arrest.
Had Orsted done something about that?
Or had Orsted known about this already and decided the second prince didn't need to be worried about?
Either way, those who had been in the second prince's faction and were on the verge of giving up hope had caught wind of Ariel's return and flocked to her side, sensing an opportunity.
They seemed willing to help Ariel with her "venue" preparations.
Ariel was fighting Ariel's battle.
My battle was against those who would attack Ariel.
We had been ambushed several times.
No major players had surfaced yet, but assassins were being sent after us almost daily.
They targeted only Ariel.
Specifically, they targeted Sylphie, who was disguised as Ariel.
While traveling, while eating, while sleeping.
No time to eat, no time to sleep—though in this case it was more like she never stopped being on guard.
The real Ariel, meanwhile, was dressed in a maid outfit with a wig, eating the coarse meals provided to maids—though still more lavish than what most lower-ranked knights got—and sleeping soundly on the simple bed in the maid quarters.
"There are way more than before, but having Rudeus and the others here makes things so much easier," Sylphie said.
Calling the assassins "small fry" wouldn't be entirely fair.
But against me, Eris, and Ghislaine, they were painfully outmatched.
If it had been just me, though, I would have struggled.
I'd probably be agonizing over whether to kill them or spare them the whole time.
Thinking about it that way, yeah.
I should be glad Eris and Ghislaine were there.
At the very least, no enemy had appeared who could break through the top-tier duo of Eris and Ghislaine.
If they planned to throw everything they had at us during the "venue" showdown, that would be a bit troublesome.
If the North Emperor and North King each faced their opponents one-on-one, the next enemy would reach me.
It would be fine if the remaining enemy was just the Water God, but if there was anyone else, they'd go after Sylphie.
And if there was one more after that, they'd be able to reach Ariel.
I wanted to believe Orsted would handle it somehow, but we hadn't managed to make contact since entering the capital.
For that matter, I wasn't even sure he'd made it into the city.
Either way, I knew praying alone wouldn't solve anything.
To prepare for the worst, I wanted to thin the enemy's numbers.
When I suggested this to Ariel, she nodded in agreement.
"Then let's try provoking them a bit."
That day, Ariel approached one of First Prince Grabel's nobles and struck up a conversation.
Something crude about how Eris and Ghislaine were both on their periods today, or some such.
The noble in question regarded Eris with great interest.
Eris wore an expression of absolute disgust.
The plan was to spread a rumor that her guard was off her game and lure in an assassination attempt.
That said, this particular plan ended in failure.
She'd been too obvious about it.
From the next day on, even the assassins stopped appearing.
---
Five days passed.
There were no more attacks.
Instead, the powerful nobles around us began to be targeted.
The ones pushing the "venue" preparations forward.
Most of them had their own means of self-defense, fortunately, so no serious harm was done.
But the attacks felt like a warning.
Sure enough, a number of minor players defected to First Prince Grabel's camp.
It was in the midst of this that I encountered a certain person.
Pilemon Notos Greyrat.
True to the information we'd received beforehand, he had defected to Grabel's side.
Pilemon.
In his mid-thirties, if I had to guess.
He bore a strong resemblance to Paul.
But his face lacked the breezy confidence and ease that Paul had.
He gave off the impression of a starving mouse—nervous, skittish.
The type who feared risk and fled ever toward the safer option.
I didn't necessarily dislike that kind of person, but someone like Sauros certainly would.
Luke was arguing with him.
It was practically a fight—there was no other word for it.
Why had he betrayed Ariel? What had all his own efforts been for?
To these questions from Luke, Pilemon simply dismissed them: "You wouldn't understand even if I explained."
Luke wore an expression of disbelief.
Even so, he pressed on, pleading that it wasn't too late even now—just come back to our side.
But it was no use.
In the end, a young man who was presumably Luke's older brother looked at him with irritation and asked, "Are you after the family inheritance, or something?"
Then, with an attitude that practically spat disdain, they left Luke behind.
I thought it was a terrible way to treat someone.
At the very least, it wasn't how you should treat a son who had spent nearly a decade struggling in a foreign land.
But then, Paul had once been that kind of trash too.
And I myself had been similar trash.
The Asura nobility had their own code of morals, and I had no intention of looking down on them through a one-sided lens.
If Ariel won, Luke would carry on the Notos name as a key figure in her faction.
If Grabel won, Luke's brother would.
Either way, the Notos family would survive as a power broker who had won the political struggle.
Looking at it that way, perhaps those two weren't entirely failing to show some kind of consideration for Luke.
Though deep down, they might simply dislike him.
Setting aside my own feelings...
Given how things stood, it seemed certain that Ghislaine would end up cutting down Pilemon.
Even if Luke's family was on the verge of falling apart.
If Luke wanted to preserve the family, I did feel a certain desire to help.
But there was also a part of me that cared more about my own situation.
It was an unpleasant position to be in.
---
Day nine.
The setup for the "venue" was complete.
Parties were regularly held in the royal castle, but this one had been arranged so that every prominent noble in the Asura Kingdom would attend.
Ariel had arranged it that way.
A party ostensibly to honor First Prince Grabel, hosted by Second Princess Ariel.
If it were me, I wouldn't attend something that was so obviously a trap.
But the Asura nobility didn't have that luxury.
Attending was a noble's duty.
There had been numerous attempts to interfere, but Ariel had overcome them all.
Now it was the real thing.
And it was my job.
Tomorrow was going to be a rough day.
Someone might die.
Eris, or Sylphie, or Ghislaine.
I intended to make sure that didn't happen, but...
Tonight I might be too wound up to sleep.
Maybe I should have Eris hold me or something...
---
That was what I was thinking on that particular night.
It was a moonless night.
All preparations were complete; all that remained was to await tomorrow's main event.
Today, I would simply rest and gather my strength.
Or so I thought, when it happened on the way back.
A man stood in the middle of the road.
A glance at his ears told me he was beastfolk.
Rabbit ears... I was fairly certain they were of the Mildet tribe.
A woman with those ears would be a bunny girl, but what did you call a man?
"..."
He wore matte-black armor and held a straight sword, standing squarely in the path.
Blocking the carriage's advance.
"Who goes there?!"
Luke, who had been walking alongside the carriage, stepped forward and challenged him.
The man didn't answer.
He had no reason to answer.
An assassin would never—
"I am one of the North God Three Swordsmen, the North King 'Twin Sword' Knuckle Guard."
He announced himself.
"..."
The next moment, Knuckle Guard split apart.
As if performing some kind of out-of-body separation, he divided left and right...
"Knuckle big bro, I really don't think you should say your name at a time like this."
"Oh, right. This isn't the usual situation, is it? Gado, you're pretty smart."
"Hehe, I've been studying lately."
No, he hadn't split.
They were twins.
Two swordsmen with identical faces.
"Oh, and I don't think you should mention that our employer is Lord Darius either."
"Come to think of it, the assassins who keep attacking us never give up the name of whoever hired them."
"Exactly. Knuckle big bro, you absolutely mustn't say it."
"I know, I know."
Well, who their employer was hardly needed stating this time.
While I was feeling a little deflated, Eris stepped forward.
She dismounted her horse and drew her sword.
"Eris Greyrat."
The twins' ears twitched in response to the torrent of killing intent.
"Oh, the infamous 'Mad Sword King'!"
"Her blade is keen as fangs, her temperament fierce as a magical beast!"
"Though we be of the weak and gentle Mildet tribe!"
"We are more than enough for the likes of you!"
When Eris raised her sword into a high guard, the twins assumed symmetric stances and faced her.
"One of us alone is half a fighter."
"But two together make one full fighter."
"A two-on-one match—"
"—can't be called cowardly."
No, two-on-one was definitely cowardly, I thought.
And then I noticed another figure emerging from behind the carriage.
A small figure.
It wore armor as black as if it had been dipped in ink.
In its hands it held a black shield and a black sword.
"..."
This one didn't announce itself.
No introduction—just a ready stance.
Facing him was Ghislaine.
She drew her sword against him as a matter of course.
"I'm returning the favor from the other day."
"..."
"...The Doldia have excellent night vision... This is somewhat unfavorable for me."
It was Wi-Tar.
Last time, Ghislaine had been at a disadvantage against him.
But I had told her about Wi-Tar's techniques the other day, or at least tried to.
I wasn't sure if she had fully understood, but hopefully it would make a difference this time.
Rabbits at the front gate, a dwarf at the rear.
Saying it like that made the situation sound almost easy, but the reality was that every one of them was a North King.
Should I join Eris's fight?
If I backed her up and either Sylphie or Luke supported Ghislaine, we could create two-on-one situations in our favor.
That was what I wanted to do, but I couldn't move.
Auber was nowhere to be seen.
That single fact froze me in place.
Ariel wasn't here.
Ariel had taken a separate route and was safely making her way from the castle to the safehouse.
So it would have been fine for Sylphie to support Eris and Luke to support Ghislaine.
But if we did that, the enemy would realize Ariel wasn't here.
And they would flee.
Their target wasn't present, after all.
Tomorrow, they'd come back with a fuller force and meet us in better formation.
One or two more added to their numbers.
This was our chance.
A chance to take down two North Kings.
If we didn't get them here, tomorrow would be far worse.
In that case, maybe I should support Eris while Luke supported Ghislaine?
But then Sylphie would have to face Auber.
Sylphie couldn't beat Auber.
I couldn't say it was impossible, but Orsted had assessed the matchup.
My piece, once again, could not move.
"...No."
Think.
Where had Auber been hiding last time?
Not in the forest—underground.
This time too, he had to be lurking somewhere nearby.
Hiding nearby, calmly targeting one of us.
So I just needed to find him.
I'd locate his hiding spot and take him out in a single blow.
Then I could support Eris and Ghislaine without a worry.
"It's fine, Rudeus. I can win on my own."
Eris's voice rang through the dark night.
She was right—the swordsman called Knuckle Guard hadn't been able to close the distance.
True to their own words, each of them was roughly North Saint level at best.
And Eris could cut them down in a single stroke at that level.
If one of the twins entered her range, the other would die.
They apparently weren't dedicated enough to accept that trade.
Ghislaine, too, was still keeping her distance.
The size gap between Wi-Tar, a dwarf, and Ghislaine meant there was an enormous difference in their reach.
He wouldn't be able to close in easily either.
The fact that they hadn't retreated...
There had to be one more person.
The enemy was playing three cards.
They intended to take us out here.
Where was Auber?
How many hiding spots were there around here?
This wasn't exactly prime ambush terrain.
To the left was the castle wall; to the right, noble estates.
The right side seemed to have more potential hiding spots.
But the homes with gardens were all enclosed by high walls.
There were alleys between the houses.
But since they were built wide enough for carriages to pass through, they weren't all that concealed.
Hiding in a garden and bursting through the wall?
Don't be absurd—this wasn't Birdy Guard.
What about the castle wall?
It was tall enough to require looking up.
Could he rappel down with a rope?
Or simply leap down?
A North Emperor might be able to do it...
What about below ground?
Like last time—hiding beneath the surface?
No, I'd ruled that out.
Given the previous encounter, I'd been watching the ground carefully while moving through here.
I was sure I hadn't missed anything.
Where, then?
Were there any blind spots?
I was positioned at the carriage's left rear.
Luke was at the right front.
Two light sources.
The torch mounted on the carriage.
And the lamp spirit I had summoned before we set out.
The illumination was strong—the silhouettes of the black-clad attackers were clearly visible.
There was nowhere to hide.
Could it really be the top of the castle wall?
Should I cast a spell up at the top of the wall...?
I was raising the lamp spirit higher and scanning the wall when—
"...!"
I spotted it.
When I'd first looked at the wall, I hadn't noticed.
The irregularity at its midpoint.
There, halfway up the castle wall, a cloth with a pattern closely matching the wall's color had been spread out.
In daylight, it would have been obvious at a glance.
Or if illuminated by a carriage lamp with sufficient brightness, the discrepancy would have been apparent.
But the carriage torches alone were nowhere near enough to catch it.
Using the lamp spirit, however, I could just barely make out the anomaly.
I've got you.
I aimed my staff at the cloth.
"..."
No incantation.
Normally I'd announce the spell name to make it known I was casting magic nearby, but I didn't even do that.
Stone Cannon.
Full power.
...Goodbye, Auber.
"Graaah!?!"
But perhaps it was animal instinct.
Or a warrior's intuition.
I hadn't hesitated for even a second.
Yet somehow, he sensed it.
At the very last moment, Auber dropped his concealment technique and evaded the spell.
No—he didn't fully evade it.
The Stone Cannon tore through Auber's leg, gouging out a massive chunk.
He broke his fall as he tumbled from the castle wall.
"Guuuh!"
That was the signal for the battle to begin.
"Tch!"
I fired Stone Cannons at Auber.
But even collapsed on the ground, he deflected them without effort.
"I'm right here!"
Luke attacked from behind.
Auber pivoted on his left hand, reversing his body, and knocked Luke's sword away.
He swept Luke's feet out from under him as the latter lost his balance, and from his prone position, moved to deliver the killing blow.
I stopped him with another Stone Cannon.
"Guh!"
Auber's body coiled like a spring as he rose to one foot.
But one of his legs was nearly severed—his mobility was largely compromised.
He stood steadily on one leg, his gaze sweeping between the carriage, me, and the front and rear.
"..."
Drawn by that gaze, I looked too.
In that brief exchange, the tide of battle had already turned.
True to her word, Eris had already dispatched both twins.
But Eris wasn't unscathed—she had suffered a serious wound to her shoulder.
Her left arm hung limply.
Yet Eris paid it no mind, turning her attention back toward us.
Her eyes were fixed on Auber.
Ghislaine was overwhelming Wi-Tar.
Wi-Tar had already lost an arm.
Wi-Tar without his shield, facing an uninjured Ghislaine.
At the moment I looked, Ghislaine was delivering the finishing blow against Wi-Tar.
"Aubeeeer!"
Wi-Tar screamed.
Simultaneously, he slammed something into the ground.
A muffled, powdery sound echoed as the area was instantly engulfed in black smoke.
A magic item, or perhaps some kind of magical tool.
At night, Wi-Tar used black smoke for blinding tactics.
But knowing about it and actually seeing it were two very different things.
I couldn't see anything—worse than I'd expected.
Through the fog-like haze, I could hear Wi-Tar's footsteps running.
And Ghislaine's footsteps in pursuit.
<A sword swung down suddenly right in front of me>
I dodged in a panic.
Wi-Tar sprinted past me.
Had he been targeting me?
No—was he going for the carriage?
"Leave it to me!"
The next instant, the carriage door burst open and Sylphie rolled out, casting a spell as she went.
Combo magic: Fire Tornado.
The combined wind-and-fire spell blew the black smoke away and illuminated the surroundings.
Situation check.
Ghislaine—fine.
Luke—fine.
Sylphie—fine.
Eris—also fine.
Wi-Tar was disappearing into an alley.
Did he get away?
No matter—letting Wi-Tar escape was acceptable as long as we finished off Auber.
Auber was... wait, he was gone?
Where was he?!
"Rudeus!"
Eris's shout.
I followed her gaze to see Auber scaling the castle wall with clawed gauntlets, scurrying up like a cockroach.
He vanished over the top of the wall at terrifying speed.
He was gone. No way to catch him now.
But I couldn't afford to stand around gawking.
"I'm going after Wi-Tar!"
I made the call instantly and darted into the alley.
Could I catch him?
Had I misjudged by a fraction?
When Wi-Tar fled into the alley, should I have given chase immediately?
He'd lost an arm.
With his balance compromised, he couldn't run all that fast.
But this was the North God Style—someone at that level would have trained for...
I stepped into the alley and stopped dead.
Wi-Tar was dead.
A gaping hole had been punched through the center of his small body. He lay in a pool of blood.
It was a strikingly familiar way to die.
I'd died like this myself.
There was no sign of anyone nearby.
But someone had been here.
And done this.
It had to be Orsted.
"Rudeus... you took care of them, didn't you?"
I turned around to find Eris standing there.
Her shoulder was slashed wide open, blood streaming down, yet she was grinning.
"Y-yeah..."
I placed my hand on Eris's shoulder and began chanting a healing spell.
It was a terrible wound.
Had it reached the tendon?
Flesh cut to the bone, the kind of thing that made your heart clench.
"Thanks."
Eris barely had time for gratitude before she turned on her heel.
She strode back into the main passage and shouted.
"That last one was taken out by Rudeus!"
Her words drew sighs of relief from everyone around.
"Sorry. I was a drag."
"No—if I had finished my fight faster, Rudeus could have focused entirely on Auber..."
"I should have burst out sooner. I was a little late, wasn't I?"
"One got away, but all in all, not bad!"
They traded quick words with one another while clearing away the bodies.
If I had used a different kind of magic, I might not have let Auber escape.
Instead of assuming I'd disabled his leg, I should have used Mud or something...
But saying that after the fact accomplished nothing.
The battle had lasted only moments—fluid, unpredictable.
It was pointless to play "what if" after it was over.
This time around:
North King Wi-Tar.
North King Knuckle Guard.
We had taken down two of them—three, counting the twins.
We had successfully reduced the enemy's pieces, just as planned.
Auber had gotten away, but it could be called a major victory.
All that remained was tomorrow—the main event.