1

A step through a magically generated gateway of pitch black void took Izumi straight from the underground dungeon cell into a building of far more refined designs. She emerged in a hall at least thirty feet tall, a bit less wide, with majestic stone pillars upholding a ceiling where the likeness of an ancient afternoon sky was painted.

On the left she saw a wide terrace with a generous view towards sunrise and the city, and opposite of it, on the right, stood a tall, sharply arcing doorway. Through the doorway and deeper into the palace, Izumi followed the elven woman, feeling like walking in a fairy tale.

“My name is Caalan Litha Nidh Vi Vaniphelia,” that woman introduced herself as she unhurriedly stepped on. “Among your kind, I go by the name Carmelia, as one of the seven Court Wizards of the Tratovian Empire.”

“Um, it’s nice to meet you, Lia,” Izumi said, absentmindedly gazing around like a tourist.

Carmelia’s feet abruptly stopped, as if she had ran into an invisible wall, and she shot a glance back over her thin shoulder.

“What...did you call me?”

“Well,” Izumi paused as well, wondering if she had unwittingly offended her host. “Everyone has such complex names in this world, I thought I'd abbreviate a little. And since I can't call you 'car' or ‘me’, for obvious reasons, there was no other choice but to go with the last syllable. You don’t like it? I think it’s cute. You’re cute too, so it fits.”

Izumi felt her reasoning was fairly clever. She emphasized the effect by doing her best innocent puppy dog face, that usually got her out of trouble. In hindsight, maybe the sorceress hated dogs?

“...Call me whatever you please,” Carmelia gave up and walked on.

Doors were opened before them by invisible hands as they went deeper inside. The silence as they carried on got a bit unnerving, especially as Izumi had no idea where they were headed. No other people could be seen, as if they had become the only two people left in the world. Izumi thought she should try to make up for her earlier show of poor etiquette by displaying her empathetic side.

“Is it really okay, what happened with your brother?” she asked. “No hard feelings? Aren't you at least a little bit resentful? I couldn’t well blame you, even if you were. It’s not like I killed the guy because I liked it, but he really was pure evil—I mean, let’s just say we had a lot of trouble agreeing with each others’ views. And I was kind of drunk when it happened—not that I think that’s a valid excuse, but...Er, never mind. ‘I’m sorry’, that’s what I was trying to say. I’m earnestly repenting. Had I known, I...”

On a second thought, she wasn't being sensitive at all.

Fortunately, Carmelia appeared to be exceptionally patient—or even if she wasn’t, she superbly hid it.

“My brother and I were not terribly close,” she said. “He was the youngest of us thirteen siblings, while I was the eldest. At heart, I considered him a disgrace. Coveting my power and fame, he embarked on the path of an arcanerian, even though his talent for the Art was meager. In all his life, he could barely master one aspect of the Aelementarium, while presenting like his bloodline alone made him superior to all. I found his childish boasting distasteful, among many other parts of his character, including his odd fascination with human males. But, as humiliating as his existence was, I suffered him, for we lived difficult times and there was not one man, woman, or child, who didn’t matter. Nevertheless, even though his passing is a loss to us and our endeavors, I fail to genuinely mourn it. Rather, for ridding me of this shame, perhaps I should be grateful to you, human.”

“Izumi,” Izumi said.

“Pardon me?”

“Oh, my name. Itaka Izumi, that’s me. I'm a bit touchy about the given name, but you can use that too, if you want to. You're pretty, so I’ll okay it!”

Ignoring her, Carmelia walked on.

“I have more questions for you,” she said. “I heard that the rumor about the Imperial cadets' shipwreck was true. That a daemon crossed the sea to Noertia aboard their vessel. The survivors of the Felorn expedition reported that they encountered the beast outside the woods, and drove it off after a fight. I find this tale somewhat...unlikely. Considering the circumstances, I am inclined to believe they invented this account to excuse the unreasonable losses they’d incurred in the forest. You came to the city together with them, yes? Were you there to see what happened?”

“Yeah, I was there,” Izumi reluctantly answered. “And it happened, I guess.”

It wasn’t something she wanted to recall in detail. However, her questioner wouldn’t let Izumi off that easily. The cirelo stopped again and aimed another tense sideways glance at the woman. That stare sure was unsettling.

“One of the witnesses claimed you were the one who defeated the creature,” she said.

Izumi forced herself to look back into the evaluating eyes under the clean-cut bangs. Those eyes—it was only now, under the better lighting, that Izumi saw they were the color of smoky amber.

“Not really,” Izumi averted her face and shrugged. “It was definitely my loss.”

“Yet, you live. Not many who have fought the Enemy may say the same.”

“Live?”

Izumi looked down at her open palms.

“I wonder about that,” she said. “I’ve thought about it every night since, and I think I’m starting to understand; it wasn’t a victory we had that day. We didn’t escape and it didn’t let us go. That’s not what this is about. That battle goes on, even now. This is all part of the ‘hunt’. For that thing, even this whole continent is just one big playground. No matter where we go, no matter how much time passes, so long as we both live, I’m going to have to face it again. And it’s only then that the real winner will be decided. Knowing this, knowing my own weakness, I don’t think I achieved anything of worth that day.”

The sorceress remained silent, and Izumi went on,

“No one has seen the true face of a daemon and lived...Mira-rin said that. I’m sure this is what she meant. Whatever I do from now on, it’s all just a prelude for that day—the day, when I’ll have to fight a battle I can’t win. Even if I somehow pulled through this once, there’s a whole land out there full of those monsters. This game’s broken, isn’t it? I mean, if it really were a game, I could just quit and try something else, but that’s not even an option here, is it? No matter how you look at it, this world’s done for. Whatever we do or try, or how hard we work, we can lose all we love in just a flash, in some horrible way we can’t even imagine. Living with such knowledge can’t really be called living. If that’s how it is, why even bother—”

——“Because we can!”

Carmelia suddenly interrupted Izumi, a furious light appearing in her eyes. The sorceress’s formerly quiet tone grew loud enough to fill the whole hallway, stunning the woman into silence.

Of all the things Izumi had said that night, this had to have been the most insensitive by far. For in front of her stood someone who had lost her entire civilization, a history and culture spanning tens of thousands of years, to said creatures. Was her people's centuries-long struggle to get it back only a waste of time then? Would it have been better if they simply gave up and withered away, consumed by their overbearing grudge?

Who had the right to judge them, if anyone?

“S-sorry?” Izumi apologized.

“We need not weak, fleeting things like hope to fight evil,” Carmelia told her. “We fight, because it is possible for us. Because our spirit of resistance is the one thing they cannot take from us, even were we to bleed out before finding fulfillment. And whether with hope or without, we will succeed. There will be a way.”

“I-is that right…?”

“Life is not lived for the sake of losing it,” the sorceress added, turning away. “What we’ve built is not only history. It is the proof that we existed. It is what brought us to this day. We won’t be erased from time so easily. One day, the daemon plague will be cleansed from this world, and we will take back what was ours, even if we have to rebuild it all over again from nothing. And I'll have you help me with that, human.”

While Izumi remained on her toes, Carmelia continued ahead.

“Come. There is someone you have to meet.”

The two came to a spacious room with an unexpected view. On a glance, it had looked like another narrow hallway, but Izumi soon realized her mistake. The room was actually very wide, but divided by numerous, great rows of bookshelves, all tall as the walls.

From floor to ceiling, from front to back, extended countless ranks of books, large, heavy tomes, frail scrolls, yellowed stacks of papers, and leather-bound notes, new and old, worn out and pristine. There they were, in a dizzying quantity, loaded in the high shelves, attached to which were mobile ladders of various sizes to help the willing reader reach whatever works of the written word they desired.

Not all the books could fit in their appropriate places; haphazardly compiled piles dotted the marble flooring here and there along the walkways, with other misplaced documents and miscellaneous items among them.

It was certainly a place fit to be called a library.

Izumi’s ambitions as a reader had mostly been limited to juvenile light novels in the past, so she failed to fully appreciate the treasure trove of knowledge she now beheld. Nevertheless, she eyed the shelves with humble respect, as she quietly followed after Carmelia, along a wide crimson carpet across the room.

Right in the middle of the library hall was a long, rectangular table of dark wood—also heavily loaded with books, notebooks, and parchments—and there were a number of empty chairs around it.

To the left from the table, by the nearest bookshelf, was also a cozy-looking sofa, red as the carpet.

On that sofa, a figure could be seen sleeping.

The sleeper was half buried under a pile of newspapers, with the apparent intent to keep the ceiling lamps from hindering his rest. Newspapers, indeed. Izumi was curious to observe that the Empire had invented rotary press.

Carmelia walked directly to the sofa, and gave it an unexpectedly energetic kick.

“Wake up,” she told the sleeper.

“Whoa! Wait! What!?”

Startled by the rough jolt, the unknown person struggled up from under the stack of papers. From beyond the big, bold headline—which failed to mention Izumi's scandalous attempt on the Emperor’s life—soon emerged the face of a young man.

In his early twenties by the looks of him, the man was quite slim and roughly the same height as Izumi, who at five feet and six inches was exceptionally tall for a woman of her people. Still, that left the youth somewhat lightweight for an adult male. Carmelia was considerably taller than either of them.

The man was dressed in tidy black trousers, a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up above the elbows, a black cotton vest over the shirt, as well as shiny leather shoes on his feet. He was quite good-looking, even if a bit of a baby-face, Izumi thought. The man’s short black hair was neatly combed to one side, and a pair of thick-rimmed spectacles on his nose gave his appearance the much required touch of maturity and intellect.

Izumi was a bit surprised to note that instead of the inhabitant of a medieval fantasy land, the youth looked like someone you might see on Earth. As a matter of fact, in his formal clothing, he resembled a western reporter or some such office worker, much like the ones she had seen in famous movies from overseas.

“Well, I’ll be...” Seeing Izumi, the young man slowly stood up from the couch, fixing his glasses, looking no less surprised than she was, before a wide smile spread across his lips. “So you're the one?”

“The one...?” Izumi repeated with a frown.

Taking a step forward, the youth extended his hand to the woman,

“Benjamin Watts,” he introduced himself. “New York, 1930. Please call me Ben.”

2

So many things had happened, Izumi had by this point completely forgotten the words of late wizard Yornwhal from two weeks ago. Correctly guessing Izumi’s identity as a visitor from another planet, the old magician had then revealed that there was another summoned human staying at the Imperial Court. As those words returned to her now, the reality of them before her eyes, Izumi couldn’t hide her astonishment.

“Eh?” she stared at the young man and exclaimed. “Eeehh!? New York? You are...? So you're the other person who got summoned? I—my! This is a surprise! I'm Izumi, Itaka Izumi. From—”

“—No, don't say it!” The man called Benjamin quickly raised his finger to interrupt her. “Those features...A moment, please. Asian…? Chinese?”

“Japanese...” Izumi corrected him, her earlier tension instantly dissipating.

“Ah! The Land of the Rising Sun? Yes!” The young man exclaimed, waving his arms. “I can't believe this! This is amazing! Wow, I'm just...it’s incredible. First, I'm summoned into another world, to a whole different plane of existence, and now, for the first time since, I'm actually having a conversation with someone else from my home world. I never believed this day would come! I’m not alone in the universe anymore! Not that I was before, exactly, but—you know what I mean! Words simply fail to describe this feeling! Words, yes! We—we understand each other! Though we were born in different countries, we speak the language of this world like it's perfectly natural for us! How absurd is that!? What are the laws that govern these things? It’s phenomenal. It’s like...magic. It literally is magic, huh? Wow. Thank—God, I'm alive to experience this.”

He certainly wasn’t left at a loss of words over this extraordinary encounter.

“I guess it is pretty amazing, yes,” Izumi agreed, wondering if her initial reaction should've been more like his. “But, 1930...Doesn’t that mean you've been summoned from nearly a hundred years further in the past than me?”

“A hundred years? Are you for real?” Benjamin gasped, before snapping his fingers. “A-ha! But that confirms it! My theory!”

“Theory?”

The young man dashed to the nearby table and went rummaging through the papers and notes covering its surface.

“For how long have you been here, precisely?” he asked.

“...Around four weeks, I think?” Izumi tried to count, not very precisely.

The passage of time had been difficult to keep track of while on the road. There weren’t many clocks or calendars available either, and her memory wasn’t so accurate.

“Four weeks!” the man exclaimed. “That’s amazing! This is a terribly interesting point, don't you think? We've been summoned from points separated by a whole century of time, yet there's only a couple of months' of difference in our appearances here on Ortho. Can you see what this means?”

“Um, what?” Izumi asked, feeling a little stupid. Following the youth’s rapid fire speech made her dizzy.

“I’ve been trying to infer the finer details behind the summoning magic that brings people to this world. What are its limitations, what can it do, and what it can’t. I mean, it can to transport people clearly over who knows how great distances, perhaps even across universes, but how does it do that, really? Is it one way only? Why the people of Earth, can it be any planet with life? Is there life on other planets, or were we chosen in specific? Is the target picked at random, or are there special qualifications one must meet to be eligible? Things like that.”

The youth gestured with his hands, as if trying to will a descriptive image into existence,

“Basically, I see two possible explanations at this juncture. Either the summoning magic can pick up people from any age or place, past, present, or even future, conveniently ignoring the dimensions of time and space altogether—it’s completely random, see? OR, the second possibility is that the worlds themselves don’t align in any way. It’s not a problem of distance, clearly. When the ritual is carried out, the delivery is instantaneous, there is no perceptible margin there. For that one moment, and one only, the two worlds are connected, but at all other instances, there might be no real correlation between them. Which means, you couldn’t simply build a rocket and fly back to Earth, provided we somehow found out where it was, relative to our position in space. Even if we could radio home and tell them, ‘please come pick us up, here are the coordinates’, the chances are, the home we come from does not actually exist in this universe at all, but is somewhere completely removed from us, and normally inaccessible. Hey, what do you think?”

“Um, I haven’t really thought about that...at all...” Izumi was forced to admit.

Her own interest towards the circumstances of planet Earth were non-existent, after all.

“Ah, I’m sorry,” Benjamin suddenly apologized. “It must be quite the hard bite to swallow, the idea that going back might be unthinkable for us. I’ve had some time to come to terms with the idea, but just throwing it in your face like that, when we only just met...I got carried away. I’m sorry. It’s ultimately just a theory, all right. Don't let it get to you. I’m sure it is possible that you may still see your family again some day.”

“No, it’s fine,” Izumi said. “I don’t really mind.”

Rather, the idea of it being impossible was a relief for her, if true. Was it strange of her to feel that way? Izumi’s lukewarm attitude didn’t seem to bother the man, however.

“A hundred years!” Benjamin exclaimed, already moving on, searching through the mess on the table. “But if that's really the case, then you have to tell me absolutely everything that's happened in our world after I was brought here. Everything. How much has changed in a hundred years—I can't even imagine! Every little detail. A lifetime’s worth of knowledge from the future! I have to write this down, where’s my pen, pen, pen, pen—”

—“Ahem.”

Carmelia's diplomatic cough interrupted the one-sided conversation.

“Pardon me,” the sorceress said with a faint smile, “but there is a certain matter I must discuss with this woman, so I ask that you to leave it at quick greetings for now. Otherwise, the day will have passed before we get anywhere.”

“Ah,” Benjamin exhaled a disappointed sigh. “I suppose I have to hold back for now. But afterwards, Ms Izumi, do entertain me with your story for a bit. I insist.”

“Eh, okay, sure,” Izumi nodded, not entirely sure what she was agreeing to.

“Really, really happy to have met you!” the man waved after her. “Later! It’s a promise! Don’t forget!”

“This way, please,” Carmelia beckoned Izumi, who followed after the sorceress through the library, towards a doorway in the other end.

The two eventually arrived in a spacious room empty of all furnishings, books, tables, and such. There was a tranquil, noble air hanging in the air, quite different from the rest of the palace, as if the room had been sliced out of a different culture altogether.

It seemed unusually luxurious for the quarters of a simple court magician. A reception hall, one might have called it, for a noble to meet equally high-profiled guests in private, although in its splendor it would have been comparable to a throne room in most kingdoms. A large, exquisitely carved chair was set up on an elevated spot by the right side wall, tall candle stands surrounding it.

Izumi had a hard time picturing old Yornwhal in such a chair. Regardless, as if it were the most natural place for her, the bare minimum of passable, Carmelia took the extravagant seat, leaving Izumi standing before it.

“No one else may overhear us now, so let us speak directly,” the cirelo told her.

“Um, okay,” Izumi nodded. Not like she had a choice.

“As said, I did not free you from captivity out of the kindness of my heart. Neither was it gratitude for the slaughter of my kin. For as wretched as he was, Joviél of Elevro was still of an infinitely higher origin than your human kings and princes. Your life and freedom would not be enough to reimburse a sin so heavy. Not the lives and freedom of all your people. Nevertheless, I have brought you here today because I saw a need for a person of your talents. Thus, hear out my modest request, a plea.”

“What is it?” Izumi asked.

In her usual solemn tone, as if requesting the acquisition of a dozen bear hides, the Court Wizard answered,

“I want you to finish what you started——and kill the Emperor.”

“Huh?” Izumi wrinkled her brows. While not entirely unexpected, per se, she didn’t think she would hear such a request from one of his majesty’s closest confidants.

However, no misunderstanding had occurred.

“Slay Mayeshwal III,” Carmelia continued, “by whatever means possible, at whatever cost necessary. I shall assist you in this task as I am able and offer my own house as your shelter for the duration of this quest. Following the successful completion of it, I will see to it that you walk free, with whatever earthly reward you may ask for. What do you say, human? Will you do it?”

It was an absurd, immoral request, which by all means demanded more time to be thought through.

However, Izumi didn’t consider her answer for long.

“I already told you, didn't I?” she said with a troubled frown. “I looked the guy in the eye and he didn't seem that bad to me. I let him go once, and when I decide something, I try to stick to it too. No matter how I’m a woman, changing my mind every other day gets kinda nutty. So thanks for the offer, but I'm going to have to pass.”

“You were deceived,” Carmelia replied, unfazed. “The Emperor is not the kind of a man you think he is. He is petty and prideful. Remorseless, ruthless, ingenious in his cruelty. He perceives himself to be the equal of the Old Gods, toying with his allies and enemies alike, and feels nothing for betraying them on a whim. He has set uniting all the races as his purpose—with himself as the tyrant to rule over them all, his Empire reigning supreme. His ambitions cannot be allowed to manifest.”

“Isn't that the best way to beat the daemons?” Izumi asked. “Either you put up with his bad personality in order to get everybody together, or else you're stuck fighting each other. Which is the lesser evil then?”

“A valid point,” the elven woman remarked. “I also once found supporting his greed to be the most efficient course of action. But having grown to know the man better over the years, I have been forced to re-evaluate my stance. He is liable to cause more harm than he does good. Creating an alliance against the daemons was not the Emperor’s idea, no matter how he’s claimed authorship of it. This project has been long in the making. Too long for it to fail due to the shortcomings of his obsessive character. We will find another way. As we always have.”

“We?” Izumi repeated.

She waited for the sorceress to go on, and after a pause, Carmelia did.

“I am a member of a group that calls itself, Alantea Dalantiri, or 'Circle of Pale Ashes' in your tongue. For two hundred years, ever since the failed attempt to reclaim our homeland, we have been working in the shadows to unite the intelligent races for a second attempt. This time, leaving no card unplayed. Ushering peace by binding oaths of co-operation one way, eliminating unwanted obstacles elsewhere, we have crowned kings as well as overthrown them, started wars and prevented them, to steer the course of history in every land, towards this one goal. To defeat the daemons. In Noertia, we chose to support the Empire of Tratovia, because we deemed this nation to have the best possible prerequisites for controlling the other human nations. But the Emperor has gone too far. We extended to him a hand on the eve of our doom, and he presumes to take advantage of our collective plight to lord over us. His arrogance is unforgivable. No matter what, we cirelo will never bow to him. Each day that man draws breath adds a strain on our fragile alliance. Time is running out. If this goes on, our plans over two long centuries in the making will be returned to the ashes whence they were born. The Emperor must be removed—and be replaced with a ruler the nonhuman races may endorse. Otherwise, there will be no unity. Only slow decay, and the inevitable daemon apocalypse.”

Izumi listened patiently to the end.

As convincing as the argument was, her answer remained skeptical.

“No offense, but I have no guarantee that you’re telling me the truth, do I? What happened to your people seriously sucks, I admit, but it’s not any of my business either, is it? And I’m not the kind of a gal who will do just about anything for money. So why should I agree?”

“If you will not help us, then I can only return you to where I found you.”

“I don't mind,” Izumi said and turned towards the doorway. “It's not like I asked to be let out in the first place.”

“And what of the princess?”

Izumi stopped.

“The Emperor will not let her go,” Carmelia said. “And there will be no peace with Langoria. All the pieces are already in position. Very soon, his majesty will declare an open war on her highness’s kingdom, burn the towns and villages, destroy all who oppose, enslave those who submit. He will humiliate her family before the child's eyes, then tear them apart, before burning her at the stake to crush the hearts of her people. And he will do so with a smile on his face. That is the manner of a man he is.”

Izumi recalled the face of the ruler she had so nearly cut down in the Throne Room.

The cold, steady resolve in his eyes.

“...I don't believe you,” she said, but couldn't be quite sure anymore. “Either way, you're a Court Wizard, aren't you? And an elf to boot. Can't you make the guy disappear with a spell or two? What do you even need me for?”

“I cannot act on my own,” the cirelo woman quietly answered. “Firstly, because everyone would know it was me. I am not here simply to offer my services as a master of mysticism. I am also an emissary representing my kind among humans. My being appointed a Court Wizard was, above all, a symbolic and a political gesture. A token of the co-operation between our peoples. And it is also through this high-profile position that the Empire can better keep an eye on me. Were I to make an attempt on his majesty’s life, it would mean war. A war on two fronts, which we cirelo cannot afford. However, even though he’s aware of our precarious position, the Emperor does not trust me. To that man, I will always remain only an outsider and a nuisance. And should he ever feel threatened on my part, it would mean the end of my life. If it’s to save our cause, even I am expendable, and he knows this. It leaves me with no other choice, but to depend on the aid of an outsider. It has to be a subtle blow in the dark, by an unaffiliated hand. An operator no one knows, has never heard of, as if they had not even existed before. Such as a human summoned from another world...”

The sorceress concluded her speech in those heavy words.

Izumi stood still, quietly thinking for a moment.

Killing the Emperor—no matter how she looked at it, her talents were being grossly overestimated. True enough, she had planned to do so before and had very nearly succeeded too. But only because she’d had the element of surprise. As said, she had come out of nowhere and existed outside anyone’s expectations. It had worked in her favor in this random, spur-of-the-moment act. But that advantage was now lost. Would she get so lucky the second time?

No way, right?

Then again, the target did believe her to be locked up in a prison...No, it was still a little too absurd. What reason did she have to risk her life, anyway?

It would have been only naïve to trust the word of this person she knew nothing about and who clearly had her private stake in the matter. Carmelia had every reason to hate humans, and Izumi in particular. It was unlikely that even success would keep her from a terrible fate, betrayed and eliminated to tie up the loose ends. In the event that she made it out alive, Izumi would only find herself an outlaw pursued by the largest nation on the continent, in addition to a shady organization of killers and schemers.

Only a complete idiot would agree to such a job, for any reward.

Therefore, after calmly and rationally assessing all the available options, Izumi made up her mind.

“Okay,” she nodded and faced Carmelia. “Try say, 'please help me, nyan~!' while holding your paws up like a cat, and I'll do it. Like this. Do your best to sound like a cute little kitty too!”

Izumi mimicked a beckoning cat with her hands.

“...Excuse me?” the sorceress blinked with a blank look.

“Now, if you get all upset on me, then I'll know your pride was more important to you than saving the world, and all this talk was just for show. After which I'll gladly return to my cell and go back to sleep. Well? How about it?”

“...”

Following a brief moment of silent contemplation, Caalan Litha Nidh Vi Vaniphelia, age six thousand four hundred and eighty-two, raised her pale hands, coiled her long fingers into paw-like fists, and said,

“Please help me. Nyan.”

Watching it happen, cursing her luck for not having her smartphone with her, Izumi felt her heart skip a beat. No, the intensity of the effect would have been better described as a minor cardiac arrest. She thought she was going to faint on the spot. Death by pure bliss.

Blood rushed into her head as Izumi quickly recovered and answered,

“Got it. I'm on it. I'll do it. Please let me do it. Consider it done. An emperor here or there. Just to make sure, how many emperors are there in the world? Maybe I should kill them all, just in case. Yup, once you decide to do something, you had better do a thorough job, that's what my dumb dad would always tell me. So, where do I start? Just point the way! It's time for heads to start rolling! Hurry, hurry!”

“Where did this sudden zeal come from...?” Carmelia shook her head, suddenly feeling unusually exhausted.

3

It had been some time since princess Yuliana Da Via Brannan last awoke alone. This morning, she did. She found herself in a large room on the topmost floor of one of the sky-scraping towers surrounding the Imperial Palace. It was a room befitting a princess by any conceivable standards, far above the rooftops of the common citizens. The bed alone was as large as the tents that could fit a squad of soldiers on the field. Not that Yuliana’s own bed in the castle of Walhollem had been much smaller. She should have been well used to such luxury by now.

And yet, she was lonely. The princess would have gladly traded her spacious quarters for a corner in a rustic barn, if only it meant having someone there to greet the first light with. Alas, only static silence surrounded her, and so the princess wordlessly got up and dressed.

Gone were her regal orichalcum armor and the matching robe. In their place, she’d been given a lavender dress, beautifully embroidered, and a precise fit for her youthful form. The dress was eye-catching enough to make her status known while remaining functional as clothing, veiling her figure, and not hindering her movements. But even if the attire was in good taste, it also brought back unpleasant memories.

Gifts of the Empire never came without a painful cost, dresses in particular.

No matter how she was treated a guest in name, the locked door alone showed the truth of the matter—that she was once again a prisoner to foreign powers.

As brave as she tried to be, Yuliana’s chest was heavy with concern. Not only over her own situation, of course.

What was to become of her friends?

Izumi was no doubt in the deepest pit of the city by now, awaiting her trial. That is, if a trial was ever going to be held and she hadn’t already been executed off the record. Her crime, if any, would have justified the cruelest of verdicts. The mere thought left the princess restless and kept her awake late into night, until the accumulated fatigue from the days on the road finally stole her to uninterrupted slumber.

Now that she was awake, Yuliana spent time restlessly pacing back and forth in her room, unable to bring herself to admire the breathtaking skyline outside the window of her chamber. No, her room was too high up already. Going too close to the opening in the wall made her turn immediately away with a nauseating fit of vertigo.

When not concerned over Izumi’s plight, Yuliana was reminded of that of her mentor. Even if the uncannily crafty earthling could somehow take care of herself, Miragrave’s situation was hardly any better. How would the Emperor reward the Colonel’s failure, the decimation of the Imperial elite company for no tangible gain, culminating in the delivery of an assassin to the court?

In a way, this case was even more desperate than the previously mentioned. For whatever sentence would be given to her, fair or not, Miragrave would surely endure it without a word of complaint, and no intention to escape it. Such was her character, that even if no one would openly condemn her, she would condemn herself, and carry out the punishment with her own two hands. Even so, Yuliana wanted her to live.

It was hopeless to question whether her two friends deserved mercy or not.

No justice was on their side.

Yet, Yuliana loved both and wanted them to live, that was all.

Their lives, including the princess’s own, were now on the Emperor’s palm. They could be saved through no earthly battle or a duel, but only through the change of his majesty’s heart.

The princess couldn’t afford to forget the goal of her visit to Bhastifal either, which included pleading for the safety of her own kingdom. She wanted not only to save the lives of those close to her, but also the lives of her people. Wanting all, while having nothing to give in return, she was clearly asking too much and she knew it.

Yet, she had to succeed somehow. Nothing else but perfect success would do. Failure was simply not an option in any event.

By whatever means necessary—she had to convert the Emperor to her side!

Torn by painful impatience, Yuliana waited for servants to come interrupt her confinement and tell her what she wanted to hear the most: when the ruler of the City of Lords would agree to see her again.

Eventually, not soon enough for Yuliana, but sooner than could be reasonably expected, a pair of female handmaids unlocked the door and stepped in to wake her up and dress her. Finding the princess already both awake and appropriately clothed, they simply combed and braided her hair and applied light makeup.

In the process, Yuliana’s heart started to race faster and faster.

Why were they prettying her up, if not to meet someone important? Her wild hopes were lit to open blaze when one of the maids announced,

“Your highness. You are to join his majesty for breakfast. Please follow.”

Yuliana was led down from the tower and through the maze-like battlements towering over the streets of Selenoreion. The heights remained dizzying. The princess could only sigh in relief when they finally arrived in a garden on a west side terrace where no treacherous falls loomed too close.

There were several gardens around the palace, but this one was perhaps the most intimate of them. In other words, the smallest. It was the one best suited for a quiet, private breakfast, while still providing a good deal of fresh air in the company of exotic, fragrant flora. The center of the vast terrace was paved with white marble, with a long, slim table of dark wood on it, shielded by a canopy of common hop, which coiled around a framework of engraved ebony.

There were only two chairs, at both ends of the table, respectively.

His majesty was already there, admiring the morning and the pale blue sky, where isolated, fragmented clouds basked in the sun’s powerful rays. As soon as a male servant announced the princess’s arrival, the Emperor quickly stood to receive her.

“Your highness, I am glad you could join me,” he told her in his deep voice.

His attire was slightly less formal than last night, albeit no less black, with the collar of his shirt left casually unbuttoned. There was quite a speech Yuliana had thought to greet him with, but he already gestured her to go on before she could present a word. “Please, have a seat.”

Yuliana at one end of the table, the Emperor of Tratovia at the other—in spite of the warm reception and the uplifting weather, the tension was palpable.

Servants poured them tea. Red tea, leaves imported from the faraway island of Higoa in the east. Taking a sip, Yuliana went through her dialogue options again.

Which pressing matter should she bring up first? The fate of her friends? Or that of her country? Before she could decide, the Emperor made the decision for her.

“I want you to help me negotiate an alliance with your father,” he announced.

The man certainly didn't waste time getting to the point.

“An alliance?” Yuliana hesitantly repeated.

“Open war with Langoria would be meaningless,” he explained, predicting her thoughts. “What I want is not land or villages, far less the villagers themselves. We have enough mouths to feed as is. No, it’s access to the southern harbors of your kingdom that I seek. Military access, to be precise. So far, war has appeared to be the only viable option to achieve that, but perhaps not now. With your highness here, maybe there is a way we can reestablish the diplomatic connection we’ve lost as of late. Do you think you could lend me your aid in this endeavor?”

“What does your majesty need our harbors for?” Yuliana frowned, recalling the geography of the continent. Southern Langoria was far detached from the rest of the civilized world, the harbors employed mainly by fishing vessels.

“For access to the Numénn sea,” the Emperor answered, as if it were perfectly obvious. “No. Access to Amarno.”

“Amarno?”

The answer didn’t help her confusion, apparent on her face.

The man went on to explain,

“Yes. As vast as my Empire is, proper sea access is something of a limited luxury at the moment. In the west, Felorn forms a vast, impenetrable barrier for the most direct path to the Edrian Bay. In the northern waters, Melgier’s villainous pirates harass our ships, plunder our traders, and sabotage our shipyards. The Prince of Luctretz is incapable of dealing with the problem, allowing pirate king Cartognam to roam free. Hunting pirates while the principality shelters their ships and the uncharted isles of Girdan hide their bases is a waste of time. Time, which we do not have. I need harbors to assemble and outfit a fleet. Access to the untamed, untouched southern seas through the lands of Langoria—that is what I need.”

Yuliana couldn’t hide her involuntary shudder.

“Surely you can’t be thinking of...”

“An all-out assault on the realm of daemons, yes,” the Emperor leaned his elbows on the table and crossed his fingers. “It has to be now. Now or never. After all, this year may very well be our last in this world.”

“Gelsemanhe’s prophecy,” Yuliana quietly said. “Unless the Trophaeum is conquered by the winter solstice, and someone righteous restores the world again, the Age of Chaos will begin. And—”

“—All built by living hands will fall to ruin,” the man nodded. “You know your history.”

“I thought it was only a myth. Can it be real? I...Will we make it in time? There’s so little time left.”

“We must.”

Yuliana looked down at her tea cup, and the plate beside it on which a slice of toasted, gold-brown bread had appeared, together with a perfectly cooked vrill egg, and select, bright-colored vegetables. She didn’t have appetite.

“Father will not listen to me,” she said. “He doesn’t believe in the prophecy or the Covenant. He thinks it’s just an old fairy tale, that the Tower isn’t real. What’s worse, he thinks I’m a traitor. He must believe that I ran off because I’m conspiring against him, like everybody else. You must know, my father hasn’t been himself lately. He sees threats and schemes everywhere. I fear his high age has gotten to him. Coming to him with such a fable now would only enrage him more. There’s no way I can convince him, when I'm...”

“We’ll convince him together,” the Emperor told her in an assuring tone. “This isn’t only your fairy tale anymore. I will not leave you to shoulder this burden alone. The might of the Empire will be behind you. He has no choice but to listen. Or else face annihilation.”

“So you’ll go to war then? If he refuses?”

“What other choice do I have?” he shrugged. “Either Langoria burns. Or the world will.”

“What if—what if the prophecy isn’t true? We have no proof of it, do we? What if we are starting something we cannot take back, and it’s for no reason at all? A great many people could lose their lives. I was prepared to sacrifice myself to protect the Covenant. Even if it turned out that I had made a mistake, I would’ve been the only one to pay the price. But the thought of so many innocent people, for possibly no cause—I couldn’t live with that.”

“The future is set in stone,” the Emperor replied. “The Covenant is real, and so is the price of its breaking. There can be no mistake about that.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because so I've been told.”

“Told? By who?”

“The true Lords of Bhastifal,” he said. “Those, who were there to see the prophecy made.”

“Divines…?” Yuliana waited to see the man crack a smile, a sign that he was joking, ridiculing her. He showed none, remaining stern, and so she continued with a look of disbelief. “Your majesty can speak with spirits...? You mean to say they actually exist? In here? In this city? I’m sorry, but I find that a little...incredible.”

“Oh, they do exist.” The Emperor took his fork and knife, cut a large slice off of his crunchy toast and ate it with good appetite.

“Ask them yourself, if you don't believe me.”

4

Izumi yawned wide. Ever since she had been freed from the council with Carmelia, taken a bath, acquired a change of clothes, and had breakfast, the other summoned earthling, Benjamin Watts, had been bombarding her with questions non-stop. If there hadn’t been coffee, Izumi would’ve rioted, but Carmelia’s servants had miraculously managed to procure some from his majesty’s pantries. Therefore, the woman only apathetically listened as the youth carried on with his verbose queries, forcing a brief reply every once in a while.

Carmelia’s rank allowed her to have a whole section of the Imperial Palace to herself. It was a keep with one tower, a walled little yard and a gorgeous, multi-leveled terrace garden where small aqueducts delivered water to unknown flowers.

The most important part of the keep was the great library, however, which contained numerous ancient tomes not found anywhere else in the city, or the entire human world. This library also served as the headquarters of those conspiring against his Imperial majesty. To think that an organization plotting the ruler’s death had their stronghold in his own home...Izumi couldn’t decide if it was clever or just reckless.

The library was also where Benjamin dragged her to continue his interview.

“I see, I see! So man has reached the moon? Can that be true? You mean, they flew from one celestial object to another and back again with only a simple rocket and lived? That’s incredible! What year was it again? Nineteen, sixty-nine? I have to write this down...And who took the first steps up there? Oh, why couldn’t it have been me? No, wouldn’t you say that stepping into another universe entirely is by far more amazing, as achievements go? They didn't find any people on the moon, did they? So I did better. You don’t suppose there are any other summoned humans besides us two in this world? Can I say I was the first one? I’m totally taking credit.”

“Don’t know, and I’m seriously starting to hope not,” Izumi replied.

“So long as no one shows up to dispute it...right?” he winked. “The moons of Ortho seem pretty far away, I wonder if even magic could reach them? I thought about asking Carmelia, but there’s this kind of a difficult-to-approach, no-nonsense air about her, you know? How far does her portal spell reach, what do you think? It has to have some limitations, right? Surely not to other planets...”

“Probably?” Izumi shrugged. “I wouldn’t know, I’m not a magician.”

“Ah, yes, for some reason, humans from Earth can’t use local magic. What a shame...”

“Right...”

“Hang on,” Benjamin reached for a glass of water, while going through his notes, “about the second world war again, how many countries were involved, exactly?”

“You want me to name all of them? Give me a breeeeak...” Izumi bemoaned. In truth, she was secretly enjoying the conversation. Only, her age prevented her from getting too into it. She had to be the more mature one here. “World history wasn’t my strongest subject.”

“Why?” Benjamin looked astonished. “What are you talking about? Isn’t history the single most fascinating subject there is?”

“Well, I always wanted to get transported into another world, so I thought it was only a waste of brain space to learn about the old one...I would’ve rather memorized spell patterns than the dates of ancient wars and what somebody I don’t know did centuries ago.”

“Not quite sure if I can relate to that...”

“By the way,” Izumi thought of something, “I have a question too. What kind of a relationship do you have with Lia?”

“Huh? Lia?” the young man returned her a blank stare.

“I mean, you live here in her house like its your own, get to hang with her every day, act like you’re the best of friends, and I don’t see any other guys around...Are you her lover or something?”

“PFFFFFT—!” The young man spat his water all over his notes and started coughing frantically. Izumi had to whack him on the back to get him to breathe again.

“Don’t ever, ever say that again,” he scolded her. “She’ll kill me. Kill you. Kill us both.”

“Why?” Izumi shrugged. “What’s wrong with it? I don’t judge.”

“You don’t get it,” Benjamin shook his head. “To elves, we humans are no different from pigs. Lesser beings, get it? Our shared history is extremely brief, because before Amarno fell, they didn’t even consider us worth speaking to. Now, you wouldn’t take kindly to someone suggesting you sleep with animals, right? The same idea. Not very smart. A mortal insult. The fact that she’s come to the court and agreed to work with us is already a massive concession on their part. Unprecedented! She can’t be too happy about playing secretary to a bunch of apes, but she’s putting up with it for the common good. So try not to test her patience with topics of that nature, okay? Sheesh, this is bad for my heart!”

“Okaaaay...” Izumi agreed. Benjamin would probably choke for real, if he learned what she had made the sorceress do on the night before.

And yet, Carmelia had indeed done it, without a word of complaint.

For the common good.

Izumi was a bit moved.

“Shortly after I was summoned,” the man explained his circumstances, “it was deemed that I had...well, rather insignificant combat ability. They wanted a ‘champion’, as had been written in an ancient prophecy, so my position quickly turned—how should I say—‘precarious’. In the end, Lady Carmelia took me in, thus saving my life. I reckon she thought I was a curious specimen of an unknown species, or something along those lines? The lady’s a bit of a scientist too, you see? With my knowledge of the other world and scholarly ambitions, I suppose I managed to evoke her sympathies. Although, I can tell she’s getting somewhat bored with me already. Either way, I don’t mind being treated as a pet or a slave, so long as I don’t have to fight for food out there in the streets. Not at all. There’s no future for me outside the palace. I’m doing my best to learn more about this world, so that I might one day be of use to her. You know, return the favor.”

“Hm, I see,” Izumi nodded. “So Lia’s a good girl, after all, huh?”

“Oh, you wouldn’t believe...”

At that moment, the doors opened and, to speak of the devil, Carmelia entered the library. Benjamin stiffened up at once and silenced himself.

“Oh, morning,” Izumi casually greeted the elven woman.

Without responding to her, the Court Wizard glanced at the young man.

“The plan.”

“R-right away, ma’am!”

Benjamin got up from the table and hurried off to look for something.

Meanwhile, the sorceress’s gaze turned to Izumi.

“Have you dined and rested? Good. I will now tell you how to kill the Emperor.”

Soon enough, various documents were spread across the library table. All the relevant bits and pieces of information in the complex operation to take down the sovereign of the mighty Empire. Clearly the plot had been a while in the making.

“You actually agreed to this?” Benjamin asked Izumi. Apparently, he was in on the plot too. “Yikes. You have some guts, for a lady. Not that I don't like that.”

"Well, I gave my word,” Izumi evasively said. Courage had played no part in it.

“I'm impressed, I really am,” he told her. “But, I’d be lying if I said it was going to be simple.”

“It never is, is it?”

“No kidding. Firstly, there’s the Imperial Guard to mind. That means eight hundred elite knights stationed at Selenoreion, four hundred of them within the palace complex alone. This place never sleeps. Still, no matter how formidable they are, guards have routines, they have places where they have to be and where they won’t be. We’re right under the Empire’s belly here, hiding in plain sight. The guards will not pose a problem for us, so long as you stay mindful of their presence. The real problem are the unpredictable ones. That’s these guys.”

There was a stack of papers featuring some curious profile pictures, skillfully hand-drawn by an unnamed artist, in the absence of photography.

“The Guild of Heroes,” Carmelia continued the conversation in turn. “A band of mercenaries gathered mostly during the reign the previous Emperor. What began as a publicity campaign to raise public support for the northern war effort turned, over time, into something more. The members of the Guild are all accomplished, battle-hardened combatants, who have gone through the strictest selection process. They have each earned fame through genuine feats of war—in short, they are the strongest, most able soldiers of the Empire, fit to be called ‘champions’. The Guild is tasked with the most difficult and dangerous missions in and outside Tratovia’s borders, and are at complete liberty to determine how they go about their work. Above the law, they pledge their loyalty to the Throne alone. They hold authority over the army, including the Imperial Guard. Due to last night’s attack and their respective failures in the process, the Guild has set his majesty’s protection as their topmost priority. You will not be able to get to him again, not without going through these people first.”

“So, we’ve reached the tournament arc then?” Izumi sighed. “I thought I’d avoid this the best I could.”

“Fortunately for our efforts,” the sorceress ignored her odd remark and resumed, “of the present day heroes of the Guild, only four are present at the capital; the others are out on missions. Six are expected to return by the end of the week. In other words, if we are to strike, it has to happen before the reinforcements arrive, within the next six days. After that, our chances of slaying the Emperor will diminish beyond improbability.”

“So they’re good then? Those heroes?” the woman asked.

“You heard the lady,” Benjamin answered her. “The finest soldiers of the largest human Empire, which also makes them the finest of humanity as a whole. Want my opinion? They’re invincible. Don’t think of them as people, they’re monsters, every last one of them. I honestly wouldn’t even think about fighting these guys. It’s a suicide, no two ways about it. Maybe if I had a gun or something, but this world doesn’t have firearms.”

“Yet, there could be a way,” Carmelia said. “You defeated a cirelo arcaenarian, who outranked human magicians by far. You fought a daemon in personal combat and lived; a feat even only few of my kind are capable of. Last night, you humiliated Bramms of the Grand Shield and Shivgried the Impaler before the Onyx Throne. If anyone has a chance to succeed in this task, it is you, woman from the otherworld.”

Benjamin raised his brows at the outrageous merit list but chose to remain silent.

Izumi awkwardly scratched her neck and said nothing either. She hadn’t really thought about her past deeds as somehow extraordinary. They had been but a sum of educated guesses, calculated effort, and an extra helping of good luck.

“Divide and conquer,” Carmelia advised her. “We will eliminate the four heroes at the capital one by one, then take out the Emperor. All in six days’ time.”

“Quite the gauntlet,” the young man noted. “Think you’re up to it?”

“I already agreed, didn’t I?” Izumi shrugged.

“The greatest obstacle on your path will be him.” Carmelia singled out one of the Guild’s mercenaries and turned his page up, like it was an ace in a game of Texas Hold ‘em. The likeness of a muscular, rather cruel-looking man was drawn on it.

“Waramoti, Heaven’s Hand, a mercenary from the faraway land of Oss. Born and raised a warrior in the wild, under the harshest of conditions, his strength is unmatched. A master of every weapon known to the warring races, he has never lost a battle or failed a mission. No one has ever seen the man bleed or cry. Some believe him to be more than a man. And in a sense, he is.”

“Some kind of a demigod?” Izumi asked, tilting her head.

“No, he’s most certainly a flesh-and-blood human being,” Benjamin answered. “The thing is, his powers are not entirely his own.”

“The Three,” Carmelia raised another scattered page. “The Divine Lords of Bhastifal, the protectors of the Empire. They reside in the Grand Temple and bestow their blessings upon the land. Cinithlea, the Lord of Blue; Gwanlyn, the Lord of Marble; and Yubilea, the Lord of Scarlet Flame. For thousands of years, this city has basked in their glory, allowing the heart of the Empire to prosper unhindered by adversity. The Lords do not meddle in human affairs or politics, the Covenant prohibits this. They simply are. They are Tratovia itself. And so they should have remained.”

The sorceress threw away the page. On it, only the Lords’ temple was drawn. Depicting the great spirits themselves was prohibited.

“Waramoti has seduced the Lords,” Carmelia said. “As the result, the Three have granted him their favor, their powers, rendering the man effectively half a God. Yet, it is paramount to our objective that Waramoti is defeated. He is a lone wolf by nature, but should he team up with the other heroes, slaying the Emperor will become impossible. They will track us down and wipe us out.”

“So, how do you kill the guy?” Izumi asked, not sounding too stressed.

The topic didn’t seem very real to her in the first place. Even if she noticed it, Carmelia paid no attention to the woman’s carefree attitude, but answered,

“There is only one way for Heaven’s Hand to fall. You must make the three Lords remove their blessings before you challenge him. Render Waramoti a common mortal again and you shall triumph. Or, at least your chances of doing so will greatly improve.”

“How do you suppose I bring the Divines to my side then?” Izumi inquired.

“You will go and ask them,” the sorceress replied.

“Ask them?” Izumi repeated in disbelief. “Um, why would they even listen to me?”

“You will ask them nicely.”

“That’s...”

“There is no other way,” Carmelia said. “No matter how corrupt, they are Lords. Their kind cannot fall by human hands. We have no way to threaten them. Nothing to bribe them with. They are the Empire itself—how would you even begin to coerce such beings? Even my own might pales in comparison to the Three. Anger the spirits and they will destroy you. But approach them with humility and respect, and there may be a chance you will win their sympathy. The Three are a haughty and conceited lot, susceptible to flattery. Keep this in mind and see them with caution. Go today. The sooner we can take care of this, the sooner we can move on with the rest of the plan. Remember, the time limit is only six days. Six days between victory and certain defeat.”

“Why do I have to go see them, anyway?” Izumi argued. “Silver Tongue wasn’t one of my starting talents. Wouldn’t it be a better idea to send someone more accomplished in the ways of diplomacy instead? Rather, why don’t you go? You seem pretty gifted at coercing people, by what I’ve seen.”

“H-hey!” Benjamin felt Izumi was going overboard. But Carmelia didn’t seem to care for the slightly offensive remark.

“I cannot go,” she only slowly shook her head. “I have consulted the Three in the past and found our differences...insurmountable. I will see them nevermore. The feeling is mutual. My chances of succeeding at this task are zero.”

“What about you?” Giving up on the sorceress, Izumi asked Benjamin.

“Eh? Huh?” The young man look exasperated. “Me? Talk to the Three? T-that wouldn’t be a good idea.”

“Why’s that? You do know how to...talk, at least.”

Thirty minutes in the same room with you and they’d probably do anything to make you stop, Izumi thought, but had enough tact to not say it out loud. He could've cried.

“No,” Benjamin shook his head. “No way! These beings have the power to reduce you to cinders with a snap! They can abduct people across realities, affect events on a continental scale, and that’s not even the start of it. The very idea of speaking to such dreadful forces face-to-face makes me...want to look for a restroom, to be honest. No, I absolutely refuse.”

“Well, I don’t like it either!” Izumi bemoaned. “Why do we have to do this, anyway? If he’s that strong, wouldn’t this Barramundi guy kill the Emperor for us instead? Rather, why hasn’t he already? If he’s borderline god, why’s he content with serving somebody else, instead of taking the throne for himself.”

“A good point,” Benjamin replied. “I’ve been wondering the same, actually. Nobody really knows his motives. Waramoti’s not known to be particularly obedient as a soldier or good with authorities, but he also insists he’s not interested in ruling.”

“Perhaps he will one day change his mind,” Carmelia injected, “but we do not have the time to wait for that to happen. Neither do we want to trade a tyrant for another. For now, Waramoti’s loyalties are unquestionably with the reigning Emperor. Attempts to sway him risk bringing his ire upon us. Slaying him quickly before he is made aware of our plans is in our best interests. Undo his protections, catch him by surprise, and claim his head. Think of this as your trial run before going after the other heroes.”

“I get it, I get it...” Izumi sighed. “I’ll go have a chat with the spirits then, as weird as that sounds. Have to admit, I’m a bit curious to see if the Lords here are as pretty as Ai-chan.”

The other two didn’t quite comprehend her reasoning.

“I have conditions, though,” she said.

“Again?” Carmelia’s expression clouded.

Izumi stated her demand with some sense of seriousness.

“I want to make sure Yule and Mira-rin are safe. If possible, I’d prefer that they didn’t pointlessly worry about me either.”

“Who?” Benjamin raised a brow.

“The Princess of Langoria and Colonel Marafel,” the sorceress inferred. “I cannot consent to that. Both are heavily guarded. I do not have the authority to change that, nor can I take you to see them. Any written correspondence is liable to fall into enemy hands. Our plan relies on his majesty assuming you remain imprisoned. Being discovered while making contact with outsiders would mean the end of the line.”

“Then, you have better ideas?” Izumi asked. “I just need to get a message to them and back again, to check how they’re doing.”

“Is it entirely necessary? You will see them again when it is over. I doubt anything will be done about them in the next few days.”

“That won’t do,” Izumi refused. “I can’t focus on something this tricky if I have to worry about the well-being of my friends at the same time. I’ll be counting on you, Lia! You’re super smart so you’ll think of something.”

“And what if something does happen to either of them?” Carmelia asked. “It is not in my power to guarantee their safety. Their lives ultimately remain in his majesty’s hands.”

“Well,” Izumi thought, “if Mira-rin kicks the bucket, it will really, really, really be a shame, but I guess I can live with that. I mean, she’s a grown-up and should be able to look after herself. But...”

Black anger started to burn within Izumi at the very thought of the other scenario.

“...If anything bad happens to the princess, I will kill everyone I can get my hands on until dying myself. Of course, by that point, your plot will be good as over too.”