episode_0030

As soon as the summons were issued to my subordinates, she was the first to rush over.

Freya of the Lost.

At first glance, her dignified and modest appearance perfectly suited the term ‘noblewoman’, complete with an elaborate drill-like hairstyle twisted into spirals.

Unlike her initial appearance, which seemed as cold and elegant as ice, her composure didn’t last long in front of me.

“Ah, Rain-nim!”

As soon as she saw me, her face flushed with ecstasy, and warmth seeped into her usually ice-cold face.

“…Freya.”

“That’s right, it’s this maiden! For Rain-nim to call my name… my body is trembling with ecstasy!”

Seeing her like this, it wasn’t just warmth; it felt overwhelmingly burdensome, like an active volcano.

“Miss Freya.”

Sure enough, Aria, who always guarded my side, stepped in front of her.

A brief silence hung between the two. In the air that felt almost like a chill, Aria broke the silence and spoke.

“…It’s good to see you again, Freya.”

A smile, uncharacteristically soft for her.

“I’m also delighted to see Lady Aria like this! And Alice has become a wonderful young lady too, I see.”

“Yep, yep! Alice learned how to laugh like a lady now! Ahem, watch this! Hohohoho!”

“Hohohoho!”

“…”

When Alice laughed like a young lady, Freya also covered her mouth with the back of her hand and laughed like one. I couldn’t laugh.

“By the way, I truly regret it!”

After laughing, Freya continued speaking.

“To think you came to the Duchy and didn’t immediately summon this maiden—even knowing how ardently I adore Rain-nim more than anyone!”

“…”

I didn’t answer. To be honest, I found it hard to say anything.

“As you instructed, train tickets for the Bretona Empire have been prepared.”

Along with that, Golden Mirror Robert submitted his report. Beside him was Ergo, who had somehow changed into men’s attire.

Incidentally, it wasn’t just any men’s attire, but the black uniform of the Imperial Guard. And with rather high-ranking insignia on it.

“Train tickets?!”

It was then.

“How dare the train that carries Rain-nim, our Rain-nim, be merely one owned by others! I cannot tolerate it. Immediately, my family will prepare an express train befitting Rain-nim’s status…”

“Freya.”

I cut her off and answered.

“As I said, I have no intention of drawing unnecessary attention.”

“Ah, oh, yes…”

As soon as she heard that, Freya hastily lowered her voice and bowed her head.

“Um, I, I… was wrong, Rain-nim.”

After bowing, she mumbled in a voice as faint as an ant’s crawl.

*

“Monster!”

“What’s that monster doing roaming around here?!”

Voices pointing fingers at him were heard from somewhere as he walked through the streets.

“Huh? Monster?”

At those words, the man blinked and looked around, then realized that they were directed at him.

“That’s right, there’s no place for a monster like you in this country!”

“Get lost, you brainless wolf-head!”

It was a bustling street in broad daylight. In that very street, even if one possessed the same intelligence as humans and could communicate in the same language, a person with a ‘wolf’s face’ was not tolerated.

Because their appearance was no different from a monster’s.

That was the treatment most non-human races received in the Bretona Empire, a land of intelligence, culture, and civilization.

Of course, there were ways to hide it, such as pulling a hood low or using magic. But the man didn’t do that.

So, every time he went out, he encountered troubles like this, yet he didn’t mind.

“You, demi-human.”

Before long, city guards were striding towards him.

“Can you prove your legitimate right to reside in this country?”

In front of that perfunctory question, the man, Lone Wolf Sandalphon, shrugged his shoulders.

“Proof? I can prove it anytime.”

“Show it now.”

“Ah, just a moment.”

After shrugging, he took it out from his neatly tailored suit and handed it over. There was no need to cause unnecessary trouble everywhere he went.

“Even if you have the right to stay, your appearance itself is an act against Imperial law. To put it nicely, cover that hideous and repulsive form with even a rag.”

“Hmm, really?”

Listening to the guard’s words, the werewolf scratched his mane.

After scratching, he lightly clenched his fist then opened it, and then, with all his might—.

“…My apologies.”

It was the moment he was about to swing. Suddenly, a shadow was beside Sandalphon, grasping his arm.

“What, are you with him?”

The guards in front of them, unaware that their necks had almost been severed, calmly asked again.

The shadow holding the werewolf’s arm silently nodded.

“Yes.”

“!”

Only then did Sandalphon also stare wide-eyed upon seeing the identity of the man beside him.

For reference, that identity was me.

“Then get out of here right now with that two-legged mongrel!”

“I will.”

I said nothing more and simply turned my back. As we retreated and moved away, the Lone Wolf, who was now following beside me, asked again.

“C-Commander, why are you here?!”

“…I sent a telegram, did you not receive it?”

“Ah, that! I did receive it, but you see! I forgot the code, so I didn’t know what it was saying! Kahat!”

Sandalphon scratched his head nonchalantly and laughed. After laughing, he suddenly erupted in fury and shouted.

“More importantly, Commander! Why did you spare those mere punks?! Tearing them apart right now wouldn’t even satisfy me!”

“…It will be so.”

I glanced sideways and replied.

Looking at the palace that towered so high it was visible even from here, built of cast iron and glass, shining like crystal.

True to its name, the Crystal Palace, it was composed solely of steel frameworks and glass, allowing its interior to be transparently glimpsed through the shining luster in the sunlight.

Furthermore, the specialness of that place wasn’t just that it was built of iron and glass.

“No way, the reason Commander came all the way here…”

“As you see.”

“H-holding on, just in case. You know what kind of event is being held there, right?”

“Yes.”

“A-even if it’s the Commander—.”

As soon as he saw that look, Sandalphon blinked and asked again, his voice filled with disbelief.

“That’s why I sent telegrams to everyone.”

“!”

Except for one person who received the telegram but couldn’t decode its contents because they didn’t know the code.

“To summon everyone, without a single exception.”

“Th-then, surely not. Here right now, everyone…”

“You’re the last.”

I replied.

I barely managed to swallow back the words “true to his name” that were about to slip out.

It was a good thing he was still in Imperial territory, at least. Though, I suppose Aria would have found a way back then too. Probably.

“Right now, I want to tear this chest apart and…”

As soon as he heard that, Sandalphon mumbled in a trembling voice, blood dripping from his lips.

“I want to rip out my heart and atone! Right now, before the Commander’s very eyes!”

“…”

“Please, Commander! Let me atone for my sins with my own hands!”

He had bitten his lips so hard, and clenched his fists so tightly, that blood was dripping from his hands. Not just blood, but chunks of flesh were falling.

“Don’t harm your body needlessly.”

So I added, dumbfounded.

“Instead—stand alone at the vanguard. And endure all the wounds everyone else would suffer.”

“!”

“That will be enough atonement.”

At those words, the flowing blood stopped. No sooner did I think it had stopped than the wounds etched on his body vanished as if by magic. As if he had never been injured in the first place.

“Kahat! It seems I’ll have to pay for this until I die!”

*

“The Expo… seems it will be held successfully as scheduled.”

At that hour, in a secret room in the Bretona Empire’s capital.

The man known as ‘the Queen’s Rabbit’, Oswald Rabbit, head of the Imperial Secret Intelligence Bureau, spoke.

“Cooperation with the Holy Kingdom and the Duchy is also proceeding smoothly, and as planned, it will be an event truly worthy of the name ‘World Expo’.”

“It’s not just any country, but a gathering held at the very heart of our homeland.”

A young girl, standing on the cusp between childlike charm and maturity, with the pouring sunset behind her, replied.

“There is no need for concern, Your Majesty. Please, have faith in Your Majesty’s homeland.”

“Faith isn’t important.”

It was merely an expo.

But it wasn’t the trivial and utterly boring expo everyone imagined.

“Only the truth matters.”

Its official name—the World Military Expo.

There were no industrial products or art crafts that would at best capture children’s interest.

Because everything there existed to kill people and shatter nations.

Things that kill people and shatter nations had come there to prove they were superior to those of other countries.

“The truth that this nation’s sun will not waver before any other country’s new weapons and new military might.”

“I believe in Your Majesty and the truth of this nation, Your Majesty.”

At this event, the power and results showcased and boasted by each nation would greatly shake the continental situation.

New weapons, armaments, armies, and even the martial prowess displayed and showcased by the strongest representatives of each nation. Not a single thing could afford to lose.

Therefore, even to secure that hegemony, the three nations were vying fiercely to ‘prove their strength’. Right up until the day the event was held.

“…Please watch over me, Mother.”

The girl who carried the sun whispered softly.

Nike Pendragon II.

The Queen of this nation, who had the goddess of victory and the head of a dragon etched into her name.