We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Assassins from the Aristocratic Council.
To be honest, we were all exhausted, so we weren’t performing the Thanksgiving Dance the entire time. Nevertheless, the spirits really loved our dancing, singing, and music, and they joined in the revelry.
And then, all of us who live in this land spent a short but deeply meaningful time together.
When the spirits become active, nature begins to stir.
The land that had risen and fallen didn’t become completely flat, but the cracks narrowed, and if you looked closely, you could see sprouts of flowers and grass.
As long as life force returned to the land, all that was left was for people to till the soil and for everyone to plant trees to restore nature.
“Phew, I’m tired…”
Although we danced the Dragon Sword Dance with branches and fans instead of swords, it was really fun.
By the way, this branch, or rather, this tamagushi, is a branch from Spirit Tree, isn’t it?
Knowing Ares-chan, she might have secretly taken a branch from Spirit Tree.
Putting that aside. By performing the Thanksgiving Dance together, I was once again made to feel that the Dragon Sword Dance is not just a technique for fighting.
“Good work, everyone.”
Mistral and everyone else rested as they pleased.
In a little while, the sun would set beyond the ridge of Dragon Peak, and night would fall.
So much happened since early morning, the day flew by.
Amira was distributing water to everyone, though I don’t know when she prepared it.
I took some and asked for another helping!
Everyone else also happily received water from Amira.
Moreover, Amira herself is also weakened, so she shouldn’t push herself!
Alf hastily tried to help, but Alf himself had just survived a near-death experience, so the villagers, my family, and I all tried to help. Then, sensing each other’s concern, everyone laughed merrily.
As I vaguely watched that scene, I also smiled, thinking, “It’s good.”
It was the most difficult trial we’ve ever faced, but we managed to save Amira and Alf safely.
At first, I overlooked something important and was always one step behind, unable to act effectively, but since it ended with everyone smiling, I should be able to rejoice honestly, right?
Well, even so, it would be great if the remaining few problems could also be resolved completely!
“…Now, let’s take care of the other cleanup.”
“Yes.”
With a grunt, we spurred our tired bodies to get up and ended our break.
Mistral, ominously, drew his one-handed club from his waist!
Not only us, but Alex and the villagers also tightened their relaxed guard and began to prepare for the next action.
“Well then, shall we ask them to come out soon? It’s no use hiding, Guen!”
My shout echoed across the evening wilderness.
“…As expected, we’ve been found. ‘Cross over.'”
Then, a voice reached us from the shadow of the uplifted land visible in the distance.
And then, the figures of people we didn’t want to see appeared before us, two of them.
“My, my. Honestly, I wanted to slip away unnoticed, but…”
“Did you think we would allow that?”
The one who appeared before us with a nonchalant expression was, of course, Guen.
And beside Guen, there was someone else.
As expected, it seems this one also survived.
Standing there, protected by Guen, was the man we all hated.
“Well, I shall commend you for your fine work!”
It was beyond exasperation.
Even at this point, the one who acted arrogantly towards us was Gildia, the new lord of this land.
Just as Alex and the others survived the collapsing world, it seems Guen and Gildia also survived.
Guen, being a former subordinate of the God of War, is indeed remarkable.
However, no one wished for Gildia’s survival.
Because Gildia is the cause of this whole commotion.
If Gildia hadn’t aggressively proposed to Amira, these villagers would have lived in peace.
Therefore, the gazes and murderous intent directed at Gildia by Alex and the villagers were unforgiving.
Alf also got into a defensive stance, positioning himself to protect Amira from behind.
Now. How shall we make him pay?
We too are utterly enraged by Gildia.
Therefore, now that he had survived and shown himself before us, a heat began to rise within my body, wondering how we should deal with him.
However, the troublemaker, Guen, was still an obstacle.
Despite his nonchalant demeanor, he positioned himself to protect his master, Gildia.
If we made any suspicious moves, he seemed ready to engage us immediately.
“Lord Guen…”
Alex also cautiously observed Guen’s movements, perhaps wary of them.
An atmosphere of impending conflict filled the air.
However, it was Gildia himself,foolishly, who broke that atmosphere.
“You have performed admirably. And, Amira, your power is truly magnificent! You are perfect as my wife!”
“You!!”
Amira instantly stopped Alf from lunging at Gildia in anger.
If we had weapons at our waists, we might have drawn them too.
Gildia’s words angered us to that extent.
Does Gildia still intend to marry Amira?!
Is he still pretending to be the lord of this land?!
At first, I thought he was just a man instigated by Magurd of the Imperial Honored Mansion, but it seems Gildia himself had lost all common sense!
No, perhaps he lacked common sense from the beginning, which is why he was swayed by the words of a man like Magurd and caused this commotion!
“I won’t hand Amira over!”
Alf shouted.
“I refuse as well!”
And Amira also clearly stated her will with her own voice.
To Gildia, these would be impudent words that tarnish the Emperor’s prestige, but the villagers no longer cared about such things.
Cherishing and protecting Amira was their firm resolve now.
The villagers, one after another, expressed their refusal.
At this sight, Gildia’s expression began to contort.
“Y-You…”
Is he implying they are defying him as their lord? But he couldn’t say it, because if he uttered such a thing in front of the villagers’ anger, even his own safety would be jeopardized.
Instead, Gildia turned to Guen beside him.
“Guen, do something about it!”
“Well now, what do you expect me to do…”
Guen said with a bitter smile.
Guen, too, must understand. Even if he possessed power, he couldn’t forcibly abduct Amira by putting up a big fight against Alex, us, and everyone else.
Besides, Guen must have exhausted his strength just surviving the collapsing world. In such a situation, he would want to avoid clashing with us, who outnumber him, right?
Nevertheless, in response to his master’s words, Guen moved.
“Are you going to fight?!” we braced ourselves.
But Guen’s next action was something no one predicted.
Swiftly, Guen moved behind Gildia. Then, he cuffed Gildia’s hands behind his back, restrained him, and pushed him to the ground.
“Y-You! What are you doing!?”
Gildia was more surprised by this than we were.
Gildia showed more confusion than pain from being suddenly subdued and restrained by his trusted bodyguard.
To that Gildia, Guen spoke with a bitter smile.
“Well, I never imagined it would escalate this much, even I didn’t. If I had known, I should have restrained you earlier.”
“Guen, what are you talking about!?”
We, too, were taken aback by Guen’s words and could only watch in bewilderment.
Ignoring the reactions of those around him, Guen continued.
“I’m sorry. Before I served you, I unfortunately served someone else.”
“What!?”
If I recall correctly, Guen quit as a subordinate of Mistral, the former subordinate of the God of War, and was wandering around looking for a new job. It was then that he saved Gildia from a pinch, and as a result, he was re-employed as his bodyguard, right?
But was that not the truth?
“My current official affiliation is with the Aristocratic Council. If I say that much, you should understand, right?”
“What…!?!”
Gildia wasn’t the only one who was speechless.
For some reason, even Alex’s expression tensed up.
“The Aristocratic Council?”
We tilted our heads, unable to understand the meaning of Guen’s words. Seeing this, Guen smirked.
“You who came from elsewhere wouldn’t understand. It’s merely a department within the imperial court. Simply put, it’s an office that handles the family registers of nobles within the Empire.”
“And how does that connect to restraining Gildia?”
I was happy that the overbearing Gildia was subdued, but I felt I shouldn’t be purely joyful. This is because, even while Guen and I were exchanging words, Alex showed no signs of relaxing his tension.
Judging by Alex’s demeanor, Guen had a reason to detain Gildia, but that didn’t mean he was our ally.
To our suspicious gazes, Guen continued while holding Gildia down.
“Occasionally, you get idiots who act autocratically under the Emperor’s authority. The Aristocratic Council handles the registers of nobles—that’s the pretext. Their main job is to investigate the activities of nobles, and if necessary, revoke their family registers and titles, or conversely, promote them.”
“So, the reason for restraining Gildia is…”
“Well, I was helped. I had been investigating based on a request from Count Mondo, but the Imperial Honored Mansion’s surveillance made it difficult to act. Thanks to you all, I was able to complete my work.”
Gildia shouted “You!” but Guen ignored him.
“Even the Aristocratic Council finds the Imperial Honored Mansion a nuisance. I was struggling to figure out how to get those guys from Magurd out of the way.”
“And then we appeared, there was that commotion, Magurd died, and you felt free to restrain Gildia?”
“That’s right. Thank you.”
I didn’t feel happy at all to be thanked.
On the contrary, Aguen was indeed nothing but a troublemaker, deceiving not only us but also the villagers and Alex, all to accomplish his own work!
Everyone was angered by the man named Guen.
However, a slight doubt arose.
It’s natural to be angry about being used by Guen, but why is Alex still tense with a stiff expression?
Perhaps sensing our doubt, Alex finally spoke.
“I knew Lord Guen was up to something. But to think he belonged to the Aristocratic Council. If so… could the one hiding in the nearby forest be Lord Teyu!?”
“Ah,” someone exclaimed.
I had just forgotten until now.
That’s right!
From our investigation, we found that someone was hiding in the forest surrounding the village. Alex had also sensed it before we did, but hadn’t identified the person.
We had assumed it was probably one of Gildia’s subordinates hiding and ready to rush in when the commotion occurred in the village.
But it seemed the identity of the one hiding in the forest was someone else entirely.
Moreover, it was a person of paramount importance within the Empire, someone even Alex hadn’t anticipated.
The Enyuan God of War, Teyu.
A person rumored to be the closest confidante of the Emperor of the Empire and to be doted upon by him.
“Even as a former subordinate of Wender, Lord Guen would not individually involve himself in a dispute with nobles concerning us descendants of the Fighting Gods. Furthermore, if the shadow of the Imperial Honored Mansion were involved, the court would also act cautiously. Therefore, it must be Lord Teyu herself who was observing the village’s situation while in hiding.”
Alex’s entire body tensed, and for some reason, he went into a combat-ready stance.
The villagers and Alf also seemed to realize that they couldn’t afford to worry about their exhausted state and readied their weapons.
“What on earth…?”
We, who were left behind by the situation, could only look at each other in confusion.
“…They have learned of the power of us descendants of the Fighting Gods and Amira’s true voice. Lord Teyu will not retreat without anything happening. …Isn’t that right, Lord Teyu?”
As if responding to Alex’s words, countless shimmering butterflies suddenly began to dance around us.
Among them, particularly beautiful butterflies gathered in one spot and began to emit strong light.
And then, before our breathlessly watching eyes, the butterfly light transformed into human form.
“You have performed admirably. The true voice of the daughter of the Fighting Gods. The valiant efforts of humanity. In place of the Emperor, I shall praise you.”
The butterfly light took on a female form and revealed her true identity before us.
An enchanting woman, clad in splendid attire, holding beautiful fans in both hands.
She narrowed her eyes as she looked at us, covered her mouth with a fan, and smiled elegantly.
“Lord Alex, it has been a while. As you correctly surmised, I have witnessed the entire event. Of course, what I have seen and heard is to be considered information that will be conveyed to the Emperor.”
“Lord Teyu…”
Alex’s expression became even more grim.
The secret that the villagers had desperately protected. If Amira’s “voice that governs all things in nature” were transmitted to the divine Emperor, a commotion far greater than Gildia’s tyranny would inevitably ensue.
We too stiffened with tension at the appearance of the enchanting woman called Teyu.
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