Perhaps that was due to her commoner background. Many nobles loved having lavish chairs. She remembered one of the nobles she visited had chairs made to look like a throne of swords.
Kneeling before her was Captain Sterk of the Nevarian Spiritualists. His square face was currently lowered in deference, meaning all she could see was his crown of blond hair, which had several flecks of gray in it. A gleaming silver chestplate, shoulder pauldrons, vambraces, and greaves covered his muscular physique. A massive claymore was strapped across his back.
Her three husbands and three sons stood off to either side of her throne. To her left were her husbands, and her sons were on the right. Both sides were lined up in single file. None of them dared to speak. Even the normally lackadaisical Dante and the rambunctious Geirolf remained silent.
While her sons and husbands stood on either side, Kari stood immediately behind and to her left. The girl remained silent like everyone else. She stood still as a statue, hands clasped together as her long, flowing white dress fell to her feet.
“I’d like to receive your report now,” she commanded.
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Captain Sterk stood up, revealing his stern features, steel-colored eyes, and grayish blond beard. “As you requested, I sent a small squad to investigate the source of the explosion several kilometers outside of Nevaria. From the looks of the scene, it appears that someone had been practicing a Spiritual Technique. However…”
“Go on,” Hilda commanded when the man trailed off.
The Nevarian Spiritualist Captain took a deep breath like he was preparing to say something shocking, held it, then released it in one go and said, “However, the amount of damage done to the surrounding area indicates that the Spiritual Technique used was far stronger than anything a normal Spiritualist could unleash. Even a Spiritualist who has reached the Second State of Spiritualism would not be able to accomplish such wide-scale destruction.”
“What ranking would you give to this Spiritual Technique?” asked Hilda.
“The amount of damage done was extensive.” Captain Sterk scratched his beard. “There was a ten-meter-wide trench in the ground, which extended toward the Demon Beast Mountain Range for at least half a kilometer. The remnants of Spiritual Power exuding from the trench indicated that the amount used was even greater than what a captain of the Nevarian Spiritualists like myself has. If I had to rank it based on those two factors alone, I would give it an A or maybe even an S-ranking.”
Hilda glanced at her sons and husbands as they stiffened in shock. A captain of the Nevarian Spiritualists was someone who had enough power to generate and maintain their Spiritual Aura for several hours, a feat most normal Spiritualists could only dream of. Her three husbands had strength that was comparable to or maybe even greater than most captains and commanders of both the Nevarian Spiritualists and the Imperial Royal Guard, but it wasn’t by much. Meanwhile, her sons were at the same level as a regular soldier.
“Could you perform a similar feat, Captain Sterk?” Hilda continued her questioning.
The captain looked startled for a moment, but then he shrugged. “If I knew how it was done, then maybe. However, doing so would exhaust all of my Spiritual Power. The damage also wouldn’t be that extensive.”
“I see.” Hilda thought for a moment, nodding several times as she came to a decision. “Thank you for your report. Please have your men cordon off the area. Do not let anyone near it for now.”
“As you command, Empress.” Captain Sterk bowed once before he straightened, spun around, and left the throne room. Hilda watched him go with a frown. Once he was out of sight, she turned to her husbands.
“Thoughts?” she asked.
“That surge of Spiritual Power felt similar to the one we felt two months ago,” Valence said immediately. “However, the feeling I received this time was very different. The Spiritual Power felt a lot more refined, more controlled, and far stronger. If I had to guess, I’d say that the incident from today and the one that happened two months ago were committed by the same person.”
“What do you suppose this person is doing?” she pondered.
“If I had to guess, I’d say he or she is training.” Dante stepped forward. “That first incident had no finesse. It was just a big explosion of Spiritual Power that could be felt and seen from here. This one was more controlled, like Valence said. Whoever this person is, they are clearly training to control their vast Spiritual Power.”
“The only concern I have is that we don’t know who this person is or why they are training so hard,” Rainer added. “Are they ally or enemy? Do they wish to protect Nevaria or are they planning to harm it? This person is a complete unknown. I’m concerned that if we do not find them soon, we may find ourselves being forced to confront a powerful enemy whom we have no knowledge about.”
This was indeed a grave situation. As someone who had risen to power through her own hard work, Hilda understood the dangers of having an unknown individual with this kind of power wandering around Nevaria. Where did they come from? Was it someone raised outside of the city? Nevaria was a city-state with several hundred kilometers worth of land. It wasn’t impossible that someone living outside of the city had arrived two months ago and begun training, especially when there was the upcoming Spiritualist Grand Tournament.
She placed a hand against her forehead and sighed. This was going to give her a headache. She wondered if this was how the previous Emperor felt when a young Hilda had suddenly appeared on the scene, defeating every opponent in the Spiritualist Grand Tournament and winning the entire thing despite having no background.
“It is unfortunate, but whoever this person is seems intent on keeping a low profile,” Hilda said at last. “We can perform a city-wide search, but even if we did, it is highly probable that this person is masking their Spiritual Signature. I doubt we’ll find anything.”
“Then what should we do?” asked Geirolf, who was finally unable to maintain his silence. Truth be told, Hilda had been expecting him to speak up sooner.
“There is little we can do except keep an eye out for any suspicious activity,” Hilda answered her youngest son with a shrug. Her son didn’t look pleased, but she turned her attention to her husbands. “Dante, please ask the Nevarian Spiritualists guarding the gates to keep a record of everyone entering and exiting through the north, south, and east gates. Rainer, please make sure the Nevarian Spiritualist captains know to keep an eye out for any unusually powerful Spiritual Signatures. Valence, tell the Imperial Royal Guards to remain on high alert. The Spiritualist Grand Tournament is coming up. It is possible that the person who has arrived is someone here to compete. If that is the case, we might not need to worry. However, it never hurts to be prepared.”
All three of her husbands acknowledged her orders. They grabbed their sons and headed out of the throne room, leaving her alone with Kari.
“It seems Nevaria has become a very interesting hot spot these days,” Hilda mused. “If this person really has come to participate in the Spiritualist Grand Tournament, then I imagine the Leucht Family will not be able to have their way. Doesn’t that make you happy, Kari?”
“…”
“Kari?”
“Huh?” Kari jerked her head around as though startled. She blinked several times. “Oh, yes? What did you say?”
Hilda frowned. “Is something the matter? You seem rather distracted today.”
“I am fine.” Kari’s long blonde hair swayed as she shook her head. “Is there anything you need from me, Mother? If not, would you mind if I also took my leave?”
As she studied her daughter, the frown on Hilda’s face shifted into an amused smile. “Are you planning on heading over to the library so you can meet with that boy you are so fond of?”
“Wha—how did you know about that?!” asked a shocked and blushing Kari.
Hilda’s smile widened. “Did you think I would not keep tabs on where you go? You have not been very subtle about where you are going ev
ery day you get off from training and don’t have classes to attend. In fact, just the other day, a rumor spread about how you were seen enjoying the day with a young man.” The smile on Hilda’s face slowly disappeared as a somber expression replaced it. “You do realize that as the heiress to the Astralia Royal Family, you can only marry someone who has proven their strength in combat, right?”
Kari looked away, her hands slowly clenching into fists. “I know. I am aware of how Nevaria’s laws work. Only the strong can stand at the top and rule over Nevaria.”
“That is correct.” Nodding, Hilda swept her gaze along the throne room. “Only the strong can stand at the top because only the strong can protect this city-state from the threats from without and within. A weak person will never be able to control the numerous noble families who are constantly seeking to gain power, nevermind the threat posed by the Demon Beasts that live beyond the Demon Beast Mountain Range. As the heiress to the Astralia Royal Family, you will eventually marry the person who will likely become the next Emperor.”
“Just like you and Father, right?” Kari asked in a low voice.
Hilda nodded. “Yes, exactly like Valence and I. He was the previous Emperor’s only son, and so in order to keep the blood of the previous ruler, I married him and had you and Earland. This is how Nevaria has been since its founding.”
Kari’s clenched fists soon relaxed, and Hilda was surprised to see that her daughter was smiling. She had not expected that. There was also a strange gleam within her eyes. It made Hilda even more curious.
“I am not worried about that,” she said at last. “Eryk is going to defeat Grant and win the Spiritualist Grand Tournament.”
“Oh?” Hilda could already guess that Eryk was the boy she was seeing at the library. “To express that kind of confidence in someone who isn’t even a Spiritualist is impressive. What makes you so certain he’ll win?”
Kari’s confident smile contained something that Hilda couldn’t quite identify. “Just a hunch.”
“Hmm. Well, I hope for your sake that he does win,” Hilda said at last. “I do not really want to let the Leucht Family’s heir marry you. There are far too many rumors circulating about that family. I’ve been hearing a lot of bad things about them, especially recently.” She paused for a moment, contemplating the rumors she’d been hearing from other noble families and even some commoners, and then shifted topics a little. “I also want you to be happy. It has been so long since I’ve seen you smile, but in the last two months, your expressions have become so much brighter.”
While Kari seemed startled at first, her face eventually softened into a polite but happy smile. “Thank you, Mother.”
“You need not thank me.” Hilda shook her head when she saw how her daughter was squirming in place, an amused smile gracing her lips. The girl looked like she was barely suppressing herself. “Anyway, you can go on and head to the library now.”
Kari looked ready to bolt, but she just barely stopped herself long enough to bow before rushing out of the room. She was walking so fast she might as well have been running. Hilda waited until her daughter disappeared before allowing herself to slump in her seat.
“Eryk… so that is his name, huh?” Hilda murmured. “Maybe I should keep an eye on him…”
She pondered her own suggestion before shaking her head. Keeping an eye on the boy her daughter liked might be a prudent idea, but she also found it abhorrent. She had already taken so many of her daughter’s freedoms away. The last thing she wanted to do was steal what little freedom Kari had left.
“Being a mother while also being the empress is not an easy task,” Hilda said to the empty throne room.
Of course, there was no one but herself around to hear this soft lamentation.
Chapter 3
Midnight Confrontation
“Ha… ha… ha…”
I had run quite a distance, darting through trees, over boulders, and across clearings, all the while carrying Fay in my arms. The girl I was holding hadn’t said anything yet. She was probably too embarrassed, which I only realized after I picked her up, but it wasn’t like I could stop, not until we had reached a safe distance from our previous training ground.
Finally, I stopped after reaching a clearing that was surrounded by trees so large they towered over us. A thick canopy blocked out most of the sun. What little sunlight sprinkled between the leaves created moving geometric patterns on the ground, timed to the gentle sway of the branches. This place had a small pond. There was no waterfall, but the pond was crystal clear and at least several meters across. A small stream was being fed into it.
“Um…” As I stood there with my shoulders heaving, Fay hesitantly spoke up. “Do you mind telling me what that was about?”
After regaining my breath, I glanced at Fay, still in my arms, and gave her an embarrassed smile. “Just a little training accident.”
“A training accident?” Fay furrowed her brows as she stared into my face. Her arms were around my neck. One of her hands was playing with my hair, but I didn’t think she realized what she was doing. “That strange eruption of energy and light… that was you, wasn’t it?”
“Ah ha ha ha… yeah…”
Fay wore an aggrieved but amused look as she shook her head. “Do you ever do anything halfway?”
I looked away, unwilling to show my embarrassment as a small droplet of sweat trailed down the right side of my face. “Well, you know me… it’s all or nothing.”
“Yes, I have become very aware of that these past two months.”
The two of us shared a soft chuckle, but then Fay seemed to realize that she was still in my arms and her face suddenly turned as red as her hair.
“Um… could you please put me down now?” she asked in a low voice seeping with a sense of shame.
I felt my own cheeks heat up. “Ah… yes. Sorry.”
I set her on the ground. Fay took several steps away from me. During that time, I glanced at our surroundings once more. The clearing was large enough that Fay could practice the Flash Step. There was also the small pond that we could wash off in after our training was over, which would be nice because I sometimes had to leave for work and didn’t have time to head home first.
“I think I like this place,” I announced at last. “What do you say we make this our new training ground?”
Fay’s look told me she knew I was hiding something, but she shrugged and said, “If that is what you want.”
I was glad she agreed so readily. One of the things I liked about Fay was that she seemed capable of adapting to almost any situation. She just took whatever was thrown at her and made something out of it; though I sometimes had this strange feeling she wasn’t nearly as confident as she acted, like when she gained that worried look after speaking to me about how she wasn’t going to give up on making me fall in love with her…
Perhaps it was just me, but I believed her outer confident demeanor masked a distinct lack of confidence in herself.
“How far did you get on the Flash Step before I, uh, interrupted you?” I asked.
Fay sighed in disappointment. “I was able to land on the target you gave me, but I could only land on it one out of every ten times.”
“In order to properly use the Flash Step, it is important to be able to accurately end up at the exact spot you want to go.” I walked to one end of the clearing as I explained this. “Let’s say you are in a battle and you use the Flash Step to get behind your opponent. If you can’t get exactly behind them, or if you end up in front of them, they can counterattack.” I drew a line on the ground and then measured out ten meters and drew another line on the ground. “You will also hesitate if you don’t end up where you were trying to reach. That hesitation in battle could mean the difference between victory and defeat.”
Fay nodded as she walked over to me and the line I had drawn. There was a fire burning in her eyes. She glanced at the other line ten meters away, eyes narrowed in a look of stubborn determination. Seeing
this expression on her made my respect soar.
So many people gave up without ever really trying, saying things like, “It’s too hard. I’ll never be able to do this.” However, those who were truly successful knew that success came only after hundreds of consecutive failures. I wasn’t sure if this girl understood this intuitively, but I had to admire how she wasn’t giving up.
“Well, it hasn’t even been a full day since I taught you,” I added. “It will take at least a month before you can truly say you’ve become proficient with the Flash Step.”
“It’s a very delicate but powerful technique,” Fay agreed. “I’m going to keep practicing until I have it down perfectly.”
“That’s the spirit. I’ll be practicing over there.” I pointed at a spot within the trees. “Call for me if you need anything.”
“I will.”
I left Fay to her practice and entered the forest, glancing at the surrounding trees, all of which stood at least a meter or two away from each other. It wasn’t tightly packed, but it was dense enough that I could use it for movement training. I set my bag of pills down, popped a Spiritual Recovery Pill into my mouth, and sighed in relief when my reserves of Spiritual Power swiftly recovered.
“Okay…” I took a deep breath. “Time to do this.”
Channeling Spiritual Power to my feet, I took a single step forward, and the world blurred around me. Not even a second had passed before a tree appeared in front of me. I stopped just a few centimeters before slamming into it and Flash Stepped away from the tree. Then I stopped again and used Flash Step to once more head off in a different direction. I continued to use the Flash Step, swerving around trees at a speed that caused my vision to grow blurry.
To the outside observer, I was sure that anyone watching me would have seen nothing but vague shadows racing through the trees. Few people had vision sharp enough to keep up with the Flash Step.
Wiedergeburt 3 Page 4
