Chapter 1 (1/2)

Chapter One

1.

Dame du Lac, the city on the lake.

A city blessed with lush waters in the north of the continent of Glenwood, the capital of

the Kingdom of Highland.

Even in times so difficult as to be called the Age of Calamity, it still bustled with life as

the heart of the kingdom. Especially moreso now, with the 'Festival of the Holy Sword'

being held for the first time in years.

”Amazing! So this is the capital of Dame du Lac....! It's so lively!”

Sorey said, eyes s.h.i.+ning, not even bothering to hide the excitement at the first city he had

ever seen.

Everything was so new and strange that he kept looking everywhere at once as he walked

down the street. Both sides of it were lined with stores, so many that if he paid attention

to the fruit stalls on the right, he'd lost sight of the tool store on the left. He ended up

turning in all directions at once while walking, and as a result almost b.u.mped into

someone he didn't notice coming down the street from the other side.

”Oh, I'm so sorry!”

Sorey apologized, fl.u.s.tered, and stepped out of the way. Mikleo shrugged at him in

exasperation.

”Sorey, you're getting too excited.”

”Sorry, it's just that everything's so strange!”

Sorey answered with a bashful smile, and Mikleo had to sigh at that. Even so, he did

mentally agree : Well, I do know how what you feel.

He couldn't afford to be excited together with Sorey, though. Holding back the incessant

urgings of his curiousity, Mikleo did his best to reply in a calm and rational manner.

”We're not here to sightsee, are we?”

”I guess not. Now then, where should we start looking....?”

Hmm....Sorey muttered, raising a hand to his chin. It was then that they heard somebody

calling out to him.

”Hey, Mister! You over there! You here to sightsee all alone!?”

Both Sorey and Mikleo turned at the voice to find a shopkeeper at one of the stalls

smiling in their direction, holding out a scarf in one hand.

”From the way you look, I daresay this must be your first time in Dame du Lac! Well,

what do you think of this scarf? It's real silk, and if you buy it now it'll only cost 860

gald! A total steal, eh?”

”Is it?”

Sorey tilted his head blankly. He could tell that the silk was of high quality just by

looking at it, but the problem was, he had no idea if it was cheap or not.

After all, there was no such thing as 'currency' back in Elysia, where he had lived his

entire life.

As he left the stall behind, he realized once again that he really, truly was in 'The Outside

World' now.

And currency wasn't the only difference here, either.

Sorey flicked a glance at Mikleo, who was walking by his side.

Hair the color of pale aquamarine, skin so fair as to seem almost translucent,

sophisticated violet eyes.

Even from his perspective, Sorey thought that there was a beauty to Mikleo that would

draw the eyes of others. Yet n.o.body's gazes lingered on him at all. Some even charged

straight into him as if they didn't realize that he was there, even though they were walking

right on the very same street.

Everyone pa.s.sed them by as if Mikleo didn't exist.

”Is something the matter?

Mikleo asked, noticing Sorey's gaze.

”Nothing.....I was just thinking that ordinary humans really can't see Seraphim, after all.”

”So it seems. That shopkeeper from before also thought that you were travelling alone,

too.”

Sorey frowned a little upon hearing Mikleo's blithe answer.

Mikleo was not a human, but a Seraph.

The Seraphim were beings unlike ordinary humans, living through time spans that

humans could not experience, wielding powers called the Celestial Artes that no human

could use. Legends told of how they onced live alongside humans, but their existence had

long since been relegated to myth, turned into objects of reverence and figures of wors.h.i.+p

for the people of Glenwood.

That was just how the humans saw it, however.

The Seraphim were still living in this world even now, quietly, avoiding all contact with

humans.

Elysia was one such place. And Sorey was the sole human to have been raised there.

”We've always lived together normally, but what's 'normal' for everyone else is a world

where Seraphim don't exist, I guess....”

”Sorey.....”

This time Mikleo, too, frowned at the tinge of loneliness in Sorey's voice. The somber

atmosphere didn't last long, however.

”It'd be so nice if there's a way for Seraphim and humans to live together, though!”

Sorey exclaimed cheerfully. Mikleo stared at him for a short moment before breaking into

a smile.

Because in the words 'if there's a way', he could feel Sorey's wish of 'I want to find that

way'.

”To do that, you'll have to do something about the problem of mankind's spiritual power

first. If n.o.body can see Seraphim, then nothing can be done.”

Mikleo said, and Sorey happily chirped ”Yeah, that's right~!” in turn.

”If people can see Seraphim by having high spiritual power....then, can't we do something

to raise it for everyone somehow?”

”I've never heard of a way to do something like that, though......whoa!”

Mikleo was crossing his arms over his chest thoughtfully when he suddenly lost his

balance. He fell forward, headfirst, but a startled Sorey jumped in to catch him.

”What's wrong, Mikleo!?”

”Something just suddenly....”

Bewildered, Mikleo turned back. To see a large pig standing before him.

”A pig!?”

Their eyes widened in unison. It was then that they heard a cheerful voice.

”Excuse me! That pig's part of our wares!”

A girl was running towards them.

The girl, whose hair was as bright as her voice, slapped the pig's back lightly before

giving them a wry smile.

”Sorry for startling you, he just ran off while we were delivering him to the client. You're

not hurt, are you?”

”Um....”

Sorey struggled to find words. The pig had b.u.mped into Mikleo, not him, but of course

she couldn't see Mikleo himself. But while he was racking his brains for something

appropriate to say, Mikleo threw him a glance that clearly spelled said 'Don't mind me,

just act normal'.

”I'm all right. Everything's fine.”

The girl sighed in relief at his answer.

”Oh, that's great to hear. If it turns out that we injured a civilian while on the job, the

name of the Wagtail Wing merchant's guild would've been ruined forever!”

After saying that, she started to push the pig away in an attempt to get it back.

The plump----and frankly delicious-looking---pig refused to budge, however. The girl

tilted her head quizzically and muttered 'huh?' to herself, and Sorey decided to offer her a

hand.

”Here, let me help you.”

Together, they managed to get the pig walking to the horse-drawn cart it came from.

Along the way, Sorey asked.

”By 'merchant's guild', do you mean you travel to all sorts of different places?”

”Sure! If there's a job to do, we'll go anywhere in the world!”

”The whole world? That's amazing! But isn't it hard to travel across different countries all

the time?”

”Well, yeah. We're all protected by treaties of commerce, though, so we basically get a

free pa.s.s to every city.”

”Wow!”

As they finally got the pig to the cart proper, they brought the pig back on the carriage

with the help of guild members waiting there.

With everything done, Sorey exhaled in relief. The girl then held her hand out for him.

”Thanks a lot, you were a big help there. I'm Rose, and you are?”

Sorey shook her hand and told her his name in return.

”We'll be staying in this city for a while, so just holler if you ever need anything! We'll

make it extra cheap for you.”

Rose winked, grinning. With how she said 'cheap' but definitely not 'free', it looked like

she really was a shrewd merchant after all.

As he waved Rose and her crew goodbye, Mikleo spoke up after staying silent through it

all.

”That was careless of me.”

”What was?”

Sorey asked. Mikleo gave him a slightly exaggerated shrug.

”Animals can see us.”

”Mmm. So they can, now that you mention it.”

”Other people might end up giving you odd looks for it. We've got to be careful,

especially in cities.”

That's true.....Sorey nodded. But Mikleo wasn't done.

”In other words....even if humans can't see me, there are things that know I'm here.”

Sorey turned with a jolt towards Mikleo.

Even though he was the one who said it, Mikleo was turning away with a huff, as if he

was embarra.s.sed.

------it's not as if everything treats Seraphim like we don't exist.

Mikleo had said that just for him. He was trying to alleviate Sorey's loneliness in what

little way he could.

Sorey broke into a smile at this, at his kind childhood friend who somehow couldn't be

straightforward at all with his kindness, and pulled his enthusiasm back together.

”All right, let's go and look for Alisha already, then!”

”Isn't that what I've been saying all along?”

Sorey smiled wryly at how not straightforward that was once again, then began to walk

ahead.

--------------------------------------------------------

2.

After walking through the city and collecting some basic information, Sorey and Mikleo

ended up in front of a large mansion in the n.o.bility's district.

Apparently, this was where Alisha---the person they were looking for---lived.

Since Dame du Lac boasted hundreds of times more population than Elysia, they were

prepared to break their backs looking for one woman in it all, but it was unexpectedly

easy to find her house. Even moreso after they learned the ident.i.ty that she adamantly

would not say.

”So Alisha's the princess of Highland, huh?”

As he looked up at Alisha's mansion, Sorey recalled his memories of her.

Alisha was a dignified woman.

Even though she was clad in armor, there was a gracefulness to the way she talked and

moved, and the white ornament she used to tie her pale blonde hair up was lovely and

suited her well. She might have been hiding her ident.i.ty, but her elegance still shone

through, and it didn't surprise him in the least to learn that she was royalty.

Alisha and Sorey had met in the ruins close to Elysia.

She had lost her footing, slipped and injured herself, and Sorey helped her when she was

incapacitated. That was how it began.

They were both avid readers of the Celestial Records, a book which doc.u.mented legends

in different locales throughout the world. Thanks to that, they immediately hit it off, and

got along well after that.

To Sorey, Alisha was the first human friend he ever had.

”To think that she'd go exploring the ruins all by herself, though, even if they call her the

'Knight Princess' over here....”

”Maybe she's just that desperate. Even though we still have no idea why Alisha went to

the ruins in the first place, looking at this city, I think I can understand why she'd look to

legends as her last resort.”

Mikleo glanced at a street corner. His face darkened slightly at the sight of a black mist

swirling in that place.

”Can you see it?”

He asked, and Sorey turned to look at the same street corner. He saw nothing but ordinary

bricks and stones, however.

But a Seraph like Mikleo could see it-----the Malevolence that was driving this world

mad.

”Mmm....anyway, the Malevolence is strong here in this city. It's hanging everywhere,

and it makes me feel a little sick, to be honest.”

”Are you all right, Mikleo?”

Sorey asked, concerned, and Mikleo gave him a little smile.

”I'm still fine. I'm starting to feel that I'd rather not stay here long, though.”

Then the sudden sound of a dog barking furiously startled them both, and they stiffened.

His experience with the pig still fresh, Mikleo immediately turned to look behind.

”What is that?”

”Mikleo, over there!”

Sorey pointed to the mansion's garden. A dog was barkly wildly at empty s.p.a.ce, head

low, tail high, as if it was ready to pounce at any moment.

A wisp of fire burst into life in the empty air in front of it.

”What!?”

Sorey inadvertently cried out. The fire convalesced into a ball, then many more appeared,

a curtain of fireb.a.l.l.s circling the dog threateningly. The dog, too, couldn't help but take a

step back in fear.

”Tch....pipe down, you d.a.m.ned mutt.”

Something shaped like a man soundlessly appeared in the middle of the swirling ring of

fire. And yes, it was a man, clad all in black with his long hair tied back in a crude

ponytail.

”You! That fox guy!”

Sorey shouted as he came into view. This was the other person they were searching for

like Alisha----although for entirely different reasons. The foxlike man, Lunarre, the

turned towards Sorey and peered at him with insect-like eyes.

”.......What a pain in the a.s.s.”

He spat, then leapt away.

”Hey, wait! Mikleo, let's go after him!”

The two of them hurriedly ran after Lunarre, but the latter was fast. He moved as if he

was weightless, rus.h.i.+ng through the streets and jumping from rooftop to rooftop like the

wind. After rus.h.i.+ng through a number of twisty little streets, Sorey and Mikleo found

themselves ending up in a dark back alley.

”What is this place....?”

No one was there. However, Mikleo could see a much greater Malevolence swirling here

than any other alleys they had pa.s.sed along the way.

”This feeling.....he's here, no doubt about it.”

Sorey could sense something, too, even though he couldn't see it. He drew out the

ceremonial sword he carried for self-defense and began to step ahead cautiously Mikleo,

too, readied his staff and followed close behind him.

”........More annoyances I don't need. Great.”

Lunarre's voice rang through the alley. It echoed through the dim back courts like it was

nowhere and everywhere at once, and it was impossible to tell where it originated.

Mikleo was slowly walking forward when the sound of something rending the air

reverberated through the alley.

”Mikleo!”

”!”

Before he could turn to look, Sorey tackled him to the ground. At the same time,

something buried itself into the brickwork with a loud clank.

”Tch!”

Lunarre pulled his claws up from the engouged streets, whipping his head to face Sorey

and Mikleo.

Both of them got to their feet immediately and rea.s.sumed their combat stance.

”We won't let you do as you please, Fox!”

”And just who the h.e.l.l are you......?”

Lunarre looked at them in irritation, then his lips spread into a grin.

”Oh, I see, I see. The hors d'oeuvres that I didn't get around to eating back in that village,

huh? To think you'd come all the way here to be eaten after I let you go---”

”We're here to stop you. ---------You're not going to kill Alisha.”

Sorey involuntarily tightened his grip on the sword. Their opponent was a h.e.l.lion---

someone turned into something inhuman by the Malevolence. And h.e.l.lions were not an

enemy a regular person could fight.

Still, he couldn't just turn a blind eye to someone who tried to kill his friends.

He had came all this way to stop Lunarre from killing Alisha, after all.

”Oh, so you're going to get in the way no matter what? Fine. I'll just have my appetizer

before the main course, then......I'll kill both of you.”

A strange glint lit up in his golden eyes, then Lunarre simply disappeared.

Sorey raised his sword up without thinking. In an instant, a sharp clank rang through the

alley with a rain of sparks. Lunarre had jumped up and brought his claws down on Sorey,

and Sorey had blocked it with his sword.

”Well, now......that was a good parry, eh?”

”......!”

Lunarre said cheerfully, as if he was greatly enjoy all this. In contrast, Sorey was in no

position to be talking, gritting his teeth and holding his sword tight.

There wasn't any opening for him to push back against Lunarre's attack even if he wanted

to do so. His arms were also growing numb. Sorey grimaced.

This is bad.....!

Lunarre cackled as Sorey continued to be pushed back on the defense.

”What's wrong now? Is it over already?”

”Twin Flow!”

Lunarre clicked his tongue, then jumped out of the way of the oncoming rush of water.

”Sorey, are you all right!?”

”Thanks, Mikleo!”

As he replied to Mikleo, who was running to his side, Sorey tightened his grip on the

sword again.

”Is it just me, or is that guy stronger than he was before?”

”Maybe he was weakened by Gramps' Domain of Divine Protection back in Elysia.”

”Shut up, brats, you're annoying. Hurry up and burn to a crisp already!”

Lunarre said, reaching out towards Sorey. A ball of fire appeared from his hand and

launched itself at them like bullets. The sheer force of it knocked both of them

backwards.

”Ngh!”

Sorey's face twisted in pain as he hit the ground. Across the alley, he could see Mikleo

crumpling against the wall on impact, limply sliding to the ground like a rag doll.

”Mikleo!”

Mikleo didn't move no matter how many times Sorey called his name. He simply lay

there, completely still, his eyes closed.

Then a shadow came to stand before Mikleo's unmoving form. Lunarre.

”I'll kill you properly this time. For having the gall to get in my way when you're such

puny weaklings!”

Lunarre made a show out of licking his claws with his long tongue, as if he wanted Sorey

to see, then raised it above his head.

”Stop it!”

Sorey screamed. In that moment, a sharp knife whistled through the air and buried itself

in the ground next to Lunarre's feet.

”What!?”

Both Sorey and Lunarre instinctively turned to the origin of the knife. Leaving

themselves open in the process.

”Don't move.”

Something cold and metallic pressed itself against Sorey's neck.

Snapping to attention even if he couldn't move, he glanced at Lunarre and saw that he,

too, was being held from behind with a knife to his neck.

Who.....!?

Just as Sorey was trying to find out who his opponents were, Lunarre suddenly cried out

to the one holding the knife to Sorey's neck, his voice filled with unexpected fear.

”Ch....Chief.....!”

”Lunarre, have you forgotten our rules?”

A voice came from behind Sorey that could've belonged to either a man or a woman.

Lunarre shook his head at the sound of it.

”There will be no second chances. Is that clear?”

Lunarre nodded vigorously, and then person behind Sorey spoke once more.

”Go.”

More people suddenly appeared from nowhere at all. Grabbing Lunarre, they disappeared

as quietly as they came.

Someone who could make that Lunarre so afraid....

Cold sweat ran down his neck, dripping on the knife held just above his collarbone.

”The a.s.sa.s.sination order on Princess Alisha is a mistake. We will target her no more.”

Sorey frowned at those words, spoken with a quiet voice at his ear.

”........Are you telling me to believe you?”

”We have our pride.”

The knife quietly left his neck. He immediately tried to turn, but a thundering cry stopped

him.

”Don't turn!”

Sorey froze in place.

”You don't have the leisure to be investigating us now, do you? If you're worried about

the Princess, best hurry up and go to the Altar of the Holy Sword.”

”.......What do you mean?”

”The Princess has many enemies. a.s.sa.s.sination is but one way to bring her harm.”

”Are you saying there are other people trying to put Alisha in danger!?”

No answer came. The figure, too, was gone. Even so, Sorey still asked.

”Why did you tell me about that?”

”As I said, we have our pride.”

Only their voice rang through the alley. Sorey was lost in thought for a moment, then felt

tension leaving his shoulders.

”Maybe......I should've thanked them for that, I guess?”

He thought he could hear a woman laughing softly, but that soon faded away with a gust

of wind.

----------------------------------------------

3.

'The Festival of the Holy Sword'.

It was a festival deeply linked to the legend of the Shepherd as told in Dame du Lac.

According to the legend, anyone who could pull the holy sword out of the altar in the

shrine would receive the blessings of its guardian, the Lady of the Lake, and they would

be able to become the Shepherd.

Held for the first time in many years, the festival was bustling with activity. The line of

challengers for the holy sword reached all the way outside of the shrine, thanks to a

number of people just trying it out for fun.

With the line being so long, Sorey and Mikleo deemed the front door to be a lost cause

and decided to find another entrance.

The only way to know if they could believe the a.s.sa.s.sin's advice or not was to see if

Alisha was really at the shrine, after all.

”Still, the architecture here is amazing....”

Sorey said, remembering the decorative stylings on the front door, his voice more like a

sigh.

”Probably built during the Age of Faith, I'd surmise.”

”No, the decor doesn't add up. I'd say that it's from a later date.”

”Is it? I wonder.”

”Of course it is.”

Their discussion began to heat up.

With exploring ruins being their shared hobby, the two of them tended to get intense

when archaelogy-related things came up. They had always been like this ever since their

childhood days, so enthralled by the study of ruins that they often stayed up talking about

it together well past their bedtime, the hours all but forgotten.

”Come to think of it, didn't the Celestial Records say that there are even older ruins here

in Dame du Lac?”

Sorey clapped his hand in realization, reaching for the volume of the Celestial Records he

always carried before catching himself.

”Wait, wait, no. Alisha's more important right now!”

He put it back, fl.u.s.tered, then continued to look for the alternate entrance.

Walking around the shrine, they found a back entrance at the end of a staircase leading

upwards. However, the soldiers guarding it naturally prevented Sorey from getting in.

”After we've came so far....”

Denied entry and given no chance to bargain, Sorey hung his head down in

disappointment and began to descend the steps.

”Should I give you a hand?”

Someone said, waving at them from the bottom of the stairs. It was Rose.

”Rose? Why are you here!?”

”My friends are helping with setting up the 'Festival of the Holy Sword'. I'm here to cheer

them on, and then I saw you arguing with the guards. You want to get in no matter what,

right?”

”Yeah, Alisha is....”

In danger, he was about to say, but then Mikleo elbowed him lightly in the ribs.

”Too much information, Sorey.”

As Mikleo pointed it out, Sorey caught himself and began to stammer, waving his hands

up and down frantically. ”Um! A-anyway, I'd be glad for any help you can help! If you'll

help, that is!”

He covered up his gaff clumsily, but Rose didn't seem to find him suspicious at all. She

grinned.

”Okay, then. You're going to need some money.”

”Money?”

”That's right. Something to bribe Sir Guard over there with. Cash always make

everything go faster.”

”How much do I need?”

”Hmm, let's see.....well, it'll work out for sure if we can get a thousand gald, I guess.”

”A thousand gald!?”