Chapter 12 (1/2)

Chapter 1, Episode 12: The End of the Journey

The northern section of Frieden

An area in which the princess maiden alone is allowed entrance— The Palace of Baptism

There, in that area, stood a person staring motionlessly at an orb with a brilliant shi+ne

Though she is a beauty known for her constant s from her expression at the moment

「What are you planning…? Why is it that you su once ive me an answer」

An oe of the world

「So you will not answer me, as expected…」

The princess hs and looks at the two bronze statues on either side of the orb

The two pillars of the 12 great Gods of Grantz, known to all who reside in this world

One of the bronze statues was a handsoreat pond

He was the founder of the Grantz Grand E, Leon Welt Altius von Grantz

The other bronze statue had a sword in its right hand raised to the heavens

He was the one who built up the Grantz Grand E, Halt Rey Schwarz von Grantz

「Your Majesty Altius, please watch over his Majesty Schwarz」

Imperial Year 1023, May 26th

Hiro and his group were near Baum’s borders

There were less than 100 infantrymen straddled to the horses provided by the princess maiden

It was a rather s them

But the sounds of the horses’ hooves ringing through the air was still enough to make one uneasy

Liz rides at the head of the group Her beautiful crimson hair flutters behind her

And clinging to her with his arms wrapped around her waist, was Hiro

「We’ll continue like this and enter Margrave Grinda’s territory」

Tris, as riding parallel to her, made an uncomfortable expression

「The advance party hasn’t returned We don’t know the situation there Let us leave the horses after about another sel (3ko by foot」

「… Do you think my brother’s influence has reached there after all?」

「We can’t say it hasn’t for sure There is no loss in proceeding with care here」

「Alright…」

Liz nods in agreement and looks ahead

The road which connected Baurave Grinda’s territory was a vast wilderness

A third of Margrave Grinda’s territory was a desolate land lacking in water, and perhaps because of its influence, Bauion which experienced sandstorms

There were small hills built of sand and sandstones which fell from collapsed cliffs

It was a desert-like land where neither trees nor grass grew

As Liz left her horse and gave a silent signal to her soldiers, they began to walk the wilderness

At this pace, they would enter Margrave Grinda’s territory in half an hour

So as not to draw attention, Liz and the others walk carefully in the shadows of the cliffs

「Princess, seeing as how the advance tea happened to them?」

「Yes… It erous to continue like this Let’s take a bit of a detour」

She puts her hand on a rock and climbs it She moves to a location where she can have a better view of the border

Perhaps because Tris came to the same conclusion, he silently follows after her

Liz sly anxious Hiro

「It’s alright It’s my uncle’s territory」

She said this as if to hear those words herself as well

A vague anxiety spreads through Hiro’s mind

When they climb to the top of the cliff where than can survey the border, Tris crawls to the edge

After a while, he gives Liz a signal

The fact that he called for her rather than returning probably

Liz approached Tris with a puzzled look on her face

「—?!」

Liz covered her

The sight before her was nothing but despair

As if she couldn’t believe her own eyes, Liz kept rubbing them

But the cruel scene reed

Tears formed at the corners of Liz’s eyes

「My God…」

At the entrance to Margrave Grinda’s territory, were the unsightly corpses of ten of the men from the advance party, exposed for all to see

Perhaps it was because they were tortured, but all of the a part of their bodies

Behind them, were 3,000 dark-skinned soldiers

They had a brown cloth wrapped around their heads, and wore leather armor which covered half their torsos

They had swords with reverse blades hanging from their waists There were spears and elliptical shi+elds thrust into the ground