Chapter 1 - Volume 1 (2/2)

At first, the noble aristocrats of the royal palace ridiculed him, wondering what a country bumpkin had come to do after so long. But the youth simply stood in front of the sword, not even hesitating at all the sneering voices around him.

It was then that it happened. The sword shed light for the first time as a young man braver and kinder than all the others appeared. As everyone held their breaths, looking at the youth and the sword, he pulled the shining blade out of its sheath.

Doesn’t that grand sword in his hand sound so beautiful? Wasn’t that young man so brave and elegant, holding that sword?

Everyone who saw that said he must be the hero. Even the grand aristocrats who had sneered at him were now on their knees. Even the king thought he could entrust him with the fate of the kingdom.

And then, the youth — no, the hero set off on a journey, carrying his sword. With the princess blessed with the goddesses’ divine protection – that is, the princess shrine maiden. With the head wizard of the palace, who had the strongest magical power in the kingdom. And with the leader of the knights, who had the best swordsmanship in the kingdom.

They began their journey to the faraway demon city to defeat the demon king.

* * *

……So that’s what I’ve understood about our country’s present situation so far, huh?

If I try telling the story in my usual voice — in other words, my pretend-aristocrat voice — it sounds like a fairy tale, or a bedtime story, or an epic tale. But looking at it in reality, it’s painful to look at.

The country’s political affairs turned unstable, as people grew frightened of the demon king’s forces. Goods began to stop being distributed from the districts, so the aristocrats who couldn’t wait all rushed over there to buy them all up. Thanks to that, prices soared high, and people grew more worried, public order grew worse… It fell into a state where even criticising it was too bothersome.

But even in that cornered state, the country was blessed to have a capable king. He was well known as a just king, and he worked out as many political measures as he could along with his trusted confidantes. Thanks to that, the country just managed to keep up an image of being peaceful. But even I, daughter of a humble aristocrat family that lived in the capital, knew that we were treading on thin ice.

That must be why the hero party was narrowed down to a select few. Our country’s troops had lost to the demon king recently, which proved that big numbers were no match for him.

The chosen one. The princess shrine maiden, divinely protected by the goddesses. The country’s best wizard. The knights’ leader, knowing the country’s best swordsmanship. I could say that our country’s strongest battle formation was at the same time, the one that would result in the least damage for the higher-ups, including the king. If not, there was no way they would send the young nobleman from the countryside, now hero, or the king’s beloved only daughter, the head wizard of the palace, or the leader of the knights.

By sending them, the king was casting a spell on the people. A spell, showing their last hope.

That spell was wonderfully effective, and everyone sighed in relief, thinking everything would be alright now. Without realizing this was just what the higher-ups in the royal palace wanted.

Or maybe I’m just thinking too much about it. I don’t know. I don’t know, but no matter how you look at this, it’s obvious any outsider will think of it as some high fantasy story.

The so-called world of swords and sorcery. In this world, right now, that high fantasy story is just about to unfold.