Chapter 279 (1/2)

A glimmering city of light. Everyone who knew the former city of Elarc described it in this way. The Canal Kingdom, whose capital was Elarc, was filled with people of many different races. One of the reasons for this was that many people migrated there from the St. Altis Kingdom when the subhuman theory became widely accepted.

However, as a result of the 「truth」 exposed by the Third Princess Celis, the kingdom was thrown into ruin and a civil war had begun.

「So, this is it…」

Taking a deep sigh, Kain looked up at the main entrance to Elarc. The gates, which must have been blown up by countless magic spells, were demolished, completely burnt to the ground. It was a horrible sight. Even the guardroom and the area that must have been the observation platform were reduced to rubble.

Laying close by in the ruins was what seemed like a melting piece of armor. It didn’t seem to have any 「contents」, but it was obvious that something terrible had happened there. Near the crumbled gates, there was some sort of strange black mass.

「…Kain. Isn’t this different from the information we received earlier?」

「Huh?」

Kain swung around as Ein’s words rang out from behind him.

「We had heard that the Swords of Light Chivalric Order and the Staves of Light Chivalric Order had sided with Third Princess Celis, and that the destruction we see here was from the opposing forces…」

There were four knight armies in the Canal Kingdom. They consisted of the Imperial Guard Chivalric Order, which defended the king, the Swords of Light Chivalric Order, which was composed of swordsmen, the Shields of Light Chivalric Order, which was composed of heavy knights, and the Staves of Light Chivalric Order, which was composed of magic users. Among these groups, the ones that sided with Princess Celis were supposed to be the Swords of Light Chivalric Order and the Staves of Light Chivalric Order. In terms of firepower, these forces were greater than those of the First Princess, which means that they should be at an advantage.

Therefore, if the Staves of Light Chivalric Order was on Princess Celis’s side, it would be very strange for the front gates to be destroyed by magic.

「Could it be possible that those court magic users are powerful enough to rival an entire army?」

Kain thought of Mazenda, the suspicious-looking magic user that they had in the past. However, was it really possible for one person to do this much damage?

「Hmm, it looks like you don’t know anything.」

Suddenly, the strange black mass near the gates began to speak, and Kain backed away in bewilderment. However, Kain muttered to himself in confusion as the black mass turned out to be a black knight covered in soot.

They had black hair and black eyes. It was rare for a person to have both of these traits. Their heavy armor was also jet black, so their entire body was completely covered in black.It was the first time Kain had seen someone like that.

The armor that the black knight wore seemed to be of good quality, but it was different from any of the armor worn by the knights in the Canal Kingdom. They looked like they were some sort of noble or adventurer.

One the other hand, the sword that they held was a steel blue blade of a completely different design. It seemed like an ordinary sword, and it looked quite crude in comparison to the clearly well-crafted set of armor he wore.

「Oh…this? This is a weapon I stole from the people that attacked me. It’s a pretty poorly crafted sword, but it’s better than nothing.」

Saying this in an annoyed way after noticing Kain’s stare, the black knight took a deep sigh, still sitting down.

It was hard to distinguish at first, but it seems as though the black knight is a woman. Her short, black hair was covered with soot and there was no sense of liveliness in her eyes.

「Um… What are you doing in a place like this?」

As Kain spoke to her with hesitation, the black knight answered back, clearly annoyed.

「…Me? If it isn’t already obvious to you, I’m not doing anything.」

Kain looked back at Ein with a troubled expression, and Ein quickly looked away. She’s trying to communicate that she doesn’t want to have to deal with such a bothersome woman.

「W-why aren’t you doing anything?」

「Because I don’t know what to do.」

Saying this, the black knight looked up at the sky.

「…Look, the sky is beautiful.」

「Err, yes it is.」

As the black knight looked up at the sky, Kain hurriedly came up with a response. Even though it’s clear that Kain is struggling to keep the conversation going, Ein pretended not to pay attention. As she was thinking about how good Kain was at sticking his head into bothersome matters, the black knight continued talking.

「Even I don’t know what I am… but when I’m fighting, I feel at ease. That’s why I’m waiting here, waiting for some battle to come my way.」

「Hmm……Does that mean you’re a mercenary?」

「What’s a mercenary? Is that what I am?」

「Hm? Hmmm?」