Chapter 22

With eight days remaining until the ceremony that would make William king, Princess Kana departed once more with Burley and the elite troops to exterminate magical beasts and purify mana pools.

This time, their main destinations were Edgerton, which lay in the Rear Demon Gate direction, and the neighboring Caradine March, with one objective being to make it possible for their lords to attend the ceremonies at the royal palace.

For that reason, Princess Kana, Burley, and Shaila had discussed the itinerary beforehand. William and Aldridge were busy preparing for the ceremonies, and Beaton was equally occupied.

“This time, Burley and his men alone will suffice to accompany me. Unlike before, we already know what must be done.”

Burley agreed when the princess added that they would be able to travel more lightly that way.

“First, I believe we should head to Edgerton, which the Saintess calls the Rear Demon Gate, and afterward proceed to the territory of the margrave, which is also Her Majesty’s family home. From there, we can return toward the royal capital along the highway while exterminating magical beasts and purifying any mana pools we notice along the way.”

The queen nodded at the extermination commander’s words.

“Yes, I think that would be best as well. The other day, I sent letters to every territorial lord explaining how mana pools can be eliminated, so they should be able to deal with the smaller ones themselves.”

Then she turned toward Burley.

“No matter how magnificent the Saintess’s purification power may be, it would be wrong to ask her to do things we can accomplish ourselves. Even if someone makes such a demand, you need not entertain it.”

She made the point quite firmly. Shaila believed that if she said this beforehand, even high-ranking nobles would refrain from making unreasonable demands. Burley was extremely popular among the common people, but because his rank was only that of viscount, there were still those who looked down on him.

The sons, wives, and daughters of nobles who failed to understand his importance were especially troublesome.

“I understand perfectly.”

The queen nodded at his reply, then turned toward the princess.

“And Princess Kana, I apologize for the trouble, but may I entrust you with a letter for my brother?”

“I do not mind. Something like that is hardly any trouble at all. So, thou hast an elder brother…”

Shaila smiled and explained that there was a slight age gap between them. She actually had two elder brothers: the eldest was the current Margrave of Caradine, while the second commanded the frontier and border forces. Princess Kana received letters addressed to both of them immediately before departure, and they were now stored inside her mysterious storage box.

As before, they traveled with different members riding Kaō and Suō, and had not planned to stop before reaching their destination. However, halfway there, they encountered a town below that was being attacked by magical beasts.

They could hardly ignore such a sight and continue onward, so Princess Kana ordered Kaō to descend, with Suō following behind.

The town had no outer wall, instead being surrounded by a fence, but several sections had already been destroyed, and many magical beasts had entered the streets.

Although the residents were fleeing in panic, they were evacuating into the sturdiest buildings available under the soldiers’ direction, and the damage did not yet appear especially severe.

(But I cannot use the Nine Cuts like this. In that case…)

“Burley, I shall leave this place to thee and the others. I will purify the mana pool first.”

After saying that to Burley and his troops, the princess signaled Kaō, rose back into the sky, and headed toward a mana pool visible a short distance away.

It was not particularly large compared with those she had seen before, but perhaps because it had only recently formed, the princess thought magical beasts seemed to be emerging from it faster than from the others.

Moreover, around ten soldiers and three magicians were already fighting the beasts, but it was obvious that they were being pushed back by the creatures that continued spawning one after another.

And here too, humans and beasts were mixed together in a chaotic melee, so the Nine Cuts remained unusable.

(How bothersome…)

The princess sighed in irritation, but standing around would accomplish nothing. She took out several talismans inscribed with “Exorcism” and blew her breath across them. Then,

“Fall back!”

She called down from above and released the talismans.

“Kyūkyū Nyoritsuryō, Talisman Exorcism!”

Pop, pop-pop, pop!

The soldiers stared wide-eyed as the magical beasts burst apart before them, and the princess called out again.

“I told you to fall back! You are in my way!”

Only then did they seem to realize the warning was directed at them. They looked upward in confusion, and when they saw Princess Kana, their surprise deepened. Yet none of them moved away, and one even glared at her—the soldier who appeared to be in command. The princess paid him no attention whatsoever.

“If you are caught in the next attack, do not complain!”

With that, she raised her hand like a blade, chanted the Nine Cuts, and unleashed it.

“Vermilion Bird・Black Tortoise・White Tiger・Kōchin・Teikyū・Bun’ō・Santai・Gyokunyo・Azure Dragon!”

“““Ggyaaaaaaahhhhhh!”””

The soldiers stared blankly as the magical beasts directly before them were sliced apart while screaming their death cries, but at last they seemed to understand what she had told them. They all retreated at once, putting distance between themselves and the beasts.

Princess Kana immediately unleashed the Nine Cuts a second time. When she fired a third, the few surviving beasts fled, but for the most part the battle was settled.

However, Princess Kana did not descend to the ground. The reason was that the soldiers from earlier now had their swords pointed toward her. Granted, only the young man at the front seemed openly hostile, while the others looked as though they were merely obeying orders.

“Hey, woman! You’re wearing clothes I’ve never seen before—where did you come from? And what is that fox? A fox that flies through the sky is suspicious beyond belief!”

The young man, who had reddish-gold hair and pale-blue eyes, pointed his sword at Princess Kana and loudly ordered her to come down immediately.

(What sort of fool would descend into a place where someone is clearly waiting to attack them? Not that one of his caliber would pose any difficulty.)

She could understand that people seeing her kimono and Kaō for the first time might find them strange, but that was no excuse for such an arrogant attitude. Kaō seemed even more offended than the princess and asked,

“Princess. May I freeze every last one of them?”

His tail had puffed up, and he made no attempt whatsoever to hide his murderous intent.

“Do not become so enraged over fools. Let us see… Chill them enough that they cannot move for a while. As long as they cease interfering, that will suffice.”

“At once! Hmph, how conveniently they have gathered together. Then I shall use a little false hellebore, so please cover your mouth.”

With a wicked grin, Kaō stamped one forepaw in midair. In an instant, thick walls of ice rose around the soldiers and trapped them inside.

They clearly had not expected such retaliation and all panicked at once, but it was already far too late.

“Oboro Dance!”

Something like snow drifted gently down inside the walls of ice, and at the same time, the smell of crushed plants filled the enclosed space.

““Wha—what is this…?””

““Huh? My body… it’s cold…””

“Damn it… poison…?”

They tried desperately to escape the cold and unfamiliar odor, but inside the enclosed walls they were packed too closely together to swing their swords or cast fire magic strong enough to melt the ice. Worse still, with each breath, a cold numbness spread gradually from inside their bodies until their limbs stopped responding. Once they realized what was happening, terror gripped the soldiers. As a result,

“P-please… spare us…”

“Please, help us…”

Some looked upward, stretched their hands toward the princess, and begged for mercy. But then the young man from earlier shouted,

“Hey! What are you idiots doing?! Protect me right now!”

Yet even if they had wanted to obey such an unreasonable order, the soldiers were becoming unable to move one after another from the cold and numbness, collapsing in heaps atop each other. Naturally, the shouting man also lost the ability to move, and only after seeing every one of them fall did the princess descend beside the mana pool.

“Now then, finally. Kaō, I leave it to thee.”

“As you command, Princess!”

In time with the mantra the princess chanted, the white fox with floral markings summoned a mist that spread across the entire mana pool and froze it solid.

“On Abokya Beiroshanō Makabodara Manihandoma Jinbara Harabaritaya Un, On Abokya Beiroshanō…”

After the purification was complete and the water receded, a jar appeared as expected. Unlike the others, however, it had not been buried and had merely been placed directly on the ground.

(Were they in such a hurry that they had no time to bury it, or perhaps…)

“Now then. If Suō were here, we could simply burn it at once, but what should we do?”

As the princess stood pondering in front of the jar,

“Princess, thank goodness you are safe!”

A voice called from above. Looking up, she saw Suō carrying Burley and just beginning to descend.

“Oh, excellent timing. Suō, I was just thinking we should burn this.”

“Then let us do so at once!”

At the princess’s words, Suō immediately let Burley dismount and rushed over.

“Nomaku Sanmanda Bazara Dan Kan, Nomaku Sanmanda Bazara Dan Kan…”

As Princess Kana chanted Acala’s mantra, Suō’s flames danced forth, and the jar burned away in an instant.

“Now then, at last that is settled. But why art thou alone, Burley? Where are the others? Have they not finished yet?”

Princess Kana asked curiously, and the extermination commander answered with a troubled expression.

“No, the magical beasts that entered the town have already been eliminated, but apparently the daughter of this territory’s lord insists that she must speak with the Saintess…”

“How troublesome. I see no reason why I should entertain such a person.”

“Nor do I, but she insisted so strongly that I could not refuse. By the way, Saintess… what exactly is this block of ice?”

Burley had noticed the ice walls Kaō created earlier, so the princess explained what had happened.

“They were interfering with the purification. When I told them to move aside, they turned their weapons upon me. So I merely had them chilled and numbed for a while.”

As she spoke, the princess ordered Kaō to melt the ice. Since it would be troublesome if the soldiers started causing trouble again, she asked Suō to restrain them the instant the walls disappeared.

““At once!””

With their reply, the ice walls vanished immediately, and in their place appeared a pile of soldiers resembling caterpillars, their bodies wrapped completely in rope. Burley seemed somewhat startled by their number, but apparently recognized someone among them.

“I should send word about this.”

Muttering to himself, he removed something resembling a tube from inside his clothes, drove it into the ground, and lit it. At first a flame appeared, but it soon died down, after which a wavering column of smoke rose into the air.

“Burley, is that a signal fire?”

“Yes. The smoke will continue for about half an hour, so anyone who comes searching should be able to find them easily.”

“Indeed. Now then, let us return for the moment. If we do not hurry, we shall fall behind on several matters.”

“And them? They aren’t going to die, are they…?”

“They will not die. Though they may suffer from the cold and paralysis for some time.”

“Now then, let us go collect everyone.”

With that, she climbed onto Kaō’s back and returned with Suō to the town from earlier, but matters did not go nearly as smoothly as the princess expected.

“Saintess, please purify every mana pool in our territory! And please heal our wounded people as well!”

A young woman was currently kneeling before Princess Kana, tears in her eyes as she pleaded.

A short while earlier, when Princess Kana and Suō descended into an open area of town where the extermination force had gathered, she noticed a finely dressed young woman surrounded by several soldiers, staring fixedly at her. The instant Princess Kana saw the girl’s reddish-gold hair and pale-blue eyes, she had a bad feeling.

(I have the distinct feeling this will become nothing but trouble…)

Sure enough, the young woman ran straight up to the princess, clasped both hands together, dropped to her knees on the ground, and shouted those words. Worse still,

“My lady, there is no need for you to kneel personally like this…”

“It is all right, Nanny. Something like this is nothing to me. After all, it is for the sake of my precious people.”

“My lady, how compassionate you are…”

It even came complete with such third-rate theatrics.

(She keeps glancing toward me every time she speaks. Truly troublesome… And that hair and those eyes. I only just saw a face remarkably similar to hers.)

Princess Kana gave a sigh and addressed the extermination commander standing beside her.

“Burley, are the people of this world all uniformly this greedy? Or is it only those with faces like this girl’s who are especially shameless?”

The princess did not miss the way the young woman’s expression twisted with displeasure upon hearing those words.