The Wine Of Victory

Back at the mansion, I was drinking the red wine Rin had poured into my glass.

Apparently Ekarraat had instructed Rin to prepare it in advance.

The red wine, which I was drinking for the first time, wasn’t bad.

However, I couldn’t tell whether it was the taste of the wine or the satisfaction of vengeance that made it taste good.

“Master, you look strangely happy.”

“Yeah—it’s not an exaggeration to say that my real life is finally beginning now.”

“……..”

Yet Ekarraat, the very person who had prepared the celebratory drink, did not look pleased.

She tilted her glass of red wine and furrowed her brow.

“Ekarraat… What’s wrong? Today is a day to celebrate. Why don’t you look happier?”

Ekarraat had been so supportive of my revenge that she had feared it might fade when I took Rin in.

Nevertheless, Ekarraat’s expression was off.

“Sid—this is bad.”

Ekarraat spoke as if resigned.

“…Did something happen?”

Her unusually serious expression sobered me of the wine’s haze, and I straightened up.

“Well, to explain this situation, I should probably start with the formation of the Hero party and its relationship to the Holy Church…”

Saying that, Ekarraat began to speak.

The secrets of the Hero party—

—That the Hero party was a grand piece of propaganda planned by the Royal Palace to boost the monarchy’s authority and support by having the Second Prince, Sylvan, clear an S-rank Dungeon and be elevated as a hero.

—That in order to gain support from all the people, it had to be a mixed party composed of various statuses and races.

—But a Hero party chosen due to various schemes and vested interests could not possibly clear an S-rank Dungeon.

—And therefore they requested that the Holy Church exterminate the Crimson Vampire Princess.

—The Holy Church accepted the Palace ’s request on the condition that members of the Church be embedded in the Hero party, and Oswald Weidenreich succeeded in defeating Ekarraat at the cost of his own life.

“……..”

And—Ruru, the sole survivor of the Hero party, turned out to be an informant working for the Palace.

“That Assassin wasn’t just an adventurer. She was the Palace ’s dog.”

“So…?”

“Sid having laid hands on the Hero party—it’s been discovered by the Palace and the Holy Church.”

＊＊＊

――The scene changes.

――The royal castle towering in the center of the capital.

――In the audience hall where the throne sits.

“Is that… true…?”

The interior of the castle was lavish to the utmost.

The old man sitting on the throne asked his vassal in disbelief.

“Ha ha! With all due respect…!”

Seated on the throne was the king—Ashford Lengnard—the father of the Hero Sylvan, with a blue beard and a crown.

Hearing the news of his son’s death from the vassal kneeling before him, the King involuntarily rose slightly from his throne.

“Wh-what is this… Sylvan…! Why!”

The King, engulfed in sorrow at losing his beloved son, shed tears.

Then—upon hearing the next words from his vassal, his expression shifted from grief to anger.

“Prince Sylvan was not killed by monsters—according to the report from the returning Ruru Ginger, the one who laid hands on His Highness was Sid Ranorus of the Shikai Tribe.”

“Sid Ranorus… a lowly Shikai Tribe slave killed my son…?”

“With all due respect.”

The King slammed his fist onto the armrest of the throne.

“Bring out the Royal Palace Knights! With all our might, bring me that Shikai Tribe’s head! This is a royal decree!”

The King’s angry voice echoed through the audience hall.

＊＊＊

――A few moments later.

――The Royal Palace Knights’ barracks.

――The general’s office—he who commands the Royal Palace Knights.

“What!? That can’t be true, can it!? My brother… Garen couldn’t have been killed that easily!”

――Bang!

The general sitting at the desk had already received the royal decree to hunt down Sid Ranorus and shouted at the messenger soldier.

The general of the Royal Palace Knights was Greiss Wolf.

He was the elder brother of Garen, the Heavy Knight of the Hero party and former commander of a Royal Palace Knights unit.

As the King was pained by the loss of his son, the general too could not hide his shock at the news that his brother had been killed.

“It is His Majesty’s order that Sid Ranorus’s head be brought as soon as possible—General.”

“Yes, I will do it without being told. I will avenge my brother—gather the Knights in the square immediately! I’m going out too!”

＊＊＊

――At the same time.

――The reception desk of the Adventurer’s Guild.

“Wh-what!? Mr. Si-Sid!?”

Emily, the receptionist, cried out in surprise upon seeing the new wanted poster that had arrived at the Guild.

“What’s wrong, Emily? Uh, what’s this~? Wanted for the murder of Prince Sylvan, reward 10 million G—wow!? Wait, Prince Sylvan was killed!?”

“No, that can’t be… Huh, why…”

Emily’s coworker at the reception desk took the wanted poster from Emily’s trembling hands and checked the mugshot again.

“Huh? I’ve seen this Shikai Tribe member somewhere before? Ah—!! Isn’t this the solo adventurer who was friendly with Emily!? Oh no! We have to be ready to report him whenever he shows up!”

“N-no, n-no, that’s not true! There must be some mistake! Mr. Sid wouldn’t do something like that…”

That wanted poster, which would later be posted all over the capital, bore a huge reward of 10 million G along with a mugshot of Sid Ranorus.

＊＊＊

――At the same time.

――In a dim, unfrequented basement somewhere in the capital.

“—I see. Sid Ranorus awakened as a Shadow Necromancer. He took under his command the Crimson Vampire Princess, who governs ‘Eternity’ and ‘Perpetuity’ among the Five Great Demon Lords, and Vanargand the Devourer—so it seems.”

“……..”

In that damp, dim basement there was a man and a woman.

The man was a Shikai Tribe man—rare in this country for his black hair and black eyes—and the woman was of the Ragiu Tribe, with purple hair and brown skin.

“Everything’s mostly gone according to plan. But I never expected—Vanargand, whose whereabouts were the only unknown, to have been hidden by the Crimson Vampire Princess… I’m glad you faced the Shadow Necromancer and came back alive. As expected of you—Ru.”

The Shikai Tribe man gently stroked the Ragiu woman’s head and smiled faintly.

And the Ragiu woman, pleased by the man’s praise, thawed her icy expression and let a smile spread across her cheeks.