Sortie (6)

Around the makeshift checkpoint built from stacked sandbags, about forty monsters stood.

Each black monster’s body looked three times the size of a horse.

Its shoulder height was only about an arm’s length taller than a horse, but its bulk and body length were overwhelming.

The black horn jutting from the monster’s forehead, as large as a person, maximized its demonic appearance.

Its pitch-black, glossy fur also made the monster look menacing.

The armed Tessen soldiers mounted on those monsters really did look like a demon knight order, just as the rumors said.

Travelers passing through the makeshift checkpoint politely held out their passes.

The soldier checking the passes had reddish-brown curly hair and a kindly, easygoing face.

“Welcome to Tessen.”

The soldier slammed a stamp down on the pass to mark entry into Tessen—thunk!—and offered a greeting.

“Thank you.”

Every one of the travelers kept sneaking glances at the monsters standing around them.

They were worried the beasts would be startled by the stamping sound and go on a rampage.

“There’s nothing to worry about. As long as someone’s riding them, they’re very gentle friends.”

The soldier, who had been stamping rather carelessly, said cheerfully.

His smile scrunched the wrinkles around his eyes, making him look utterly carefree.

Truly a Tessen native. Calling monsters “friends”—he was insane.

The traveler did not answer, and hurriedly passed through the checkpoint.

But what awaited beyond the checkpoint was worse.

My God!

Next to the checkpoint, inside a makeshift paddock in an open lot fenced off with roughly driven stakes, there were dozens of monsters.

A few pathetic wooden poles were all that separated the monsters from the people.

Were these Tessen folk completely numb to danger?

What truly shocked the people was the presence of a lady strolling inside that flimsy fence.

“Th-there! There’s a person…!”

Some people overcame their fear just enough to cry out for help.

The lady in a light summer dress reached out and stroked the monster’s cheek.

“That’s dangerous!”

Unable to stand it, several onlookers moved closer to the fence.

Clank!

The soldier guarding the road blocked their way with his spear.

“Stand back. The road is that way.”

“H-hey, there’s a person in there…”

Even while white as a sheet, the visitors wanted to help the delicate-featured lady.

She was surely an innocent lady who had fallen prey to some demonic trick and been lured over the fence.

“Do not point at her so rudely. The road is that way. Please follow the instructions.”

His words said “please follow,” but his tone said that if they argued one more time, he would hit them.

“…”

The visitors had no choice but to step back.

Even as they turned away, they kept stealing glances into the paddock.

Then they realized something strange about what followed.

Alicia, dressed in a pale water-colored dress, was smiling as she stroked Lusa’s cheek.

Lusa snorted softly and rubbed her forehead against Alicia’s face.

Alicia climbed onto Lusa’s back—the biggest of them all, with the most magnificent horns.

Then, riding the enormous monster, she took a lap around the flimsy paddock.

It looked like someone putting a horse through its paces.

People were struck dumb with shock.

-Th-that woman… was she a demon?

-A witch?!

-No way could a demon look like that!

Under the intense stares focused on Alicia, the soldiers finally dragged the visitors away at speed.

“Take them away.”

The visitors once more tried to speak about the poor lady who had fallen for the devil’s lure.

“Hey, over there…! There’s a person!”

“We’re going, we’re going. Let us handle it. More importantly…”

Reichardt approached the scene, which was still in uproar from the commotion.

“What’s going on?”

The visitors suffered a fresh shock.

“Our apologies, Your Highness. We’ll have the disturbance resolved shortly.”

“It seems a lady visited the paddock, and the travelers were startled.”

At Pol and Edric’s report, Reichardt replied briefly.

“Let them go.”

“Sir? But…”

The visitors could not snap out of their shock.

If no other members of the imperial family were here, then the only person who would be addressed as “Your Highness” at Tessen’s border was the Grand Duke of Tessen.

They could not believe that the Grand Duke of Tessen—known as a demon—was the owner of that unbelievable face that had just appeared.

“Even I can see it’s shocking. Makes you feel like you ought to go rescue her, doesn’t it?”

Reichardt lightly tapped Pol and Edric on the shoulders and vaulted over the paddock fence.

Pol thought that the travelers would probably end up blocking the road again and hopping in place in a panic.

“Blasphemous as this sounds, doesn’t it feel like something we could sell as a tourist attraction?”

Edric nudged Pol with his elbow as he spoke.

“You irreverent brat. It’d be the top attraction. Even if we charged one silver nib every hour, people might watch all day.”

“Man, you’d get rich.”

Pol and Edric also could not tear their eyes away from Alicia riding Lusa.

No matter how many times they saw it, no matter how many days in a row, it was a shocking sight.

“Whoops.”

“You really shouldn’t do that.”

Spotting Reichardt, Alicia jumped straight down from Lusa’s back.

“Ugh!”

“Dangerous!”

A few excitable travelers cried out.

-You’re the ones who are more dangerous.

Pol and Edric did not bother to warn them.

The idea that timid Lusa might be startled by someone shouting and trample them on her way past was too frightening.

And it would get in the way of any future tourism potential they might have.

At Reichardt’s suggestion, Alicia took command of the knight order that rode Lusa.

The world called them the Demon Knights.

Their official name was the Blackstone Knights.

Every member of the Blackstone Knights was from Tessen.

Some had once served in the Grand Duke of Tessen’s personal guard; some had come with them from the East Noah Purification; some had been selected upon arriving at the western border.

There were roughly these three routes into the order.

But no matter how they had joined, one thing was certain.

They trusted Alicia and followed her as their liege.

Every one of them had once lost family or loved ones to monsters, and so their faith in Alicia was unshakable.

The mission of the Blackstone Knights was to guard the makeshift checkpoint.

The checkpoint was still incomplete and insecure.

If a disturbance broke out, things could spiral into an uncontrollable situation.

For example, into an international territorial dispute.

Alicia had no intention of taking the Blackstone Knights outside Tessen.

They were meant to focus on guarding the border as their foremost duty.

The monsters roaming the Regi Grasslands, the Severy Desert, and Mount Kaip needed to be dealt with.

However, Alicia could not remain at the border forever.

She had to return to Tessen.

And before long, she would have to leave for the imperial capital, Baden.

Though she had taken the role at Reichardt’s suggestion, it weighed on her to leave these people—who had become her own—behind on such a harsh frontier.

One evening, after the border had been closed, Alicia summoned the Blackstone Knights.

The members of the order assumed it would be a formal address.

“Everyone is assembled, Lady.”

Ren handled the practical affairs of the Blackstone Knights.

He had wanted to quit life as a cleaner and become a member of Blackstone.

In the end, Ren’s attempt to wash his hands of being a cleaner failed.

That was because Alicia and Reichardt objected.

Under their strong opposition, Ren agreed to serve as a member of the Blackstone Knights only while he remained at the border.

Alicia slowly looked around at the members of the order gathered in the open space.

“I imagine all of you know that I’ll soon be leaving the border and returning to Tessen. Before I go, I wanted to address you in person—and I have gifts I want to give you as well.”

After that neat greeting, Alicia opened two velvet pouches.

“Will you accept them?”

Alicia first walked up to Ren and placed a silk pouch in his right hand.

From its weight, it seemed to contain gold or silver.

The issue lay with the left hand.

Alicia handed him a yellow stone shaped like a reptile’s eye.

“Lady?”

“If you trust me, eat it.”

The yellow stone rippled as if it were a living creature.

Its strange appearance made it look like a reptile’s eye, opening and closing.

Alicia moved on from Ren, filling both hands of the others as well.

The heavy pouch in the right hand was unexpected but welcome.

The unfamiliar lump of stone in the left hand, on the other hand, was confusing and frightening.

Alicia did not say things like “It’s not poison,” or “It’s not bad for you,” or “It’s good for your body if you eat it.”

She simply watched the order with eyes that seemed a little tense.

No one blurted out something tactless like, It feels like the stone is moving.

Ren, who had received his magic stone first, squeezed his eyes shut and gulped down the stone.

“Chew it.”

That way it would work better.

At Alicia’s words, everyone guessed that whatever this was, it must be something good.

One by one, they chewed and swallowed the living stones.

Though they were tense, not one person gagged from fear.

The stones had no taste at all.

They chewed as easily as candy and went down in an instant.

Alicia’s hand trembled a little at the massive outlay of magic stones, but she did not let it show.

No one noticed Alicia’s pang of regret.

Everyone was too terrified, busy chewing the unfamiliar stones, to have the room to notice such things.

“Stay well, all of you. We’ll see each other again soon. I’ll send word—then.”

Alicia quickly slipped away, trying to hide her shaking hands.

Reichardt, who had been watching from the side, walked after her.

“What were those just now?”

Once they were completely away from the order, Reichardt spoke.

His tone was casual, but his interest was clear.

“Rei, do you want some too?”

Alicia took out the remaining magic stones and showed them to him.

Reichardt was not particularly fond of magic stones.

If Alicia urged him to eat one, he would, but he was more on the reluctant side.

It was probably because he knew where magic stones came from.

Usually, when she offered them without explanation, he refused.

But now he showed a deep interest in them.

“Just one.”

“You can eat them all. They’re magic stones that strengthen bones and muscles. I don’t think you actually need that, Rey, but it won’t do you any harm.”

At Alicia’s words, Reichardt took all of the magic stones that had been allotted to him.

“All right.”

Reichardt immediately ate one of the stones he had taken.

From the ones left, he offered one to Alicia.

Crunch.

Without refusing, Alicia ate the magic stone Reichardt had given her.

Reichardt ate one more and then offered another to Alicia.

“There’s been word from Baden.”

“Already?”

She had expected a summons from the Emperor.

There was a lot to be dealt with.

The border issue, the incident on Mount Kaip, the question of ownership over the Regi Grasslands and the Severy Desert.

The decision of the desert Free Cities.

The matters between the newly incorporated Tessen residents and the remaining nomadic tribes.

But the situation here was not yet fully settled.

The Emperor paid close attention to current issues and was not poor at getting things done.

She had expected he would give them enough time, but the treatment was different from what she had hoped.

Seeing Alicia’s surprise, Reichardt shook his head.

“It’s something else.”

“What is it?”

“It’s good news, so don’t be afraid. The Marchioness of Istevna, Pauline, is about to give birth. With a member of the imperial family on the way, there is an imperial decree summoning the imperial kin to the capital to offer their congratulations.”

Reichardt gently stroked Alicia’s cheek as she watched him warily.

“It’s time for the baby to be born.”

Alicia’s smile spread.

“Yes. The Marchioness of Istevna had a birthing room set up in the palace on the condition that you, Alicia, be named godmother to the twins. Did she discuss that with you?”

“Pauline mentioned it once. I thought His Majesty would never allow it, but it seems he did.”

Unaware of Reichardt’s unease, Alicia chattered on, smiling brightly.

“He did allow it.”

“Wow.”

Reichardt could not bring himself to say that this might not be the time to be delighted.

He could not bring himself to say something deflating to a face that was shining with such joy.

“Henrik and Connie will bring the luggage tomorrow. Can we leave right away?”

“Of course.”

Alicia answered, her smile showing no sign of fading.

Pauline’s time was drawing near.

What kind of children would be born?

Alicia awaited the birth of the twins, which felt like the beginning of a future she did not yet know.

It was time to depart for Baden.

It was time for her revenge to begin.