Leave a comment

–––Diaria’s viewpoint

Unlike the second prince Magna who was known for being capable and collected, if not a bit cold, his older brother Stied’s reputation was terrible. His depravities were known by everyone, and all nobles knew of his constant provocations. But the reason why Ralph decided to get closer to someone like that was something out of everyone’s control.

The Cristopher family’s territory was located in the north of Bordaule, and bordered with Leble. In other words, if there was ever an international conflict, their territory would become the frontline, and there was a high possibility everything there would be destroyed by the enemy. During times of peace there were no issues, but now that the Demon King had resurrected things were getting tense as monsters appeared in higher numbers everywhere. On top of that Leble had started acting strange, and no one could predict when they would decide to invade. Feeling overwhelmed by all of that, Ralph decided to go ask the king to send more soldiers to his territory to keep it safe.

But his request was denied. The king was currently distributing the army throughout the entire country, so they could not afford to give the Cristopher family special treatment. Distressed, Ralph gave up on the king, and instead chose to join Stied, who was known for only caring for those on his side. As he expected, Stied sent the soldiers he had authority over to the Crsitiopher family’s territory, which ought to have helped the situation…but in the end, Stied’s soldiers just bought more issues.

Stied’s soldiers were more like inept barbarians, making the territory an incredibly unsafe place. The common folk were intimidated by them and began to flee one after another, while merchants began to avoid entering the territory altogether. Ralph was caught by surprise, but it was too late to do anything. He did not have enough influence to get rid of Stied’s soldiers, nor do anything to keep order amongst them. To make things worse, Stied ordered Ralph to bring his only daughter Verna to Stied in the capital. Stied claimed it was to strengthen the bond between them, but Stied’s lustful nature was known to everyone, and his true motives were obvious.

Ralph was losing his mind, but he would not allow his only daughter to be treated like a toy, so he decided to let her escape secretly. If it was known that he willingly let her go, Stied would take it as treason, so she had to leave alone and in secret.

“In the end Simon, my lifelong friend, came with me and we left the territory. We thought Count Grom could take us in, as his territory is quite a distance away, but as you saw, we were attacked by monsters on the way…”
“And I just so happened to rescue you from them…”
“Precisely.”

So that was their story. They were only a noble’s daughter and one knight running away in quite a hurry, making them good prey for monsters. But they also seemed to be oblivious to many things.

“Err, Verna, right? I don’t know how to really say this, but you do know that the city of Surfour, Grom’s territory, is currently taken over by Stied, right?”
“Huh…”

Verna was lost for words, hearing something she had not expected in the least. She had left her home in a hurry trying to protect herself, but the place she wanted to hide in was already occupied by her enemy. I could not blame her for feeling conflicted and shocked. All color drained from her face, she glanced at me and Simon languidly, and then fell unconscious.

“Milady!”

Simon rushed to her side, picking her upper body up, but she was immobile. Verna seemed to be adept at keeping calm after stressful situations, but her mind was still weak to adversity. I felt bad for her, but I thought her best choices were to keep hiding, or to return to her territory…though that was just my old self thinking. I was no longer like that, I had endured grueling training for situations like these. I smiled at Verna, who had opened her eyes, though her face was still pale.

“Verna, I can help you if you want. I’m sure I’ll be a valuable asset at your side, and we’ll be able to drive away any of Stied’s men that try taking you away.”
“Are you-”
“Did you lose your mind?! There’s no way just one person can be of so much help!”

Simon reacted faster than Verna. Even though he had seen me defeat those monsters earlier, he did not seem to trust my strength yet, refusing my offer.

“It doesn’t matter how good you might be with a bow, there’s a limit to how much one person can do. Not to mention I can’t allow Milady Verna to willingly put herself in danger! I’m grateful for your help, but I don’t want to hear stupid offers like that!”
“Simon! Watch your tone! My apologies, Diaria. However, Simon does have a point. You might be strong, but the enemy outnumbers us. I can’t see a way out even with your help.”

I did not necessarily feel mad hearing that reaction from both. It was completely natural to think that way. If I was a random third person watching this play out, I would think the same. Knowing what I knew though…

“First of all, calm down a bit. You have heard of Princess Luvias, Bordaule’s hero, right?”

Both tilted their heads hearing me talk about the princess out of the blue.

“Yes, of course. Princess Luvias is our hero who took up her sword to maintain peace. Together with a few friends, she’s preparing to protect Bordaule and…”

She seemed to notice something at that point, her eyes narrowing as she recalled something.

“…Princess Luvias is accompanied by four friends. Lapis, a savant of both sword and magic, referred to by some as the second coming of the Hero. Karin, a warrior made famous as a Dragon Slayer. Ciel, a magician who’s similarly a Dragon Slayer. Then Zelvis’ hero, the third Dragon Slayer, an elf who uses spirit magic…Diaria!”
“Wait, is that you?!”

Their exaggerated reaction was too funny and my chest hurt from containing my laughter.

“Yes, I’m Luvias’ friend Diaria. Things happened and we decided to split up for a while, but I should be strong enough to deal with an army of Stied’s soldiers. So what do you think? Do you want the help of the hero’s friend?”

Just like a drowning man will catch a straw, after having lost all hope, they looked at me like the straw in their lives. There was no need for them to think twice, they instantly nodded in agreement.