FREAKING FINALLY!!

FLASHBACK TIME!!!

Even Gabrielle and Bertia have 'It's about time' written all over their faces.

Meanwhile, everyone else has an approving expression.

"Now, that makes for an exciting story while traveling, yes!"

Says Lucy with a big smile and a spirited tone, but Mika is looking at her quite reproachfully.

"How can you say that? What happened to our Leader and us was terrible."

"Hahaha, lighten up, Mika! Yeah, sure, it was all of that, but if that never happened, we wouldn't have met our dear Lady Auros over there. Let alone talk with Miss Nerinne. So, it balances out, don't you think?"

And she winked at me again when she mentioned me, charming, aren't you? Heh.

"Y-Yes, I guess so, but still..."

Mika, you don't have to hold back on your words. That should be easy to understand since I'm not reprimanding Lucy for her familiar tone and so on.

Come on! You are supposed to be the studious type!

"Besides, it has many things in common with those novels you used to lend me, you know? Drama, action, suspense, tragedy, and if I may, likable characters!"

"It may have all of that but...! You can't compare it to those novels! You need to learn the difference between fiction and reality, or risk being called worse things than stupid!"

Oi.

Mika. That hurts.

I can already imagine Nerinne rolling on the floor while laughing...

I need to say something but...

"*chuckle*Lucy might be right, Mika. It does resemble one of those stories you can find in bookshops."

...Erevain beats me to it.

Her smile has a bit of nostalgia mixed in.

"I-I'm sorry Leader is just that..."

"I understand Mika. Do not worry."

"I...very well, Leader."

With that Mika stands down, but now she is being teased by Lucy with her telling Mika that it is her ‘win’ and so, our bespectacled maid is pouting because of that.

"Now, yes, this is the story of our circumstances as a group and mine as a person. It all started five years ago..."

5 years?! That's how long they had been living where I found them?!

___________________________________________________

We were returning to the capital after completing a subjugation quest deep in the mountain range or the Titan's Rest as how it is called in the Kingdom.

At that time, we were a Knights’ Order called the ‘Swords of Dawn', and just like the other orders in the Kingdom, it was our responsibility to protect it and its people from many threats. Some being dungeons, monsters, beasts, or expeditionary forces of the Draconic Army.

We also delivered supplies to those affected by famine, medicines to those affected by sickness and relief to those affected by natural disasters.

And I was the one who led the ‘Swords of Dawn’.

I…Erevain vi Kyrie, crown prince of the Kyrie Kingdom.

Or that is what my name used to be.

In any case, there was always a festival whenever we returned to the capital.

You could see the faces of joy that the citizens had while thanking us in the name of their relatives that we had saved or for one of our deeds.

Saying that I was just doing my duty as both a knight and the crown prince would be lie, for seeing my people happy brought happiness to me too.

__________________________________________________

Those festivals also gave us a chance to relax after a quest.

Although some of us relaxed a bit too much, like Kris, who was Kristoff back then.

If it is alright with everyone, I shall use those names for the story.

"Man, what a lively mood. It makes me want to get off the horse and hit the bar! Who's with me?!"

"You will do that when and only after we report to the King, Kristoff. Even then, you must pay Roxxargueraffe for the armor you just ruined. Seriously…breaking formation and launching yourself at the mutated manticore. What were you thinking?"

"Hey! Cut me some slack, lil' Eric! I did manage to cut that thing's head off! That's something, right?! If I pay, I might not have enough coin to get drunk! Prince! My friend! Please!"

"Haaa…Kristoff, that is the third armor you have ruined in just this month. Even if we are funded by the national budget, plus my own funds, there is a limit to how much armors made from top materials we can issue before it starts affecting the Order. Consider this a lesson in taking better care of your things, my friend."

"But…but...!"

"Think of it this way, no broken armor means more coin to chug away. See? Easy to understand even for you, right?"

"Who told you to butt-in, Gabriel?! Are you saying I'm stupid?"

"Oh Goddess, no, of course not, Kristoff. What gave you that idea? Ohohoho!"

"Stop it with that creepy laugh!!! You!! Forgettable-looking sucker!!!"

"That's funny coming from a muscle headed drunk!!!"

"Those two...they rarely act composed with one another, right, Prince Erevain?"

"Leave them be, Eric. That is how they have always been since our days in the academy. You should know that well."

"Indeed, I suppose some things just do not change."

“And sometimes, Eric, things are fine like that.”

Yes…that was the kind of back and forth they always had, for better or for worse.

Even from the beginning.

I have known Kristoff and Gabriel since our time in the Royal Academy. And while I do not remember well who started it, I first met them as they were fighting each other.

That time I tried to stop them as it was the very first day of the course, but it ended up turning into a three way fight soon after Kristoff…punched me in the face.

I am ashamed to say this but…I could not hold back after that.

After some time, the guards tried to intervene too, but my parents stopped them as they were impressed with the two seemingly unknown young men who were not only able to keep up with me, but also put pressure on me in a fight.

The fight lasted a couple of hours, with the three of us refusing to give in despite the state in which we were.

Heh…we became friends, comrades, and rivals shortly after that.

But there was someone else there, someone who had tried to join and aid me but was unable to.

Eric.

He was and still is, the youngest of all of us. But he has been with me through everything. Formally he was one of my personal attendants, but I consider him a close friend and a third younger sibling.

He was quite capable despite his age.

But I digress.

Those festivals always had this nostalgic effect on us, except for one, Luca.

"Luca is no longer here right, Eric?"

"Yes, Prince. Still, he managed to stay with us half of the way."

"Good, we have come a long way since the times he vanished the moment we entered the capital."

"It must be Allegro's influence, Prince."

"Indeed."

Back then, I did not know much about him, even with my resources. One day he just appeared in my office with enough evidence to put a noble in prison for the murder of another noble.

I remember thinking that he seemed to have high enough education to be the son of said noble, but there was no evidence of it and him being his servant was certainly another possibility. That is until the subject of his expertise in stealth, infiltration and scouting came up into the conversation.  I posited that it would still make sense if that noble oversaw land that would help in training his scouting abilities specifically, but they did not. Making Luca’s origins quite the mystery at that time.

Regardless of not being good with conversations and with people in general.

Him joining us was his way of repaying me for acting on his behalf and imprisoning said murderer.

And if I may say this, I was, and still am, happy to see that Luca’s condition had been improving at a slow but sure pace after he joined us. Specially with the help of another member of our order.

Thanks to that, it did not take long for Luca to become a full-fledged member of the order.

Ah…apologies, My Lord. It seems I veered off again.

"The Royal Palace is in sight, Prince Erevain."

"Yes. Yes, it is, Eric."

In any case, if you were to ask any person that has been in the capital at least once, then you will most likely hear them say that all paths lead to the Royal Palace, and they are correct.

Every single main street in the capital leads to the Royal Palace, which is at the very center at the city, making traversal through it fast and simple.

As it should be.

That is the place where those that keep the Kingdom going were, those who belong to the different departments of state, and I have a strong feeling that they still are there.

Even if things might be…different in other ways.

It is also the place where the King and the royal court shape the future of our people.

Its beauty can only be equaled by the cathedral at its side.

The place where my family lives or…lived.

Where I grew up.

My home.

_____________________________________________________

"The Swords of Dawn have successfully returned from their Manticore subjugation!"

As always, we were welcomed into the throne room by the voice of the announcer and the Royal Knights who opened the throne room’s great doors at the same time.

There, commoners, nobles of different ranks and the royal court, all waited for us to present ourselves before him.

Before my father, Raphael Gert vi Kyrie.

He had been a man of great feats in the Draconic Front and it showed in his physique.

His glare when angered would make his foes stop in their tracks, not even monsters were immune to it.

Many said that I inherited that trait, one that stayed affixed on me...even if they thought that I could not hear them.

It may have created a complex within me, but there was so much work to do that thinking about it then was just a practice in wasting time.

"My King, we have returned."

We all knelt before him as it was expected, of course.

Yes, even me, for I will always be a knight first and a prince second.

Present circumstances notwithstanding.

"Rise and be welcome, Swords of Dawn."

Still, his words may have been the words of a King, but as we raised ourselves and I exchanged glances with him, I could tell what he really meant at that moment.

He…was glad that I had returned safely. He would then discretely shift his gaze to the throne beside his, as if telling its owner of my safe return.

As if telling my Mother, Theresa vi Kyrie, the one who was Queen Regent until her untimely death due to sickness.

Not only my father wept that day but the whole Kingdom and the nations did.

That day I…did not just lose a Mother, nor the Kingdom a Queen, but the world lost a Hero.

One that saved hundreds of thousands from the attack of a still unknown Dragon Lord.

She…shielded the entirety of a country's capital from a cataclysmic attack with her Moon Light magic and reflected it back to its sender, ending the battle.

Even if it came at the cost of herself retiring from the battlefields and the sickness that came as a side-effect of such a feat…

She had a gentle heart and an iron fist that she used to protect not only her people, but the innocent at large.

Some even called her a Saintess.

That was my Mother.

"We have successfully subjugated the mutated manticore specimen that had been laying waste to the villages in the west."

"As expected, and I can see that the only price it took was one armor..."

At the time I could swear that my father already expected such a result by just seeing how unsurprised he was as he glanced at Kristoff while handling his beard.

"...!"

Something that had an immediate effect on Kristoff.

Still, it was not as if my friend had been reckless.

"Indeed, but that was a decisive action taken by his experience. Which led to him landing the decisive blow and decapitating said manticore."

"Are you sure, Crown Prince?"

"Indeed, My King. It is as I say."

"Very well, I trust you already made proper arrangements."

My father knew Kristoff’s capabilities well as he used to be his combat instructor when we were in the academy, so he knew that I was not lying, but he still seemed to scold him with his gaze.

And the strongest warrior in the order, at least arguably, could only try and shy away from his King’s eyes, as if scared of them.

"Of course."

"Then, let us continue with this meeting. Hilde."

I mentioned my father sitting on his throne with no one by his side before, but there was someone behind him. The woman he beckoned then.

"Yes, My King."

Hilde Val, a prodigy that rose through the ranks of the Kingdom and became the second advisor to the King with such unparalleled intellect. Alchemy, arcane engineering, and social development, those were her specialties, all perfect to nurture the Kingdom in so many ways.

Ways that brought better living conditions for everyone, from potions used to strengthen crops, to more efficient sewage systems and much better water purification enchantments.

All by her hand.

Along with that, her beauty seemed to pull many people towards her. Some described her as the morning sun due to her hair having that same color and her generally warm attitude towards anyone.

If a child asked her about something, anything, she would earnestly look for the best answer to their question through teaching.

She was, for all intents and purposes, an outstanding person.

To the point that rumors of her being engaged with me never stopped appearing, but alas, I was not interested in such things at the time.

Besides my preferences for a partner falling somewhere similar yet still somewhere else, there was too much work to do to even consider taking seriously those rumblings or propose something like that.

Those people should have worked more if they had that much time on their hands.

"There is a public health project I am working on that needs the poison glands that are inside the manticore's tail, if intact it could mean that the project could be completed and implemented in four years instead of eight. Crown Prince, I ask of you. Have you managed to obtain its tail undamaged?"

She was not exaggerating when she spoke of cutting in half the development time of one of her projects, because in her case, everything was calculated to that point.

"It is not only intact, but it was already processed with the greatest of care by the best people in my Order. Gabriel, Allegro, you may present her the materials she asks for."

Back then we used special storage bags enchanted with spatial magic to carry important materials and in that occasion, it was not different. And as a second layer of protection, said materials were in flasks enchanted with conservation magic.

As such, presenting them to her went smoothly.

"This tail...it is perfectly dissected. The glands have been extracted but are intact and in perfect condition. The poison too. Impressive. This work alone has saved me precious time, how can I repay you both?"

Even with her fame, both of my men were surprised at hearing those words then. After all, they knew that asking for a reward beyond their salary was an offense to their duty as knights, but there was nothing they could do before the earnest Hilde.

They simply had no choice in the matter.

Even then, they turned to me for approval which I gave.

"Then, I would ask for books on alchemy, for I want to expand the methods I have available to heal the body when and if my magic fails."

I already knew about Gabriel’s request by then, since he had indeed been reading books on alchemy and asking Allegro about the subject in a few of our journeys and his free time. Even more I was planning on procuring more of such books for him, since him becoming a better healer all-around was beneficial to all of us.

"Granted, please come to my lab later. I shall give you various tomes that will prove useful to you, I will also provide you with a portable alchemy set."

And as always, Hilde went above and beyond with her response.

"Then, what about you, Meister Allegro?"

"Can I ask for a small sample of the mutated manticore's poison? It would be useful for my own research."

"Granted. I have always appreciated your cooperation when it comes to the study of poison, I only ask of you to share any data you obtain as well as your thoughts about this one in particular and I shall do the same. I also have come around some new detoxifying agents that you might find interesting, I will add a batch of those as well."

"Much appreciated, Arch Meister Hilde. And of course, you will be the first one to receive the report plus my notes."

Even then, there was a subtle difference in her tone every time she talked with Allegro. It was a certain type of respect, one only reserved for one's peers and she considered Allegro as one, even if he was an academic rank lower than her.

The reason for it can be illustrated with the inverse of the saying 'too much of a medicine becomes a poison'. Many medicines in the Kingdom were developed with the help of poison in at least some stage. That was why Allegro's various papers regarding the study of various poisons, their treatment, and their uses became integral in the research and development of new and improved medicines.

It was also not strange for Allegro to leave our headquarters after being summoned by Hilde who needed his expertise.

Even then, Allegro decided to join our order with an active role in the field instead of progressing his academical career.

He was, and still is, not only useful as a scout, but he also helps Luca and is adept at processing monster materials and ingredients.

"The rest of the manticore shall be distributed following the appropriate protocol as always."

Said protocol involved one of us, Eric at that moment, with providing the one in charge of receiving the materials with the storage where we had them and, if already processed, they would take them to either be valued and sold, or used in crafting and research.

"If you are finished, Hilde, we shall pass to more urgent matters."

I could see it in his face as Hilde went back to stand behind him, he had news to give, bad news.

"While the Swords of Dawn were away on their quest, I have received reports of a Draconian expeditionary force. This time their objective is the capital. Worst of all, their advance has been unimpeded and fast. A siege is on the horizon."

I can remember every single detail of that moment.

Those in the throne room who were ignorant of such a thing let out gasps, equally surprised and fearful.

The tension was almost palpable.

And I knew what I had to do.

We all did.

"Then we shall be the ones spearheading the defense force, My King."

There was no doubt in my voice, that was our duty after all.

But in hindsight, that could be considered the first step towards my downfall.

 

To be continued...(cue more seiyuu's announcements for the new characters!? Wait…there’s someone familiar here…)