Chapter 47: The War for the Saint Ignites
Kurara: “......yes…..and…..aren’t you…..supposed to be…...my bodyguard….?”
Igni: “I don’t care! Just shoot those spells at me!”
Kurara, Rose, and Floria didn’t know how to interpret Igni’s action and terminated their spell initiation.
Floria: “Lady Rose, is Sir Igni ‘that’ kind of person?”
Rose: “What do you mean ‘that’ kind?! Igni’s just trying to stop us from fighting and placed himself in the middle! Your interpretation is very insulting! Apologize to him now!!”
Floria: “.......I’m sorry.”
It’s just the four of them in the main street, but it’s still lively as ever.
Kurara: “......we\'ll….yes...that’s one way…..to resolve this…...but…..isn’t that too dangerous?”
Igni: “I can’t bear to see girls get hurt instead.”
Popularity Etiquette No. 4ーー”A man should always be a gentleman.”
Rose: “Awwww!! He’s so cool!!! That’s my Igni!!”
The comment struck the heart of one girl in particular.
And of course, that would be Rose.
Rose: “......but we can’t do that, Igni.”
And she immediately cooled down and changed her composure.
Rose: “You can’t be with anyone else.”
Magic surges and swirls around Rose.
Rose: “But I guess that’s only natural that other women catch your eyes. So I’ll help you forget them. [Saintly Restraints] {Holy Bind}.”
Igni: “...?!”
Igni immediately evades Rose’s spell.
Rose: “Why did you avoid that, Igni?!”
Igni: “Rather than be caught by girls, I’d rather do the catching.”
Igni couldn’t help but show a wide grin when making the remark.
Rose: “HーHe’s so amazing……”
Rose’s eyes transform into hearts ♡ as she admires Igni with glee.
But Kurara and Floria are observing with cool, calculating eyes.
Kurara: “Miss [Saint].....what will you do….? Will you come to….Alelimenia? Or…...will you not…?”
Hyu! (sfx sound of something cutting through the wind)
And Kurara’s sword was now pointed at Igni.
Floria: “That’s below the line, Kurara! You can’t take the students as hostages!!”
Floria yells her protest.
Igni: (I’m a hostage?)
Igni: (What’s going on…..??)
Igni, who is not quite following the situation tilts his head to the side.
Igni: “Hey, Kurara, what’s happening here?”
Kurara: “.....oh, that’s right…..we haven’t discussed…..any of this…..yet…,”
Even with a sword pointed at him, Igni is carrying on a conversation with Kurara as if nothing’s happened.
In fact, he is not bothered one bit by the sword.
His gut instinct is telling him that Kurara would never kill him.
And he is right.
Kurara herself realizes that the [Saint] would never come to Alelimenia if she kills Igni. So this is just her bluff.
Kurara: “Igni…...what is…..the [Saint]’s magic trait…..?”
Igni: “She’s a [Holy] type and…….?”
Kurara: “Yes…...that is….the only type…..that can cleanse…...and purify….the [Demon King’s Realm].....”
Igni: “Oh yeah. There’s that too…”
Igni lived far too long inside the [Demon King’s Realm] that he almost forgot the obvious.
Normally, <it is impossible to live inside the [Demon King’s Realm]>.
100 years after the death of the Demon King, inside the [Demon King’s Realm], not only has the local fauna drastically mutated due to the overwhelming amount of magic pouring out from the Demon King’s corpse, but the Monsters that live there are several times stronger than usual.
And on top of that, the left-over remains of the former Demon King’s Army roam around the area.
Floria: “Sir Igni. Have you forgotten? …...the [Demon King’s Realm] will infect and swallow its neighboring regions. Hence, if you do not take any measures against it, all of the lands will become part of the [Demon King’s Realm].”
Igni: “........oh yeah. I remember now.”
With Floria’s words, Igni is reminded of another important characteristic of the [Demon King’s Realm].
Kurara: “And…..the one…..who can stop it…….are the [Saint]s.”
Igni: “That’s why countries are tasked with protecting the [Saint], huh…”
Igni mumbled as he reminisced on the many fairy tales and stories he read long ago as a child.
Kurara: “.......yes. That’s how…..it is……”
Igni: “And Kurara, you want to take Rose back to your country in order to expand the Elves’ lands?”
Kurara: “.........yes.”
The Principality is surrounded completely by uninfected lands, so it has no use for the [Saint].
But, starting with the Kingdom and Empire, many countries have at least one border that is adjacent to the [Demon King’s Realm]. Then it is only a matter of time before their country is swallowed up by the former Demon King\'s territory.
Kurara: “It is rare…..for someone…...to be born with……..the Upper-Tier…...Magic Trait of [Water], [Holy]......and the current [Saint].....was born with [Holy] : [S]. It’s like…...she was blessed…...by God……”
Floria: “It’s not just ‘like’ she was blessed. She was truly blessed by God!”
The two [Extreme]s glare at each other.
And Igni stepped in between them.
Igni: “But….it should be Rose who gets to decide where she should go.”
A slight breeze blows at Igni and the group’s feet.
Igni: “This isn’t something we should decide for her.”
Rose: “IーIgni! Look, Floria! Look at how cool Igni is!!”
Floria: “.......Sir Igni. Unfortunately, that is not the case.”
Floria ignores Rose and informs Igni.
Igni steps in front of Kurara and faces Floria.
Igni: “What…..do you mean?”
Floria: “Lady Rose’s schedule for the next 40 years has already been determined.”
Igni: “That’s…..”
Floria: “.......this is already something that has been determined. By the coalition of countries who abide by the [Saints Agreement], the order of the countries the [Saint] will visit has already been determined long before the [Saint] was born.”
Igni: “Then….Roses’ life is already….”
Floria: “Yes. Every single day has all been determined.”
Igni looks at Rose.
Igni: “Rose….are you okay with this?”
Rose: “Yes, I am.”
She quietly laughs.
Rose: “That is….the mission, the ultimate goal of being a [Saint].”
Igni: “...........”
Igni bit down on the next words that almost came out.
Calling out a girl who has chosen her own path in life would be dishonorable as a man.
Igni: “But…..really…...are you really okay with that?!”
Rose is only silent to Igni’s question.
Already coming to terms with this fate, she just continues smiling.
But it was Kurara who broke the following silence.
Kurara: “.......being tied down…..all your life…...how could you……...ever be…….happy….?”
The wind blows harder, and Kurara’s bangs float up revealing the bandage covering both her eyes.
Kurara: “You are…...far too young…and foolish….to already…...determine your……...whole life….”
Rose: “Is it really? I can look back and be proud of my choices in life.”
Kurara: “.......I...understand. If you…..come to Alelimenia…….then, I will…….guarantee….your freedom……”
Rose: “Ummm...that’s a really appealing offer, but I have to decline.”
Kurara: “You can…...have Igni….as a bonus….”
Rose: “When do we leave?”
Floria: “Lady Rose!!”
Igni: (I’m just a bonus prize..….)
Igni: (But it’s all girls here so I guess that’s okay….)
Kurara: “You…...are getting…….in the way….Floria.”
Floria: “I’m in the way? You just have to keep your hands off Lady Rose, Kurara.”
The two face each other once again…
Floria: “{Water Whip}!!”
Kurara: “.....fuh…”
GIGIGIGIGIIINN!! (sfx: metal clashing with metal)
The next moment, the sound of dull metal connecting with spells rings through the air!!
The air explodes outward and pushes everything around the collision point outwards!!
Rose: “Floria! Wait!”
Floria: “If she was someone reasonable whom we could talk this through, we wouldn’t be in this position in the first place.”
Floria creates vines of magical water whips - a total of 15 whips slices through the air.
Igni: “Kurara!!”
Kurara: “Do not….worry….I will not…..take her life…..”
And with just a single sword, Kurara blocks all incoming attacks even while being blind.
But the wheels of fate already began to turn at that instant.
The ground below Roses’ feet <MELTED>.
Igni: “ROSE!!”
And <discovering this faster than anyone else>, Igni kicks the ground hard, leaping towards Rose with his hand outstretched.
Floria realized what was happening a moment later and stretched her water whip towards Rose as she sunk quickly into the ground.
But countless [Earth] {Tetsura Bullets} showered towards both of them and stopped them in their path!!
Igni: “[Shoot Down] {Fire}!”
As soon as Igni takes out all the [Earth] {Tetsura Bullets} coming towards him, Rose completely disappears into the ground.
Floria: “IーImpossible!!”
Floria screams, and Igni agrees with her assessment.
Floria: “How did they use a Spell without stirring Magic?!”
Kurara: “........how……?”
Kurara is also equally confused as Floria continues to scream.
A Spell begins with the stirring, manipulation, or ignition of Magic.
In other words, you cannot perform a Spell without touching Magic in some form or fashion.
That’s why for Wizards who have “mastered” their spells, they can detect Spells by seeing magic being agitated and respond accordingly.
Hence, what happened to Rose just now was well beyond anything Igni or the others could have ever expected.
“Igni! That way!!”
Another party intruded into the fray.
Igni: “Alicia, is that you?!”
“IーI’m here too!”
Behind the girl on the broom soaring in the sky was a boy who most definitely looked like a girl no matter what angle you saw him.
Alicia: “She was carried that way!”
And Alicia pointed to a direction outside the Principality of Lyheria.
Igni: “[Equip Flame Engine] {Accel Boot}!!”
Igni explodes a {Fireball} beneath him and rises up immediately to Alicia’s height off the ground.
Alicia: “Igni! You need to get the [Saint] back, or it’s going to be bad!”
Igni: “What do you mean ‘bad’?!”
Igni skips over any explanations of why they’re here to not waste any more time.
Alicia: “I’ve seen that exact same spell on the battlefield! That spell was cast by the ‘Marionette Ruler’ -- the [Original] Magic Trait Wizard!!”
Igni: “An [Original] Wizard….!”
Igni roars.
Floria grits her teeth, and Kurara stabs the ground with her sword to begin her tracking Spells.
Igni: “I’ll go after her! Alicia, follow me!”
Alicia: “Understood!”
And at that moment, on that day, the [War for the Saint] commenced.