Volume 1 - CH 3

“We’re fighting them.”

“Huh? Are you insane? That’s impossible, you know? We’ll die.”

“Hm? We’ll die? That’s dangerous, isn’t it. In any case, I’d like to see you die, so—”

“Hey, you… but anyway, that’s totally impossible. After all, it’s just such a pain, you know? So let’s just give up. I’m sure there’s a way easier way to do this.”

“Mm. An easier way… such as?”

“Hm? Well, I haven’t thought of one yet, but… oh, wait. It’s nice out, so how about we take a nap. As soon as we close our eyes, bam, we’ll be in Runa—”

Whoosh! A sharp metallic sound rang through the sky. 

“If that’s your easy solution, then I have an even easier one.”

“N-no, I don’t think me dying will get us any closer to Runa…”

“Really? I think that once your head is flying through the air, the wind will pick up, and soon enough—”

“That’s terrifying! I see that I’m in the wrong, so could you put your sword away?”

“Mm. In any case, we haven’t come up with any alternatives, have we.”

“Yeah…”

So their conversation went, as they stood atop a knoll, the tall grass wavering in the wind. The wind didn’t make Ryner Lute’s dark hair any less messy or his eyes any more motivated. He surveyed the area, then looked to the blonde hair, blue eyes beauty, Ferris Eris, next to him.

“You understand the situation, right?” Ryner asked. “Our enemy’s five of Nelpha’s Magical Knights. They’re nothing like normal soldiers. And you want to strip them of everything they’ve got? Without them killing us? I’m telling you that’s impossible. It’s definitely impossible.”

Ryner looked down from the hill again as he spoke. There were five men down there, each with their own incredibly tough armor. Just looking at them was enough to know that they were Nelphan Magical Knights. They were an elite force, and their appearance on a battlefield was always the start of a bloodbath that easily changed the course of any battle.

“Let’s attack them,” the emotionless beauty next to him said, careless as ever. 

Seriously, she was insane. It was all Ryner could do to lay there, tired. “Let’s give up,” he said. “Okay? All that’ll happen if we fight is us dying.”

Ferris turned her cold eyes towards him. “Then how do you intend to get to Runa? All of the paths leading there are filled with soldiers. Besides, whose fault is it that we’re in this situation? Hm?”

“Uh, it’s your fault too?” 

“But when you caused that dragon to rise from the ground, and when you destroyed those ruins—”

“You were definitely involved in both of those situations, though,” Ryner said.

Ferris paid so little attention to him that it was like she didn’t hear him at all. “Not only that, but you’ve attacked countless women along the way… And you’ve even laid your hands on Nelphan soldiers—”

“I did!? Also, did you really have to slander me to all the housewives in the villages we passed through?”  

“How regrettable. I was simply conveying the truth. Though the rumor does seem to have gotten out of hand…”

“…So what’s this ‘truth’ you speak of?” Ryner asked.

“It’s simple. I told them that there is a slim man with dark hair and dark eyes wearing white armor with a navy robe—the very same outfit that Roland’s Magical Knights wear—and that he is a high-level degenerate, and that they must be careful of him.”

“There’s literally no way to exaggerate that any more than you already did. Geez… you know that you’re just fanning the fires of a Roland-Nelpha conflict here, right?”

“How so? I only speak the truth.”

“I swear…”

“Speaking of which, I also put a good word in for a blonde-haired beauty whose insides are just as beautiful as she is.”

“Haha… don’t know her.”

“Isn’t it obvious who it is?”

“Not to me.”

“……”

Ryner sighed at the absolute pointlessness of their conversation. “Anyway… we’re seriously gonna attack them?”

Ferris nodded easily. “Of course. If we assume that they’re just dressed as Magical Knights to use their name and armor as a free pass to do whatever they want, then it’s simple. They think that they’re invincible, because if we Rolanders were to kill them, it’d lead to a Roland-Nelpha conflict… Any questions?”

“Even if I had questions, you’d just ignore them…”

“Alright, no questions. So—”

Ferris raised her hand and pointed towards the soldiers, as casual as ever.

“—attack them.”

Ryner sighed. “How did I know you were gonna say that… and why’s it always just me?”

“You attack women every night, so you’re clearly the better of the two of us at attacking—” 

“No, I’m serious. We’re up against Magical Knights, you know? I’ll die if I go up against them alone.”

“Interesting.”

“That’s not ‘interesting!’” Ryner yelled.

Suddenly Ferris looked into Ryner’s eyes… or more specifically, to the very faint pentagram within them. “I’ll rephrase. Ryner, you once repelled Estabullian Magical Knights all by your lonesome, didn’t you?”

“Wha!?” Ryner turned away unnaturally. “Wh, what are you saying, Ferris? I-I didn’t do anything like that. The king did all that. I mean, everyone from Roland knows that, right? That our hero king was the one to rout 50 Magical Knights in the fight against Estabul? I had nothing to do with that. I just happened to be there when it happened…”

Ferris interrupted, trembling, with a pressured voice. “I heard it from the king himself.”

“Oh… really?”

Ferris nodded. “Mm.”

Ryner grimaced. “Ugh, shit. That guy and his big mouth… He tells me nothing about Ferris and then goes and gabs to her all about me…”

“Obviously. No one would tell a girl’s private affairs to a sex fiend.”

“Like always, who are you calling a sex fi… actually, I’m tired of argueing about that, but… it’s just not like that… but yeah, anyway, Ferris, you’re misunderstanding something here. It’s not like that,” he said and pointed at his eyes, where a red pentagram was becoming clearer… it was that special mark that everyone both hated and feared… 

Ryner continued with a bit of a dark expression. “You’ve got that situation wrong. But, um, explaining it’s kind of a pain, so…”

Ferris stared at him for a moment before speaking. “Then don’t.”

“Huh?”

“I’m telling you that you don’t have to explain it,” Ferris said and looked away. “I have… no desire to hear about your private affairs.”

“Huh, um, Ferris?”

“I know that you’re thoroughly incompetant, and that’s enough for me.” She sat up and put a hand on her sword, a gesture that was second-nature for her. “There’s nothing I can do but fight too. You’ll be my meat shield… no, my decoy.”

“Huh? Like I said, what’s happeni—”

“Let’s go.” She grabbed Ryner by the scruff of his neck. “You’ll fly in and catch their attention, then I’ll stealthily knock them out.”

“W-wait, you’re gonna have me dive bomb off this hill!?”

“I’ll tell the king that you became a star in the sky.”

“Don’t tell him tha—”

She pushed him off.

“Uwawawah!?”

Just then, they heard noises down from where the Magical Knights were.

“Mm? Did they notice us?”

Ryner frantically tried to grab hold on the hill to scramble back up. When he finally gained hold, he spoke. “They probably noticed ‘cause you’re so noisy.”

Ferris gracefully moved her sword to Ryner’s neck. “Quiet. I hear voices.”

“…Voices?”

Ryner’s ears perked up despite the sword on his neck. They were loud, as if agitated.

“Finally found them! They’re on the mountain path!”

“Let’s get ‘em! They’ll never get away!”

“The nerve they have, making us look for them like this! We’re definitely catching them!”

The Magical Knights broke out in a run. They were pretty fast. Ryner and Ferris looked at each other. “We’re not on a mountain path,” Ryner said. “So who’re they looking for?”

“Hm… in any case, let’s give chase,” Ferris said. “We’ll find a gap in their defence and attack while we can.”

Ferris returned her sword to its scabbard faster than Ryner’s eyes could follow. “Hurry up and get down,” she said, then readied a kick.

“Y-you’ve got to be kiddi—”

That was all he could say before the kick connected with his back.

“Gyaaaahhh!”

And so Ryner slammed down the hill at an inhuman speed… 

---

Bugs and birds alike chirped. And on top of that… 

“I can’t believe this! A dragon? Seriously, a dragon? You’d normally save someone from a dragon, right!?”

…Then there was the sound of wind through trees, and the sight of Milk Callaud’s flaxen ponytail swaying in the breeze as she walked through a deep mountain path. She had darling red eyes and a small build, and right now she was putting her all into taking big steps as she walked. She was surrounded by her older subordinates, each walking far more solumnly than her.

Yes, this sixteen year old girl was the leader of five elite Taboo Hunters. Though said subordinates looked at her warmly as if she were a child, not their leader, she most certainly was.

“What do you think?” Milk asked Luke. “Ryner’s mistaken, right? I mean, he left a girl to drown in a river, right? I just can’t believe that he didn’t save me!”

Luke listened, troubled. “Chief, we’re Taboo Hunters, and he’s a Taboo Breaker. He has no responsibility to save you…”

“That’s not the problem here!”

“I-is that so…?”

“Yes!” Milk asserted. Yeah. Yeah, that wasn’t the problem… Ryner was her childhood friend, and, and… he’d made that promise to her! And yet! She waved her arms around, overcome with anger. “What’s up with him! What happened to Ryner? He turned out to be so lazy! And, and why’s he with that beauty!? He’s cheating on me! Sleeping with another woman! I’m so mad! I’m definitely gonna catch him!!”

And so Milk was overcome with suspiciously passionate zeal for her professional duty as a Taboo Hunter… 

A Taboo Hunter’s duty was to catch or even exterminate Taboo Breakers, who abandoned their country for another despite knowing the secrets of Roland’s magic. It was a tough job, exterminating one’s own countrymen, and few wanted to do it. It was dangerous, too. Milk was the chief of such a group of people. 

Her subordinates followed after her, each with the air of parents looking after their small child who was having a temper tantrum, even though they too were elite soldiers who could easily take down the third-rate soldiers that characterized most armies. 

“But Chief,” Luke started, “I really think it’s pointless to keep chasing after these Taboo Breakers. They’re just too strong for us. That blonde woman was enough to handle all of us with ease, you know? We really ought to return home—”

“No! I’m not going home!” Milk yelled over Luke’s words.

“How do you intend on catching them?”

“I’ll persuade you!” Milk said, determined.

“Huh!? P, persuade me…?”

Milk nodded real big, then balled her hands into fists. “I’m sure that blonde beauty is seducing Ryner! I-I can…”

“Uh, um… Chief?”

“I know that beauty is scary. We can’t let her wake Ryner’s eyes up! Right? Don’t you think so, Luke?”

“……”

Luke sighed. “Alright… let’s do our best for just a little longer…”

“Yeah!” Milk said, suddenly cheerful. 

Meanwhile, her subordinates watched with the mixed expressions of fathers who were half sad that their daughter would someday be married, and half looking forward to her happiness… 

That was how they passed the early Sunday afternoon. 

Up until they were suddenly attacked, that is.

“…What!?”

Sensing a presence, Milk and her subordinates suddenly looked behind themselves. They were strong enough to have gotten close to surround them despite how powerful the Taboo Hunters were.

When they turned around, it was almost like no one was there. That was all it took to know that they were a massive threat. 

Despite their lack of presence, there stood five men wearing strange armor. That in addition to their deathly aura left Milk and her team paralyzed. They were like prey in the face of their predators, and predators always caught their prey.

The middle predator spoke. “You bastards are spies from Roland, aren’t you?”

“Wh-who are…,” Milk stuttered.

Luke was the one who answered, his eyes full of despair. “Ch-Chief… these people are Nelpha’s Magical Knights.”

“What!?” Milk said, subconsciously raising her voice.

Nelpha’s Magical Knights were on the same level as Roland’s—they were the strongest corps of any army.

“Wh, why are they here…?”

Luke moved in an instant, his sword unsheathed, to stand in front of Milk to protect her. “Run, Chief! We’ll shield y—”

That was as far as he got.

A Magical Knight was there, one hand holding a sword to the back of Luke’s neck, the other light with a seal characteristic of Nelpha’s magic.

“Don’t move, Rolander. If you do, it’ll take two seconds for us to annihilate the five of you,” a Magical Knight said. His voice was both calm and threatening. These were soldiers who could go into any situation completely unperturbed—true machines of war. 

Milk fell to the ground at the sight of them. “Wh, what should we do…?”

She had to save her subordinates… and she couldn’t die here… 

Death. Being killed.

She understood what that meant. 

This wasn’t like those times… it wasn’t like when Ryner saved her… 

“R-Ryner… what should I do…?”

Despair was all that she could see.

---

Ryner watched from the tall grass with the most tired eyes imaginable. He sighed. “Ugh… again? How do those guys always know the absolute worst time to appear…?”

Ferris was next to him, as emotionless as ever. “They must be masochists just like you are.”

Ryner was silent for a moment before replying. “Seriously… what do you think of me…?”

“That you’re a sex fiend.”

“Y’know, you say that every single day to the point where I feel like you’re gonna brainwash me into believing it too…”

“Oh, you’re becoming self-aware?”

“…Anyway…”

Given the situation, Ryner dropped their conversation. 

“So what should we do?” He asked.

“Mm… Our plan remains unchanged. In fact, this is a best case scenario—we can attack while all of their attention is on the girl and her men. We’ll be able to attack and incapacitate them without any bloodshed,” Ferris said. She unsheathed her sword. “Let’s go.”

Ryner stretched. “What a pain.”

The two postured for battle.

Ferris’ form disappeared in an instant… or rather, she moved so quickly that it was impossible for the naked eye to follow as she leapt towards the enemy, and in a flash she was there by them. She slammed the blunt side of her sword into a Magical Knight’s head. He collapsed then and there. She moved to attack the second knight in the same fashion… however—

Kaching!

The sharp sound of metal echoed through the air. The second Magical Knight had somehow noticed Ferris’ surprised attack and stopped her sword before it hit him.

That was the power of a Magical Knight - they were able to stop Ferris, whose speed with her sword was her pride. 

The remaining three knights moved to attack too, one with a sword and two with magic. 

The two knights drew seals in the open air. “Goddess of flames, lend me your power—”

Ferris was too busy fending off the two sword users to fight the magic, too. “Ryner!”

“I know!”

The Magical Knights finished their spell. “Freyja Burst!”

Condensation began to gather in the air.

Ryner knew this spell. It was one that gathered condensation, then pressurized it, leading to an explosion. Ferris was in danger if it hit her at point-blank range… so Ryner’s hands danced in the air from his place within the tall grass.

“I wish for an invasion - Eclipse!”

Three lines of pitch-black smoke shot from his magic circle to envelope Ferris, stopping the condensation from gathering around her.

“What!? They’ve cancelled our magic!?”

Their shock was enough time for Ferris to jump out from the smoke to knock another knight out. Two down, three to go.

“It was an ambush!?”

Milk and her team had moved to behind the knights to keep them from running.

“Hm. Good judgement,” Ferris said.

Ryner rose from the tall grass, too, a ‘what a pain’ look still plastered on his face. “Just two, huh?”

“Ryner!? So you did come to save—ah!”

A knight’s sword flew to Milk’s neck. He stared at Ryner. “I see. So you’re Rolander spies, too… Pretty skilled ones, at that. I’ll change my approach. If you don’t put your sword down,” he said, looking to Ferris, “The girl gets it.”

It was tense.

One slip and they’d lose her life.

Anyone would be flustered in that situation… or they should’ve been. 

Ferris didn’t move. Instead, her voice turned… joyful. “Interesting. Kill her.”

“Whoa whoa whoa,” Ryner said, but for some reason, his voice wasn’t very urgent either… 

Their easygoing responses were enough to make the Magical Knight falter. “Y-you’re alright with abandoning the life of one of your comrades?”

“I can’t believe Roland,” another said.

And so the relationship between Roland and Nelpha continued to crumble… 

“Ah, w-wait,” Milk stuttered. “They’re from Roland, but they’re Taboo—”

“That’s right,” Ferris said, talking entirely above Milk. “We’re not allies. This doofus next to me is a serial robber, murderer, rapist, and kidnapper of both women and children. He’s even threatened the darling little sister of a beauty—me—and is of course the greatest criminal in all of the Roland Empire.”

“What!?”

The Nelphan knights were at a loss for words. It was just so sudden. Just now, they learned a shocking truth straight from a beautiful woman’s mouth… so that was how it was. This beauty was living with that dark past, and even now she was forced to lend her hand to this perverted criminal… 

Everyone shared the same shocked expression. For some reason, the Magical Knights’ faces were getting redder.

Even Milk was astonished. “Is that t-true, Ryner!?”

“No way in hell! But arguing against Ferris is at this point is way too much of a pain, and—auh,”

A sword raced to Ryner’s neck as he tried to explain, followed by a quiet voice. “What are you trying to accomplish by running your mouth, criminal? Hm?”

“I think it’s really sad that no one believes me even though I’m being bullied with a sword to my neck all the time…”

“Mm. It’s a win for this beauty.”

“I seriously don’t wanna hear that from you.”

The knight who was holding Milk hostage spoke. “Don’t tell me that… this officer is another one of his victims…?”

Ferris nodded without hesitation. Then she took up a sad expression that Ryner had never seen on her before. “Not just the soldiers of Roland, but the soldiers of Nelpha too, now, have come to save me from my victimhood with their overflowing compassion… and although I ought to be able to return home now, I cannot, for my dear little sister has been taken hostage…!”

It was a pretty convincing act, all things considered. Despite the sword on his neck, she easily passed as the beautiful (in both mind and body) heroine of a tragedy.

“The hell do you mean, ‘victimhood…’ And who’s the one who happily said that they should kill Milk just minutes ago?” Wrong answer. The sword advanced a millimeter into Ryner’s neck. “Uuh… I’m bleeding, you know,” Ryner mumbled, crying on the inside.

Anyway, the Magical Knights released Milk, flustered. “What have we done? We’ve committed a crime through our ignorance of the circumstances. Please, forgive us.”

Milk was perhaps the most perplexed of all. “Huh? Huh?”

The Magical Knights paid her no mind, though. “I thank you for your consideration in coming here to spare Nelpha’s people from this criminal. We shall assist in capturing this criminal! Release that poor maiden!”

How much of that was Milk able to understand? She darted her eyes around, flustered beyond belief, before settling on Ryner. She stared at him, unable to move with Ferris’ sword on his neck… then her face lit up with some kind of understanding. She raised her voice, decisive. “Geez! I’m mad now! Ryner, you idiot! You sure do get along with that beauty, don’t you!? You cheater! Cheater!! Everyone, capture that cheating scum!”

““Understood!””

And so everyone, from Nelpha’s Magical Knights to Milk’s troops, turned to Ryner for a fight. Their target was him and him alone… 

Ryner sighed. “Are you satisfied?”

“Mm. Well, it keeps the relationship between Roland and Nelpha intact. Let’s clear this out and make our way towards Runa to search for Relics there.” Ferris’ tone suddenly changed to an eerily feminine one. “For my little sister’s sake!”

“Yes, yes, I know.” Ryner squared off… and ignored Milk and her subordinates. Their real enemy here was the Magical Knights. 

Seals of light appeared to his left and right, and the Magical Knights began their incantations.

“It is the waves which rule all—” 

Ryner watched the spell’s composition and structure. Even now, his eyes were lazy… but within those lazy eyes lay a scarlet pentagram. “Aah, I see. So it’s a spell where you attack with a soundwave.”

All it took was the sight of the seal for him to know that, even though it was completely different from Roland’s magic. How was it made? How did it activate? What kind of magic was it? He understood it all.

Ryner moved his hands, too fast to be seen, and in an instant there was a magic circle before him. “I wish for silence - Dark Garden!”

The Nelphan spell finished at the exact same time. “Sonic Walk!”

An ear piercing sound radiated from the Nelphan spell. However… 

“……”

It never reached Ryner. Neither did their attack.

The Magical Knights’ expressions turned to panic and they tried to raise their voices, but— 

“……!?”

No one could hear them. Their voices made no sound at all. All sound was erased from their surroundings for just a moment. Then it reappeared. 

“And with that, your spell’s useless. All it takes is a second for Dark Garden to cut your spell off and make it useless,” Ryner said carelessly.

The knights couldn’t respond. What was happening…?

A single knight could choke out a trembling voice. “You… you bastard… Who are you? You were able to stop our magic at the perfect moment with its antimagic…? I can’t believe it. It should be impossible…”    

Ryner didn’t respond. He just moved to make a seal, the likes of which the Magical Knights had created moments ago. The knights watched in shock. This man could cast not only Roland’s magic, but Nelpha’s too… That couldn’t be possible. The only way it could be possible was if… 

A knight finally realized what was going on. “It couldn’t be… that his eyes are…”

“Is he an Alpha Stigma bearer!?”

“……”

Ryner didn’t respond to their shock. He just finished his spell. “Sonic Walk.”

A soundwave shot out, loud enough to rattle their very brains. The Magical Knights fainted with ease, ending the battle.

Ryner sighed. “That was easier than I thought it’d be with your shock tactics… It was way different than the fight with Estabul’s Magical Knights. When he raised his head, he saw that only Ferris and Milk were left standing. 

“Wh, what’s with you!?” Milk yelled. “You think you can do whatever you want just because you’re pretty, don’t you!?”

“Mm. Is that jealousy from the girl who was thrown away talking?”

“Wh-wh-what!? I wasn’t thrown away!”

“You’re so flustered, even though the one who threw you away is nothing but a criminal,” Ferris said. “You can’t even see the reality of the situation…”

“I’m telling you, it’s not like that!” Milk said. “That was just a childhood promise. It has nothing to do with this… but anyway! Give Ryner back!”

“Mm? You’re misunderstanding something. I was captured by him, not the other way around. Every day I’m forced to do this and that—”

“This and that!?” 

Ryner had to intervene. “Stop spilling lies about me!” Ryner yelled.

In response, Ferris moved her sword to Milk… 

“Auh…”

Milk fainted with ease. Then Ferris turned to Ryner. “Mm. She’s quite stubborn.”

“You’re such a liar!” Ryner said. “You have way too much fun filling people’s heads with lies…”

“How upsetting. I only speak the truth.”

“Uugh… just stop right there.”

“Of course. The truth is hard to swallow, after all.”

“Literally no one told her the truth, though?”  Ryner said and shook his head about this, sincere. “Well, anyway… let’s strip these knights of all their belongings before we head out?”

“Mm. And you’re thinking of stripping the woman, too.”

“I am!?”

And so the two rummaged around the knights’ belongings, stealing everything.

---

A while later, at a checkpoint on the way to the Runa Empire from Imperial Nelpha… 

According to the guardsmen, a man and woman had passed just a few hours ago, wearing Magical Knight armor.

Hearing that… 

Milk stomped her foot. “They got away again!?”

Luke was calm in contrast. “Rather than saying they got away again, I’d say that they saved us…”

But Milk wouldn’t listen to him. She was still being just as oppositional as before, even now that she was face to face with both guards and Magical Knights. “Geez! Only cowards would let them get away like that! I don’t remember ever having subordinates like that!”

“Ch-Chief,” Luke said, flustered, “The Magical Knights aren’t your subordinates…”

“It doesn’t matter if they’re my subordinates or not,” Milk said, serious. 

“Oh, my,” Luke said as he bowed to the Magical Knights a few times, apologetic. 

The Magical Knights saw it differently, though. They spoke one after another.

“What a wonderful lieutenant, being on such good terms with her subordinates!”

“Exactly. I feel at ease knowing that Roland’s officers are this big-hearted.”

“We must think about if we’re really a match for Roland or not.”

Luke, who was usually a rather humble person, changed at the sound of praise for his superior officer. “Right? I think that she will be a wonderful bride for someone in the future.”

In the end, he was a doting father. Though her ability as an officer had absolutely nothing to do with if she’d make a good wife or not… 

Milk raised her fist up towards Runa. “I’m definitely not letting you get away this time, Ryner!”

Luke and the Magical Knights watched her, their eyes narrowed for some reason. They spoke one after another, calm as could be.

“But I feel awfully lonely when I think about her being married off…”

“You can say that again. My daughter just turned four, and I think the same thing every day.” 

It seemed that the bond between doting parents transcended country boarders.

Anyway, the friendship between the Roland Empire and Imperial Nelpha not only remained intact, but somehow even grew.

Meanwhile, in Runa…

Ryner cast the heavy, uncomfortable armor away. “I’ve gone this long without saying anything.”

“Mm. I know. Because my plan is flawless.”

“Hahah… I just have one question for you. Where exactly does spreading rumors about me being a criminal factor into our overall goals?”

“That’s just my hobby.”

“Hah!? You’re finally admitting it!? Your hobby? You’re telling me that it’s your hobby!?”

“I just told you,” Ferris said, her expression ever unchanging.

“…I can’t say that this isn’t just a little troubling…”

“Hm. In any case, let’s go,” Ferris said. We have a mission here.”

“You mean the Heroic Relics? Uugh, the next relic is gonna be such a pain. I don’t wanna do iiiittt.”

“If it’s so much of a pain, then why don’t you make your life a little simpler and just stop brea—”

“There’s no way I’d do that!”

And so the two advanced while carrying on their usual conversations, leaving their abandoned Nelphan armor and robes there.

It was time to tackle the Runa Empire.