BTCATL 54

Chapter 54

“It’s been a while, Princess Asilla.”

At the sudden whisper, my body flinched.

When I slowly turned around, I saw the face of a man I had once encountered, smiling at me.

His blue hair fluttered in the sea breeze.

—Marry me.
—My lady. Don’t you wonder what would happen if the genes of two strong people came together?

The master of the Southern Tower, and the man who had abruptly proposed to me a year and a half ago—

Rioll von Drouaz.

The South and the East were both desperate to find me, he had said.

Well, anyone could have figured it out with a little digging. After all, I hadn’t even bothered to change my name.

I quietly studied the way his green eyes curved in amusement.

“I never wanted to see you again. Did you follow me here?”

Rioll gave a theatrical “Oh!” and shook his head.

“That would’ve been romantic, but unfortunately, no. The Kantana Empire placed a large-scale request, so I’m here for that.”

Over his shoulder, I saw water spirits bubbling about before fading away as they met my butterflies.

So he was a water spirit summoner, too.

I narrowed my eyes.

It made sense that they would summon a water spirit summoner to treat a plague.

The Kantana Empire was in such a rush that they had been sending out random requests to all four directional towers.

Even so, his words about the South pursuing me still lingered in my ears.

“I’d rather you not look at me with such suspicious eyes.”

My gaze narrowed even further.

“You’ve said things to me that make that request impossible.”

He couldn’t take me here, not even as a tower master. My butterflies were strong.

And even though he had stepped away for a bit, Calios was still by my side.

Rioll studied me with an unreadable expression before slowly raising both hands in mock surrender.

“The South dropped their investigation the moment they found out you were a princess. Even if the land the Empire offered was tempting…”

A faint smile lingered on his lips.

“…We have no interest in making enemies with the contractor of Nyx.”

—Bang!

The deck shook as if it might crack. Black smoke hissed up from the spot where Rioll had been standing a moment ago.

“I still want to have a child with you, though.”

—Bang! Bang! Bang!

The remaining people on the deck screamed and scattered.

Leaping to dodge the dark attacks, Rioll burst into loud laughter, as if it were all some great joke.

“Where does a rat like you get the nerve to flirt?”

When the smoke cleared, Calios stood at an angle, red eyes blazing.

“My, my.”

Smiling lazily, Rioll once again raised his arms.

“The princess’s guards are too strong, so I can’t find an opening yet. But… if you ever change your mind, I hope you come to the South, Princess.”

—Bang!

Calios’s spirits surged again, punching holes straight through the thick deck.

For once, I found myself liking Calios’s attack.

A man who addressed me as ‘princess’ and obsessed over children deserved that much.

The captain and crew, who had realized this was a fight between spirit summoners, stood pale and trembling, too frightened to even approach.

When one crew member finally foamed at the mouth and collapsed from the strain of watching the two men’s relentless back-and-forth—

“…Nyx.”

[Yes.]

[What shall I do?]

I decided enough was enough and summoned my butterflies. They fluttered onto my shoulders, shimmering with a crimson-black glow.

“Would you stop those two for me? Peaceful—”

I was about to say “peacefully,” but then I remembered how my spirits had “stopped” Calios and Rdin’s fight before, and hastily added the word at the last moment. Unfortunately, it was already too late.

Drinking down mana in gulps, the butterflies multiplied instantly, grinning as they rushed the two men locked in their sharp exchange.

I squeezed my eyes shut—I couldn’t watch.

Calios and Rdin fought often, and I had been caught in the middle enough times to know. The first time my spirits had broken up their fight…

[Hold it!]
[Annoying.]

Calios’s spirits dodged, clearly familiar with the butterflies’ ways. Rioll’s undines were not so lucky.

The crimson-black orbs formed by my butterflies swallowed the undines whole—

—and then devoured them outright.

“…What are you—urk!”

Rioll, who had been dodging Calios’s attacks with easy grace until now, froze for the first time. A moment later, he spat out thick, blackened blood.

Yes, this was exactly what happened when I didn’t firmly stress “peacefully.”

My butterflies’ most primal attack was to consume the opponent’s spirits entirely.

After forcing the undines to be unsummoned, they fluttered back to me, looking pleased with themselves.

I hesitated. As much as I disliked him, seeing him cough up blood made my heart waver just a little.

“Um—”

“Ah-ha, hahaha, hahahahaha!”

Both Calios and I frowned.

Bent over, coughing and laughing through the blood, Rioll eventually leaned back, still laughing uncontrollably.

When the laughter finally subsided, his green eyes—now glistening with tears—curved sweetly at me.

“Ah, you’re strong as I thought. That makes you even harder to give up, Princess.”

At that nauseatingly oily remark, I froze. Calios’s hand began gathering another growing black sphere.

“But I don’t have the strength left to face you both at once right now, so I’ll take my leave.”

Leaping down to where the pale-faced crew had gathered, Rioll brushed the blood from his lips.

Several nearby crew members stumbled back in terror and fell over.

“You’re the first woman to wound me, Princess. Next time, I’ll propose with a gem more worthy of you.”

The kind of cheap line you’d read in a third-rate romance novel sent shivers crawling up my spine.

“That man, honestly—”

Ignoring Calios’s low growl, Rioll disappeared with a laugh.

Once he was gone, the crew began creeping toward us, though when Calios suddenly turned his head, they let out frightened yelps. Still, their fear of the ship’s damage outweighed their fear of him.

“Um, excuse me… I heard you’re a spirit summoner, but… the deck…”

The captain, leading them despite trembling, impressed me with his nerve.

Calios glanced at him, sighed as if annoyed, and pulled out a slip of paper. After scribbling something on it, he handed it over.

“Bill the Western Spirit Tower.”

“Ah—ah, th-thank you!”

Judging by the captain’s suddenly brightened face, it must have been a check.

About two hours later, our ship docked at the Kantana Empire.

We had originally planned to take a private boat, but the sea was rougher than expected, so we bought tickets for a passenger ship heading through the Empire.

Only three people disembarked here—Calios, myself, and, in the distance, Rioll.

The moment he spotted me, he looked ready to dash over, but paused just long enough for Calios to seize my hand and pull me away.

Soon, a massive golden building filled my view.

I remembered that Calios had said he couldn’t move freely—except inside. If a barrier had been set, then movement within was allowed.

Glancing around, I realized how absurdly easy it had been to slip into the imperial palace of an empire.

“Kyaa! Kyaaaaa!”

A piercing shriek drilled into my ears from right beside me.

A neatly dressed maid, likely a palace servant, collapsed to the floor the moment she saw Calios.

It was strange—her reaction went beyond that of someone merely spotting a suspicious person.

“R-red eyes…!”

Pointing at his eyes, pale and shaking violently, she didn’t seem remotely normal.

Then she pulled something from her apron and pressed a switch.

—BEEEEEEEEEP!

I winced.

The blaring noise reverberated through the building, far louder than her scream.

Calios’s expression shifted as if realizing something, and he pulled up his robe’s hood.

“This is why I don’t come here. That damn younger brother…”

His muttered curse carried a sharper edge than usual.

Approaching the trembling maid, Calios crushed the noisy artifact-like device under his boot.

“Who goes there?!”

But it was already too late—heavily armed knights, drawn by the alarm, were charging toward us.

I blinked.

At this point, I was starting to wonder if we were really here to fulfill a request.

The knights’ hostility, as if facing intruders, was enough to make me shrink back a little.

They surrounded us, swords drawn, forming a tight circle. I immediately sought out Calios.

He just stood there, unmoving, idly toying with the edge of his hood.

“Um… we’re here to handle a request…”

The moment the word “request” left my lips, the knights grew even more aggressive.

“What request would that be?”

Realizing belatedly how my words could be taken, I hurriedly pulled the pocket watch from my belt and held it up.

I glanced at Calios, but he looked unlikely to help.

“T-the Emperor is unwell. I’m Asila, a spirit summoner sent by the Tower to fulfill the request.”

Silence fell over the hall.