Chapter 123
The story continues off the page
The Last Dance Before Midnight
A masked dragon asks the lanternwright for one slow dance
The scandal involving Ferda and Olivia.
Waldrova learned about it only today.
‘Why didn’t Ruri tell me?’
The reason Waldrova had remained unaware until now was that Ruri, her source of information, had not mentioned it at all.
‘She doesn’t usually talk about things like that…….’
Ruri filtered out anything she thought might trouble Waldrova.
Waldrova had vaguely known that.
‘And it’s probably nothing more than a baseless rumor.’
Ferda was always devoted to her.
Waldrova had never doubted that.
And yet, a feeling of unease kept creeping into one corner of her heart.
‘Olivia Arken.’
She had heard endless praise of that woman.
A woman blessed with both talent and beauty, praised as the ideal bride for combining sociability and refinement.
She had never seen her in person, but she had once had the opportunity.
She had heard that Olivia would be visiting Waldrova Castle.
But Waldrova had not been interested in such things.
More precisely, even if she had been interested, she had been preoccupied with building the town.
She found fulfillment at work sites that smelled of sweat.
‘Should I have gone to see her that one time after all?’
It was the sort of occasion that would make other people abandon their work and go. Should she have gone to see for herself?
Just how beautiful could she be for people to praise her so highly?
And did she really suit Ferda?
‘Mr. Ferda is…… someone far too good for me.’
Ferda had built this place.
He had interacted with countless people.
Even when there were voices criticizing him, she heard far more often that he was a wise ruler who looked after his people.
What about her, by comparison?
A Red Dragon buried away in her lair.
A dragon who wore armor because she was afraid to face people.
An ugly dragon who could not even properly show her face to her fiancé.
‘He’s…… far too good for me.’
Anyone could see that he seemed more suited to someone like Olivia, whose beauty was praised even more than her own.
Her melancholy made her dig aimlessly at the ground with her fingers.
She needed something to cut off these gloomy thoughts.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Just then, the alarm began to ring violently.
The alarm was connected to the monster prediction device, so it signaled that monsters were coming.
The workers sprang to their feet in surprise.
“Looks like monsters are coming?”
“Just when things seemed quiet lately, they launch a surprise attack at a time like this.”
Monsters.
Waldrova rose, thinking of the need to protect the people.
The workers stopped her.
“Ah! Miss Knight! There’s no need for you to step in.”
?
“We’ll try handling this one ourselves. So please, sit down!”
Their faces wore confident smiles.
What could ordinary humans like them possibly do?
The workers hurried off somewhere and brought something out.
They were staffs.
No, calling them staffs was questionable, since they had things dangling from them like a shaman’s ritual implements.
They all moved with the rigid posture of soldiers performing drills. After climbing onto the wall they were building, they knelt one after another and aimed their staffs toward the ground.
Their posture resembled that of crossbowmen.
Presumably, something would shoot out of those staffs.
But what exactly would come out?
That was when it happened.
A powerful force could be felt inside those staffs, strong enough to render her unease meaningless.
‘How can they do this when they can’t even use mana?’
As someone who did not properly understand magic, she had no way to resolve the question.
A little while later, the women who had been gathering food in the forest appeared.
They were flustered, but they were not panicking.
“Why aren’t you running as fast as your legs can carry you!? Do you want to be eaten?”
“The monsters were shambling along, so we came slowly too.”
“Shambling? What did they look like?”
“I don’t know. They all looked like lumps, and they moved awfully slowly.”
“All right, so hurry inside!”
At that, one of the men spoke up as though he knew the answer.
“Melteds.”
A little while later, the monsters appeared.
-Gwoooar…….
Unlike other monsters, which took the shape of beasts, these were closer to lumps.
They had been exposed to too much junk mana, causing their bodies to mutate so excessively that they became monsters with no definite form.
Thus, regardless of their strength, their speed was on par with the zombies raised by a black mage.
Even so, a monster was still a monster.
A single Melted required a unit of spearmen to stab it hundreds of times before it died.
One or two people were bound to die in the process.
There were six of them in total.
A squad leader raised his hand high and shouted.
“Aim!”
The workers braced their staffs against their shoulders and set their sights along the front sights.
The squad leader brought his raised hand down with all his strength, like the blade of a guillotine.
“Fire!”
Bang-bang-bang-bang!
A sound and flash that shook heaven and earth.
Waldrova saw it clearly.
Something shot from inside the pipes at the speed of light and pierced the monsters’ torsos.
Gwoooar…….
The bodies of the Melteds were pierced, then collapsed into shapeless masses.
“Woooooah!”
“We killed the monsters!”
They roared like soldiers who had achieved a great victory in a major battle.
The monsters may have been slow and clumsy, but they were still monsters.
After confirming that they now possessed the power to protect themselves from monsters, the powerless people felt an exhilarating thrill.
Waldrova was utterly stunned.
‘Ordinary people like this can kill monsters…….’
Even if she was not clever, she had lived for thousands of years, witnessing countless things and battles.
Waldrova had never once imagined a situation like this.
No, who could have imagined it?
Even when the demon race was created, most people had argued that they had to submit to Godwin.
But humans had not done so.
And they had overturned the predictions of the immortals, whose wisdom was considered absolute.
Humans were truly wondrous beings.
Where their strength could not reach, they squeezed out wisdom and courage to produce a power more resilient than anyone else’s.
Waldrova was immensely proud of Ferda, who had created that power.
At the same time, the question in her heart continued to grow.
She tightly clasped the hands she had brought to her chest.
* * *
On the night before the Beginning-of-Spring Festival, Waldrova came to see Ferda.
As always, she was wearing her armor.
Ferda knew that she had gone out to fight today.
But he also knew that without such an excuse, she would not come to see him.
“Do you need mana?”
She would normally have answered yes, but today was different.
“No.”
“Then……?”
“I just wanted to talk a little…….”
Ferda felt as though someone had struck him across the back of the head.
It was the first time she had come to see him without looking for an excuse, simply because she wanted to talk to him directly.
His heart pounded.
It was as though they had become a man and woman secretly enjoying a proper tryst.
When Ferda said nothing, Waldrova fidgeted with her fingers.
“Am I bothering you after all?”
“Not at all. Please come in.”
She took a seat.
She slipped off her gauntlet and placed it on the table.
“I want…… to hold hands.”
“……Yes.”
She was being unusually proactive.
He liked seeing her suddenly change, but at the same time, it made him uneasy.
After all, most of Waldrova’s motivation began with unease.
Ferda placed his hand over hers.
He could feel that she was even more tense than usual.
“Th-that……!”
Waldrova struggled to bring up a topic of conversation.
“Today…… I heard that monsters were approaching the walls…….”
“Yes. You watched from the summit.”
“Pardon? Ah, yes! That’s right!”
Waldrova nodded repeatedly.
“From there, I saw ordinary people kill monsters?”
“I didn’t see it myself, but the report said they killed six Melteds. Even though they were Melteds, they’re still monsters that ordinary people would have difficulty handling. It must have been an unfamiliar sight for Your Highness. What did you think?”
“It was truly…… amazing. It made me realize all over again just how incredible you are, Mr. Ferda.”
Admiration could be felt in her eyes beyond the helmet.
Ferda answered her.
“I wasn’t the one who did that. It was someone named Burnell who worked hard and created it.”
“Even so, if you hadn’t been here…… I don’t think those people would ever have imagined that they could kill monsters. Isn’t that right?”
“No. Hearing you say that, I suppose I did contribute in my own way.”
If Ferda had not taken the initiative, it would have been impossible.
At this point in time, monsters would still have been regarded as difficult creatures to hunt.
“Mr. Ferda…… you’re changing so many things here.”
He was building a town and creating the power for its people to protect themselves.
She had felt something when she saw that.
To tell him, she forced herself to open her mouth.
“I-I’ve been practicing that w-wild dance thing.”
“……You mean the waltz?”
“Yes! That…… I said something strange again…….”
It did not matter.
Her flustered appearance was unbearably adorable.
Even though she wore a frightening dragon-head helmet, Ferda could clearly picture the young woman inside it.
“Tomorrow…… right? That’s the day we’re going to dance.”
The day we were going to dance.
We—the same word as us.
We meant you and me.
Ferda and Waldrova.
“That’s right.”
“I…… will wear a pretty dress and stand proudly beside you, Mr. Ferda. A-as your h-h… hostee?”
“Hostess…….”
“Yes, as a hostess!”
He could feel the determination in her voice, as though she had steeled herself for something.
Ferda knew.
He knew how much courage it had taken for her to say she would step forward so actively.
He was glad that he was the first to hear her summon that courage.
Ferda smiled faintly.
“I’ll be looking forward to it.”
* * *
The entrance to Hestia Town was unbelievably busy.
Before the morning sun had even risen, a steady stream of carriages carrying young ladies and noble sons from all over the continent arrived.
There were 250 invited nobles in total.
But it was not simply 250 people who came.
There were coachmen, several servants, and at least ten elite knights and soldiers serving as escorts as well.
With 250 young ladies and noble sons attending, there were at least 2,500 servants.
The town, which still numbered only a few hundred people, suddenly became crowded with more than several thousand.
Where many people gathered, much money changed hands.
Stephan showed the full power of a merchant.
Under the direction of the Pascal Trading Company and the Hestia Trading Company, various events and charitable activities were held.
They used vacant lots where buildings had yet to be constructed to hold martial arts competitions and field days, working to improve the region’s image and attract merchants.
The Far Eastern Alliance dispatched troops to help with security, and the day passed without incident until evening.
The evening of the Beginning-of-Spring Festival was when the nobles would truly begin enjoying the banquet.
Chandeliers shone as brightly as day, and the atmosphere was luxurious.
As befitted a place used as a dragon’s residence, its interior rivaled that of the Imperial Palace, leaving the visiting nobles unable to hide their admiration.
While the participants were deep in conversation, Ferda also began preparing to go out.
In the meantime, Isabella reported several matters.
“They say that, after confirming the defense results, they’re going to start numbering the rifles in earnest.”
“Numbering?”
“Apparently, numbers are being assigned as they convert them into mass-produced models, so they can produce dozens of them a day.”
“I see.”
They had certainly achieved great results in the field of national defense.
Several commoners had joined together to kill six Melteds. Did that not mean that commoners could wield power similar to that of mages?
“I say this only as a precaution, but the young ladies and noble sons may steer the conversation toward the rifles. Please be careful not to reveal any information wherever possible.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
If he could not be of help, then at the very least, he must not get in the way.
He repeatedly vowed not to give anyone an opportunity to upset the balance Isabella had established.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
When Ruri appeared, Ferda reflexively asked her,
“What about Her Highness the Grand Duchess?”
“…….”
Ruri did not answer.
The way she lowered her head and remained silent was answer enough.
She would not be coming tonight.
Ferda fastened the remaining buttons on his clothes.
“I see. She must have her reasons.”
“I’m sorry to disappoint you.”
Who would have thought that the words “I’m sorry” would come from Ruri’s lips?
It meant that Ruri, too, had wanted Waldrova to attend this banquet.
“No. Isn’t this what always happens?”
“I’m sorry that our master is always standing you up.”
Or perhaps she was simply angry.
It was a lie to say he was not disappointed simply because this was something that happened all the time.
The words Waldrova had spoken when she came to see him last night rang vividly in Ferda’s ears.
Even when he opened his eyes this morning, the first thing that came to Ferda’s mind was Waldrova’s hand.
His empty hand could still feel her right hand being placed upon it.
But today, this hand would be holding another woman’s hand.
‘……Let’s not think about pointless things.’
Ferda clenched his hand around empty air.
Her absence today did not mean there would be no tomorrow.
If so, he could not waste today instead of preparing for tomorrow.
With that, Ferda headed toward the banquet hall.
* * *
“The Imperial Consort of the Great Fire, Regent Ferda Waldrova, has arrived!”
The planner sent from the Empire shouted at the top of his voice.
The music stopped as Ferda, the host of the banquet, appeared.
The young ladies and noble sons bowed lightly to Ferda one after another, and Ferda proceeded to his place along the red carpet.
“I sincerely welcome you all to Waldrova Castle.”
His clear voice seized everyone’s attention.
“Today, we have gathered here to welcome spring after enduring a harsh winter. Hestia Town is a small town that has been under construction since late last autumn. I have probably been a lord for even less time than any of you here have.”
Ferda eased the atmosphere by humbling himself.
“And yet, you answered the invitation of this novice lord and came here today. What does that mean?”
Olivia Arken.
Everyone knew it meant they had a powerful desire to meet the Imperial Princess and become acquainted with her.
Knowing that, they could only wait for Ferda’s next words with some anxiety.
“It means that there is hope in all your hearts.”
That was what Ferda said.
“Now that 150 years have passed since the Dragonkin War ended, the territory of the Far East is steadily shrinking, while the Demon Lands remain strong. The evil dragon Godwin is dead, and even the Demon King has died, but their will has not. It continues to reveal its ambition.”
Ferda met the eyes of each person below him in turn.
“As the humans of Cerdes, and as nobles who refuse to tolerate injustice, I was able to confirm here today that you sincerely wish for the development and peace of the Far East. As we welcome the new spring, you have become a new spark with which to forge this ragged armor.”
Ferda lifted his glass and delivered his closing words.
“So please laugh, talk, and dance tonight for the sake of that flame. As long as we have love and friendship, our wills will unite as one, unshakable.”
Ferda concluded with a bow.
Applause erupted, and at the same time, the musicians skillfully began playing a lively tune.
The banquet had begun.