Chapter 88
──Thor's Perspective──
This was Princess Sofia's lodging in 'Noza Town.'
Agnis and I were drinking tea in the living room.
"Until Princess Sofia and the others finish talking, we wait here?"
We came to 'Noza Town' to discuss arrangements for the demon beast investigation.
We were standing in front of the town gate because we had arrived early. We were waiting for Princess Sofia to return.
I never expected to run into Princess Liana there, though.
"I never realized that person was a princess at all."
Agnis said this beside me.
"She treated us normally, too. She wasn't haughty at all..."
"Right."
She was completely different from the image of Princess Liana I had heard about until now.
But there was no doubt that she was Princess Sofia's younger sister.
The Pixie Soleil had detected her Light Magic, after all.
"Thanks, Soleil. You found Princess Liana for us."
"I am honored to have been of service."
Soleil said this from my lap in white-cat mode.
On the chair beside me, Agnis and Rune, in black-cat mode, were nodding.
Soleil and Rune had come to town ahead of us.
When we reunited at the teahouse, Soleil said,
'I sense Light Magic from that girl, and it is very similar to Princess Sofia's.'
──that was what she said.
When I took another look at the girl calling herself Leila, I realized that she resembled Princess Sofia.
They were about the same height.
Their eye color and the shape of their chins were nearly identical.
When I imagined changing the girl's hair to a cherry-blossom pink, she looked exactly like Princess Sofia.
That was when I finally realized she was Princess Liana.
After that, I asked Rune to inform Princess Sofia.
Then I stopped Princess Liana after she had left town.
As a result, Princess Sofia and Princess Liana were able to reunite safely.
"But it is strange."
Agnis tilted her head.
"Why would an imperial princess disguise herself to come to this town? And why would she try to leave without meeting Princess Sofia?"
"Yeah. I found that strange, too."
If Princess Liana had come for the demon beast investigation, there would have been no need for her to disguise herself. It was also strange that she had brought only one subordinate.
If she had come to meet Princess Sofia, it made no sense for her to leave without seeing her.
And besides... Princess Liana had looked as though she were about to cry when she reunited with Princess Sofia.
"I don't know anything about what kind of person Princess Liana is."
All I knew was that she had used the Holy Sword during the battle to subjugate the 'Demon Beast Galgarossa.'
And that she had tried to recruit me after the battle. Lukie had firmly refused on my behalf because she wanted me to keep making magic items for the imperial family.
But the Princess Liana we had just met had not been haughty at all.
She had treated us politely when we greeted her as ordinary townspeople.
She seemed like an entirely different person from the one I had heard about before.
"Well, Princess Sofia was happy, so that's all that matters."
"Indeed."
"That's right." "Indeed it is."
Agnis and I, along with Soleil and Rune, looked at one another and nodded.
Princess Sofia and Princess Liana were talking in a room on the second floor.
To avoid disturbing the sisters' reunion, the second floor was off-limits for the time being.
"I wonder what they're talking about..."
We decided to wait for them to finish while drinking tea.
──Sofia's Perspective──
"It has been a long time since we have talked like this, Liana."
Sofia, dressed in a gown, spoke to her younger sister.
It felt strange to have her sister in her room in 'Noza Town.'
It felt even stranger because that sister had dyed her hair chestnut brown and was dressed as a village girl.
When Sofia had seen her from the carriage, she had not realized that the girl was her younger sister, Liana.
She had only thought that there was a girl who somehow caught her attention.
But as soon as Sofia returned to the lodging, the Pixie Rune came to her and told her,
'Soleil has found a girl with powerful Light Magic. Could she perhaps be Princess Sofia's younger sister?'
──that was what Rune had said.
So Sofia had slipped out of town with Isaac in secret.
Until then, Thor and Agnis had kept Liana from leaving.
That was how Sofia had been able to meet her twin younger sister.
And yet──
"Please raise your head, Liana."
Sofia's twin younger sister kept her head bowed.
She would not meet Sofia's eyes, as though she were facing someone for the first time.
"It has been so long since we last met. What is wrong?"
"I... I no longer know."
After a while, Liana murmured,
"The person there really is Sister Sofia... isn't she?"
"Of course. I am your twin older sister, Sofia."
Sofia peered into Liana's face.
"Why would you ask that?"
"Because the Sister you are now... is too different from the Sister I knew."
"I see."
Sofia nodded as though she understood.
Liana had only ever seen Sofia as a sickly girl.
She must have been shocked to see that sister walking around energetically and governing a town.
"It is no wonder that you are confused, Liana."
We should keep 'Foot Bath' and 'Fizzy Bath' secret, Sofia thought.
(It would be better not to tell the Empire about Thor Kanan-sama's abilities.)
(I feel a little guilty about lying to Liana, though.)
While thinking this, Sofia continued,
"I became healthy after coming to this border region. I do not know whether it was because of the climate, the change in food, or the local magic. But I became able to walk around like this."
"Is that why you became able to fight demon beasts, Sister?"
"Huh?"
"Because of the local magic, you learned to summon a guardian spirit, awakened the power to speak with animals, discovered enough power to earn recognition from the Demon Lord's territory, and dug up a hot spring..."
"U-um, Liana. What are you talking about...?"
"As I thought, I really knew nothing about you, Sister..."
Liana murmured this with vacant eyes.
"You underwent a hero-like super-awakening, Sister. The next time we meet, you might have wings growing from your back and be flying through the sky. Sister has... evolved beyond me... undergone a super-evolution..."
"Pull yourself together, Liana!"
Sofia placed her hands on Liana's shoulders and shook her, and Liana began telling her about the rumors she had heard in town.
After hearing what those rumors contained, Sofia said in exasperation,
"You are silly, Liana."
As she had when they were children, Sofia gave her sister's forehead a little poke.
"Who believes rumors without question? You really are clumsy, you know."
"They were only rumors?"
"Yes. Rumors grow tails."
"Then you have not fought demon beasts, sealed them with a guardian spirit, spoken with animals, earned the Demon Lord's recognition, or dug up a hot spring?"
"They are rumors. Not all of them are true."
"...Thank goodness."
The strength drained from Liana's body.
She sank into a chair and looked at her sister with tears in her eyes.
"I was anxious the whole time. I was afraid that you had... become someone else. And..."
"And?"
"Until now... I never considered your feelings, Sister."
Liana said this and bowed her head to her sister.
"With Grandpa Zagran gone... and you gone, I no longer knew what to do. Until now, I had never thought for myself."
"Liana..."
"I always thought I was protecting you. I believed that if I earned achievements, your treatment would improve and we would eventually be able to live together. So I did anything to earn achievements. I did not care if I used myself or other people as tools..."
Her voice was trembling.
Tears spilled from eyes the same color as Sofia's.
"But that was only my own selfish assumption. Grandpa Zagran sent you to a place like this without my knowledge..."
Forgetting even to wipe away her tears, Liana continued,
"Ever since you disappeared, I have been anxious and unable to decide anything. I thought I was protecting you, but you were the one protecting me. Then I was assigned to investigate the border region... and the Grand Duke was kind enough to tell me to come and see you..."
"That is enough, Liana."
Before she knew it, Sofia was hugging Liana.
As she had when they were children, she slowly stroked her sister's back.
"You told me so many times not to take Grandpa Zagran's words at face value... but I did not listen to you. I thought only about earning achievements... That's why..."
"I understand now. You do not need to cry... Liana."
Sofia continued stroking her sister's back as she spoke.
Sofia thought that she was partly responsible for Liana ending up like this.
Zagran, the Minister of Military Affairs, had tried to raise Liana according to his own wishes.
He had used his position as her instructor to turn Liana into a tool for advancement.
Even though Sofia had realized this, she had been unable to stop him. Confined to the detached palace, all Sofia could do was warn Liana.
Besides, Zagran's education had suited the Empire's policies.
No matter whom she consulted, they probably would not have been able to stop him.
But during the battle to subjugate the 'Demon Beast Galgarossa' in the Demon Lord's territory, Liana had experienced defeat.
She had been defeated by a demon beast and rescued by the Demon Lord's territory.
It had also been a defeat at the hands of the demon beast and the Demon Lord's territory.
The Demon Lord's territory—or perhaps Thor, who had created the magic item that was probably the source of its power—had taught Liana what defeat was.
That had probably been the turning point that allowed Liana to change.
(...Thank you, Thor Kanan-sama. Demon Lord-sama.)
Sofia thanked Thor and Lukie in her heart.
"...Sister."
"Yes, Liana. What is it?"
"Won't you return to the Imperial Capital with me?"
Liana looked at Sofia with eyes swollen from crying.
"I will achieve accomplishments that no one can surpass. I will defeat the new species of demon beast and capture the person controlling it. With those accomplishments, I will make it possible for you to return to the Imperial Capital!"
"I am happy to hear that. But I do not need accomplishments."
"Sister?"
"I intend to live here in this border region."
Sofia said this with a smile.
Liana's eyes widened when she saw it.
"I have never seen you smile so happily, Sister."
"Have you not?"
"It is strange. What happened to you here, Sister?"
"I found a purpose for my life."
Sofia closed her eyes and pressed a hand to her chest.
Thinking of the person who had touched it before, she──
"I, Sofia Dolgaria, will use my life for the peace and prosperity of this border region. If my position as a princess becomes an obstacle to that, I will abandon it. I will do so for the precious person I found here."
"...Sister."
"That was rather dramatic, though."
Sofia said this with a smile.
To Sofia, this was something like a vow.
It was a declaration to her twin younger sister that she had something precious in her life.
"I found someone precious. I decided to use my life for that person."
"...I do not really understand."
"I see. Perhaps you are not ready yet, Liana."
"We are the same age, are we not? We are twins, are we not?"
"That is true. I am sorry, Liana."
"You really have changed, Sister..."
Liana let out a long sigh.
"I... was unable to change at all. Why have we become so different...?"
"That may be because I was weak."
"Because you were weak?"
"I was sickly and had no power to fight. The person I respected also had no Combat Skills. Because of that, we were treated as weak people in the Empire."
Sofia said,
"But... that was precisely why that person and I spent so long thinking about how to survive."
Sofia had read many books in the detached palace, studying the Age of Heroes and various matters concerning the Empire.
Thor, too, had honed his alchemy in order to survive.
Now, the efforts of both of them were proving useful.
(Of course, Thor Kanan-sama has suffered far more than I have.)
That was why Sofia respected Thor.
She wanted to understand Thor and hoped to walk forward together with him.
Those were Sofia's feelings now.
"You were weak. But I... was strong."
"That is right. So you never had any reason to change."
Sofia stared intently into her sister's eyes.
"But you have realized that your old way of doing things will no longer work, have you not?"
"Yes, Sister."
"Then from now on, learn from people other than Zagran. Spend time with the weak—the townspeople—and learn from them. You can do it, Liana. Because you are my precious little sister."
"...Sister."
"I will watch over you from here."
"You really will not return to the Imperial Capital anymore, will you, Sister?"
After a while, Liana spoke.
She must have understood Sofia's resolve as well.
"I am here, Liana. Write me a letter when you are in trouble. Come to me anytime you are lost."
"But I want to do something for you, Sister."
"Then, as a princess of the Empire, become someone who governs the country properly."
"Become someone who governs the country properly...?"
"If the Empire is at peace, I can live here without worry, can I not?"
"Would that be for your sake, Sister?"
"Yes. And for the sake of the people, too."
Sofia stroked Liana's hair as she spoke.
"...I understand, Sister."
Liana wiped away her tears and nodded.
Seeing this, Sofia released her sister as though relieved.
With Sofia watching her intently, Liana rose from her chair and said,
"As Princess Sofia's younger sister... I, Liana, will live in a way that does not shame you. I will strive to become someone who thinks of the people, protects them, and is loved by them, just as you are. I promise, Sister Sofia."
"Yes, Liana."
Sofia nodded as though reassured.
"I need to reflect, too. I did not realize that you were troubled to such an extent."
"...There are things too embarrassing for me to tell you, Sister."
"You would feel better if you told me, would you not?"
"Do you think so?"
"Your mistakes are also my mistakes. If there is someone you wish to apologize to, I will apologize with you."
"If you insist, Sister..."
Liana raised her head, as though steeling herself.
Then, looking straight at her twin older sister, she said,
"...That is true. For example... during the battle to subjugate the 'Demon Beast Galgarossa,' I declared to the soldiers, 'Fight for the Empire and our honor.' And yet I could not defeat the demon beast..."
"When you return to the Imperial Capital, tell the soldiers, 'Thank you for your service.' Why not train with them and get to know them better?"
"And at that time, I declared, 'The Demon Lord's territory is no match for the Empire.' After saying something so rude, I committed the disgrace of being rescued by the Demon Lord..."
"I will speak with His Majesty the Demon Lord. If he knows what you said, I will apologize to him. If he does not, I will make amends by helping develop the trading post the Demon Lord's territory wanted."
"That is not all."
Liana's eyes grew moist.
"I begged the Demon Lord to hand over the alchemist he valued... and I even said, 'Though he is of low status, I want you to devote yourself to the Empire as an alchemist.'"
"...Huh?"
"I told you about it, did I not? That I asked for the alchemist?"
"...No... I did not hear the details."
"I see. But the words I said to the Demon Lords were extremely rude. I must have been out of my mind then. It seems everything had become nothing but a tool for earning achievements... I said something terribly rude to the Demon Lord."
"............"
"B-but you are close enough to the Demon Lord's territory to build a trading post, are you not, Sister?"
"............"
"I will send a heartfelt letter of apology. If that is not enough, I will wield my sword to protect them, for the benefit of the people of the Demon Lord's territory. I would like you to act as my intermediary, Sister."
"............"
"When the subjugation of the new species of demon beast is over, I will send a letter to the Demon Lord and apologize for my rude remarks... Um, Sister... what is wrong? You are laughing, are you not? Your face looks frightening, though... Um, Sister."
"...Liana."
"Yes."
"Sit down over there. No, on the floor, not the chair. We need to talk."