Chapter 7
To properly assess the situation,
Vieta climbed onto the roof and looked down over Roseville.
Transparent golden droplets filling the air, alongside rough wooden beads.
The two orbs, so utterly different in appearance, blended together to give off a truly bizarre charm.
Both were familiar techniques.
As Vieta slowly surveyed her surroundings, her gaze fixed on one woman.
‘Was Countess Verte attacked directly?’
Everyone was disheveled from the surprise attack, but Countess Verte was especially bad.
Her flowing ivory dress had been torn, revealing her petticoat, and blood was running from her forehead and both hands.
“Tsk.”
Even though she wasn't particularly fond of the woman, seeing her injured made Vieta feel uneasy.
Unlike the tranquil airspace, where everyone was asleep.
Hell was being recreated in the imperial palace's most magnificent garden.
Lush petals stained dark red with blood were torn to shreds,
while the verdant grass was mercilessly ripped up by the savage footsteps of knights and monsters,
and instead of the scent of roses, only the reek of blood and miasma filled the garden.
“That face is still as annoying as ever.”
Vieta's eyes slowly began to glow as she watched the monster.
The Demon King had died five years ago.
But the Demon King's death hadn't meant monsters would stop appearing.
Just as there were rabbits and deer in the fields outside the city walls, it was only natural for monsters to exist in the demon realm.
The Empire had remained peaceful despite the monsters' existence because there was no one left to control them.
Without a commander to lead them, the monsters simply lived peacefully in their own world like wild animals.
When Vieta had invaded the demon realm, she had slaughtered all the high-ranking demons, including the Demon King.
Thus, unless someone entered the demon realm or forcibly summoned them, there should have been no chance of seeing a monster within the Empire.
That was how it should have been. They shouldn't have been able to appear.
Monsters appearing in the Empire's capital? Vieta couldn't believe it.
“I wonder when the signal will come.”
Watching the battle between knights and monsters made her itch to leap into the fray.
Since she couldn't let anyone discover that she was the hero under her pact with the goddess, Vieta had to wait until the stage was set for her.
-Tap tap.
A tree branch that had sprouted from the ground tapped Vieta on the shoulder.
A three-pronged leaf engraved with a yellow pattern—Iseria.
[I will put them under hypnosis.]
At the same time, several branches slid around the garden.
Pollen glowing faintly drifted through the air from between the purple petals blooming on the branches.
As the knights intoxicated by the pollen crumpled one after another, transparent barriers swallowed their bodies as though they had been waiting for this.
That removed the restriction.
Vieta picked up a discarded sword nearby.
It was time for the ruler to act, and Vieta had no intention of forgiving the intruders who had trespassed into her domain.
***
‘As formidable as ever.’
Iseria watched the situation through her tree.
She and the tree were master and guardian, respectively.
Everything the tree saw, heard, and felt was automatically transmitted into Iseria's mind.
The monster rampaging through the garden was a mid-level specimen.
Its poisonous aura was weak and it didn't use magic, but it boasted tremendous strength and extreme defensive power.
In a way, that was fortunate.
All she had to do was crush it with sheer strength.
In terms of pure physical strength, the hero was unquestionably the strongest being on the continent; when it came to strength, no one could rival her.
'Phew.'
Iseria secretly let out a sigh of relief.
Paradoxically, for Iseria, the greatest crisis had come when that black crystal appeared, not now while the monsters were rampaging.
Her barriers were powerful, but their weakness was that they were slow.
With a mage present, she had been able to save everyone without much trouble.
Her stray thoughts lasted only a moment; this was a chance to see the captain's power, something she had not witnessed in ages.
Iseria quickly focused her mind.
Crunch, crunch.
A spider-like monster charged at Vieta, clacking its two split jaws together.
But all Vieta did was raise her hand and bring it down.
Her only advantage was speed.
Clang, clang, clang.
A sound fit for a blacksmith's forge continued to ring out.
The long sword in her hand was no sword at all—it was a hammer.
Vieta wasn't cutting or stabbing through the monster's hard shell; she was literally smashing it.
Again and again.
Smash, smash, smash.
Vieta's expression did not change.
She merely stared straight ahead in silence.
Iseria recalled Vieta's nickname, one she hadn't thought of in a very long time.
‘The One-Strike Knight.’
Her sword found the opponent's most vital point with astonishing accuracy and slipped smoothly into it.
No monster in the demon realm had been able to stand in Vieta's way.
Only the Demon King and a few of his legion commanders had been able to withstand the hero's sword.
Unless constrained by the pact, the hero was truly invincible on this continent.
And that fact still held true.
Kieeeeeek!
The last remaining monster crumpled in on itself, spewing green and purple filth.
Even the filth it expelled with its life on the line couldn't soil her body.
Vieta shook her head, flinging off the grime as she looked at the pile of filthy corpses stacked like a mountain.
Then, seemingly displeased by something, she ran a hand through her hair and headed toward the table where Countess Verte had been sitting.
There it lay.
When she swung her sword, the large table split in a single stroke.
A black magic stone rose from between the two halves, buzzing.
It was the catalyst for this monster summoning.
The sword, bent into a saw-toothed shape, fell from Vieta's hand.
She drew her dagger, gripped it with both hands, and plunged it forcefully into the magic stone from top to bottom.
Crack-.
The collision between enormous amounts of mana and demonic energy generated a massive shockwave.
A fierce wind born from the shockwave swept around the garden, and the black crystal shattered into tiny fragments that scattered through the air.
Before even five minutes had passed,
Vieta had single-handedly defeated more than a hundred monsters and cleanly destroyed the summoning array as well.
Once everything was over, vitality finally returned to Vieta's previously vacant eyes.
“Whew, it's tough doing this after so long.”
Vieta flashed a grin at the spectators watching her, then quickly vanished.
All that remained where she had left was the maid, bound hand and foot.
“I'll step outside for a moment.”
The mage rose from the seat.
Since Fulcare had made contact with Vieta before coming to the garden, Fulcare absolutely had to hypnotize the maid again.
Hypnosis was normally Iseria's responsibility, but Fulcare could make simple adjustments based on her hypnosis.
Regardless, this was fortunate for Iseria.
Even merely watching the blood flowing from the maid's leg made Iseria uncomfortable.
It was an unavoidable elven trait.
“Is it over now?”
After Fulcare left, the Empress asked Iseria.
It wasn't only the Empress; everyone at the table was watching Iseria.
“The Chief is dealing with things outside as a precaution, so please wait just a little longer.”
Iseria lied without batting an eye.
She needed to buy Fulcare time to clean up after the maid.
“Oh, that's a relief.”
“As expected of Chief Fulcare and Lady Iseria.”
The faces of the two ministers seated at the least prestigious seats brightened.
Perhaps reassured by Iseria's words, the Empress began speaking again after remaining silent.
“Your Majesty, this incident must be dealt with severely. How dare anyone attempt to harm every member of the imperial family. You must identify the culprit and punish them harshly.”
The Empress fixed a viciously intense gaze on Blanc.
“Hmm….”
But the Emperor merely let out a low groan without saying a word.
Blanc, too, simply sat in silence as he endured that fierce gaze.
The Empress continued hurling curses, but no one except her said a word.
***
The attack on the imperial banquet was written off as nothing more than an attack by assassins.
Not a word was said about monsters or anything of the sort.
It went without saying.
Any incident that could threaten the Empire's peace had to be buried for as long as possible.
Everyone except the imperial family, including the two ministers seated at the least prestigious places, forgot about the attack.
The incident could only be falsified because Iseria and Fulcare were involved.
For successfully handling the attack, Iseria and Fulcare received generous rewards from the imperial household.
The Emperor had opened the imperial family's private coffers.
A massive reward equivalent to a year's budget for an average fief was bestowed upon them.
Vieta, by contrast, got nothing.
“It was nice to stretch my muscles after so long.”
That was a little disappointing, but she decided to look on the bright side.
It wasn't as if receiving that money would let her pay off all her debts anyway, and more importantly, she had no desire to take money from that damned Emperor.
After arriving at the office, Vieta checked the door first.
She hadn't opened the office door for two days, but the spell on the door remained intact, suggesting no one had come looking for her.
Even though she had opened the office early for the first time in ages, no customers came, so Vieta sat blankly staring out the window.
“…This is dragging on.”
But by afternoon, Vieta couldn't stand it anymore.
Never mind being hungry; she was bored.
She would have liked to solve the crossword in the newspaper, but the fixed expenses had been a burden, so she'd stopped subscribing.
‘’Who should I play with.’
Vieta's eyes rolled round and round.
For starters, she couldn't play with Iseria.
Vieta had gone to see Iseria on the night of the banquet, but had been turned away immediately.
No, Iseria hadn't even opened the door for her, coldly.
Since she'd saddled Iseria with the prince's partner duties, she couldn't exactly complain, so she had no choice but to turn away from the door.
Fulcare was surely busy too.
Fulcare had probably been working overtime ever since that day to handle the aftermath of the attack.
In particular, tracking down whoever had created the monster summoning array would give Fulcare quite a headache.
Vieta wanted to help Fulcare, but she was inexperienced with high-level magic.
Since she couldn't use the high-level magic primarily used for investigations, she couldn't help Fulcare.
“…Should I go to the temple.”
If she went to the temple, the goddess would almost certainly cling to her, but it had been far too long since she'd seen Theodore.
The temple had also been offering free meals for the past few days, so even if she couldn't meet Theodore, she could at least fill her stomach.
Vieta closed the office door a tiny bit early.
***
Not long after she closed the office door,
“Please help me.”
With that feeble voice, the tightly closed door to Vieta's shop rattled.