CH 116

Five days had passed since the commander of the Imperial Guard Order, Redas, visited.

As of now, Ripple was still in the care of the Knight Academy. Silva conducted himself well, delaying the handover for as long as he could.

It was known to all members of the order that Silva was the younger brother of their commander, so even if Silva was being a bit obvious that he was purposely making the transfer take more time, there was no one who publicly made a problem out of it. In fact, with the end of the negotiation with Highland being nowhere near in sight, it only further supported the postponement of the handover.

On the other hand, the Academy sent Lahti and Pullum as the messengers for the Holy Knights in the front line. Lahti’s skill in piloting the Flygear to maximize its performance and speed was said to be the best amongst all students, it seemed. Pullum joined Lahti as his escort at her own request. In addition, if something went wrong with the Flygear, she could be of some use as a power source to supply Mana directly with her Rune.

Currently, everyone was maintaining the status quo while waiting for the two’s return. On the surface, everything was as usual. But for those who were in the know, the tension was growing by the day.

Even under such circumstances, nature was still a fickle thing.

That night, Prism Flow was pouring down on the Royal Capital. Glittering rainbow-colored rain and dew danced across the night sky.

In the middle of such a fantastic and terrific scene, Leone and Liselotte were flying in the sky. With the help of the wings from Liselotte’s Artifact, they were soaring together.

「Hurry up, Liselotte! That Magic Stone Beast is trying to attack a house!」

A large bird-shaped Magic Stone Beast was about to pierce through a certain house in the distance.

「I’ll make haste!」

Liselotte remarkably increased her speed.

Today, Inglis and Rafinha took Silva’s place to escort Ripple during the third-year students’ turn, and so Leone and Liselotte were by themselves. Official Knights were deployed in the surrounding, each one of them was exterminating Magic Stone Beasts.

The Knight Academy was a boarding school, so curfew was basically in effect. However, in situations like this, students were allowed to go out and help to exterminate the Magic Stone Beasts. Although, that only applied to students who had been recognized by the principal and owned the special extracurricular study permit.

Leone usually snuck out of the dormitory in the middle of the night to make her night rounds in the city. She always had been ever since the day Inglis told her she saw Leon was in the city at night.

She was well aware that it was against the school’s rule, but she couldn’t sit still when she thought that Leon might still be hiding in the capital. Leone’s roommate, Liselotte, tacitly approved of her behavior and sometimes accompanied her on her night patrol. However, as Liselotte was more disciplined than Leone, she was always scared that she might be caught the day after they snuck out.

Tonight, however, Prism Flow rained, and so they could brazenly come out without the worry of such a thing.

「We’re getting close!」

As they approached the targeted Magic Stone Beast, Liselotte called out to Leone.

「I’ll drop off here!」

Taking off her hand, Leone exposed herself to the sky. While falling, she elongated her black greatsword Artifact.

「HYAAAAaaatt!!!」

With a big arc, she would cut down the Magic Stone Beast using the momentum of her fall. Or, that was what should’ve happened, but just moments before it did, something shiny and four-legged jumped out from the side and rammed the Magic Stone Beast.

Kabooomm!!

Then its body burst open, spreading a violent flash of light!

「!?」

So tremendous the explosion, Leone’s greatsword was pushed back, her hands numb. Of course, the Magic Stone Beast didn’t survive, it was scattered so badly it didn’t hold any of its original shapes.

「Wha……!?」

However, to Leone, what was surprising wasn’t the force behind that explosion.

「Th-, that was…… That was a lightning beast from big brother Leon’s Artifact……!」

She had been shown many times. She would never forget it. She didn’t mistake it, absolutely.

Which means… He is here, he’s nearby! I’ve finally grasped his tail…..!

The glint in Leone’s eyes changed as she busily searched her surroundings.

「Big brother Leon!? Where are you!? I know you’re here! Come out!」 「Leone! What’s wrong with you all of a sudden!?」

Liselotte descended next to her.

「You saw that, right!? A lightning beast! That’s the power of my brother’s favorite Artifact! That’s why he must be nearby!」 「……!」 「Ah! I see it, there!」

It was a street corner towards a small alley behind Liselotte’s back. A glimpse of a lightning beast was seen there.

「I won’t let you go!」

With all the speed she could muster, Leone rushed over.

「Ah! Leone! It’s dangerous to go alone!」

Liselotte followed after Leone.

The lightning beast suddenly disappeared once they turned the alley, then appeared again as though it invited them at the next corner, and when they reached there, it disappeared again. Leone and Liselotte gradually grew uncertain where they were running to.

「Leone! Have you noticed!? We are clearly being led around, you know……!?」 「Yes, I’m aware! But I have to go! You can go back if you want.」 「No, I’m going! We can use my wing to retreat when needs be……!」 「Thank you!」

As they chased the lightning beast, they came across a place where a turn led to an underground passage at the end of a straight road. The lightning beast descended into it and disappeared from their sight.

「It’s just up ahead……!」 「It could be a trap. Be careful.」 「Sure. Let’s go!」

Leone and Liselotte nodded at each other and went down the path to the underground. They arrived at a large space that seemed to be a warehouse of some kind.

They kept going for a while in a silence filled with the echo of their footsteps. When suddenly, a lightning beast appeared in front of them, its shining body illuminated the surroundings.

The silhouette that emerged from that was——

「Yoo. Long time no see, Leone.」

The tone he used was cheerful, but a hint of awkwardness was apparent in Leon’s speech.

「Big brother……! And——」

Leon wasn’t alone. There was the leader of the Ironblood Chain Brigade, Black Mask. Along with the Hyrule Menace affiliated to them, Cystia.