“A Circle… No, is that thing really a Circle?”
Alan swallowed hard and stared at Richard’s Ring. Mana was being sucked in from the surroundings by the fiercely rotating Ring.
“How can a Bartenberg have a Ring?”
He hadn’t opened the chests of every knight in the world to check, but it was an immutable truth that knights could not possess a Ring.
Conversely, a Wizard who possessed a Ring could not obtain a knight’s heart. That was the law and common sense of the world.
Alan took a step toward Richard. His blue eyes were focused solely on the Ring.
“It’s not a normal Ring. No, in the first place, it makes no sense for it to be manifested outside the body.”
The Ring rotating violently before his eyes was truly unprecedented. It was a new discovery that would mark a milestone in the long history of Magic.
A deep interest flickered in Alan’s pupils. However, before curiosity, there was something he had to confirm first.
“…You said you would show Sister Alisa what peace is?”
“That’s right.”
“What do you think true peace is?”
Peace. Alan had defined peace as a world where the Sword and Magic were unnecessary.
A land like a blank sheet of paper, where those in power and the seeds of discord had been cleanly erased. It had taken him a long time to contemplate his own answer.
“You ask a simple thing.”
Yet Richard spoke of peace as something simple.
“To me, Hor is peace.”
It was an answer that drained his energy, one where not a shred of contemplation could be found.
But Alan did not dare to refute those words. For some reason, he felt as if he had lost to Richard.
***
Richard exchanged farewells with his companions. The time had come for them to part for a while.
“Wait at the South Garden with Mar, and when the time comes, come to the Laplace Kingdom. I’ll send word.”
He spoke as he handed a note to his confidant, Aaron.
“What is this?”
“A list of things I need you all to do. Read it after you arrive at the Garden.”
While Richard and his party chatted, Alan watched them from a distance. His head was filled with complicated thoughts. No, it felt as if his heart was in turmoil.
‘Hor is peace—’
Those words caused a ripple in Alan’s convictions.
‘Does that mean the presence or absence of the Sword and Magic is not what defines peace?’
Just as Alan was about to sink into deep thought, he felt several gazes on him. When he turned his head, he met the eyes of Richard’s knights.
Shing—
A young man who appeared to be a spear knight and an old man glared at Alan, making a gesture of slitting their throats with their hands. A boy who resembled an Orc sat crouched, licking a dagger with his tongue. Their intent was clear.
—If you do anything foolish to Richard, you’re dead.
It was only natural that a vein throbbed on Alan’s neat forehead.
“Now, now, that’s enough. You guys should get going.”
Richard appropriately cut off the atmosphere that had turned hostile in an instant. Even as he was pushed away, the young spear knight did not take his eyes off Alan.
He made a gesture, extending two fingers and pointing them at his own eyes and then at Alan. Finally, Aaron held out until the very last moment before turning away.
“Haha! Sorry. My companions are quite overprotective.”
“…If they weren’t believers carrying out the will of Hor, I would have executed them at the stake immediately.”
Alan swallowed his anger and circulated his Mana.
He had just decided to head to the Laplace Kingdom according to Richard’s plan. Alan also felt the same way, thinking it would be good if Alisa Marx became a believer of Hor.
Skreeee!
The ‘Crying Bird’ let out a long cry as soon as it appeared. Watching it closely, Richard’s lips twitched.
“Magic really is convenient. Calling birds and all.”
Until now, Magic had been like a pie in the sky. Now, that pie was no longer in a picture. It was within reach if he just stretched out his hand.
***
The Laplace Kingdom was a country founded long ago by an elder of the Marx Family.
It was also one of the three nations ruled by the Marx Family for generations. The name of the current King of Laplace was Alisa Marx.
She could have solidified her position as the next head of the Marx Family if she had set her mind to it.
Among the Marx siblings, excluding Alan, she was born with the most talent and was a prospect who had reached the highest level.
However, she had stepped down from her position as the successor herself.
By completely leaving the main family to become the King of Laplace, Alisa had given up many things.
Moreover, she had paid the price of her own two eyes to make Laplace independent from Marx.
What she desired and what she dreamed of, no one understood. Not even Alan, who had received her teachings.
“Tch.”
The sky was thick with demonic energy. A single ray of sunlight pierced through the glass window of the Laplace Royal Castle.
Alisa, who had her back to the window, turned her head at the warm sensation. She had her eyes covered with a black cloth. Her fumbling hands brushed against the glass window.
“It’s warm. Fortunately, the Star seems to be bright today.”
Creak—
On a good day, basking in the light by the window was Alisa’s simple hobby. Her blue hair, unique to the Marx Family, sparkled brightly in the sunlight.
The corners of her mouth curved into an arc. It was great luck to be able to enjoy even a single ray of light in a world as grim as it was lately.
“I feel like something good is going to happen soon.”
She took pride in having a good intuition. Following that intuition, she had personally taught her very young youngest brother.
As expected, the youngest possessed the talent to turn the entire house upside down.
Ssh—
As if caressing the light, her hand grasped the air. The eldest daughter of the Marx Family had stood at a crossroads of choice because of Alan and had given up everything for him.
—Sister Alisa. What exactly is peace?
When five-year-old Alan had asked that, she hadn’t been able to answer. It was a question she hadn’t even thought about.
“I miss him. My little puppy.”
Alisa muttered as she recalled old memories. Currently, she had achieved her own kind of peace.
A kingdom independent from Marx. The people praised and respected Alisa.
“Your lacking sister has only been able to achieve this much.”
Whether satisfied or sad, her complicated murmurs continued.
Skreeee!
In the distance, the ‘Crying Bird’ was flying toward her.
***
“Sister. It has been a long time. Have you been well?”
Alan bowed deeply at the waist. It was not common for someone as proud as him to bow so low.
“Come closer.”
Her slender fingers fumbled through the air. Watching her blindfold for a moment, Alan secretly lowered his head. It was hard to look at his respected sister in this state.
Grab.
Had she been anxious from waiting? Alisa pulled Alan into an embrace.
“My youngest. If you visit without word, your sister will be flustered.”
“I-I am sorry.”
“Have you been well? Even if our family is a Wizard family, proper exercise is essential.”
A young man watched the siblings reuniting in silence. Richard lightly scratched his cheek. He felt like he had become a spare part.
“Ahem! Cough!”
So, after waiting for the two to sufficiently share their joy, he cleared his throat loudly.
“Hmm? Who is there?”
“Hello. I am Richard, Alan’s close friend.”
Richard offered a nonchalant greeting despite Alan’s stinging gaze.
“A friend of our youngest…? You mean the youngest has something like a friend?”
“Haha! I couldn’t believe it either, but somehow we became friends who can’t live without each other. Right, Al?”
“A-Al?”
Alisa’s mouth hung wide open. Then it soon curved like a half-moon.
“This sister of yours is so happy. To think the youngest has a friend…”
The way she hopped in place, forgetting her dignity, showed just how happy Alisa was.
“S-Sister…”
Alan’s face turned as red as a ripe persimmon. He didn’t know if it was because of Richard’s loathsome lie or Alisa’s intense reaction.
“You come here, too. A close friend of my youngest is no stranger to me.”
“Wait a minute! Sister! This guy is…”
Alan’s horrified attempt to stop her was useless. Alisa turned her body toward where Richard’s voice came from, her arms wide open.
By the time Alan threw himself to block her, Richard had already quickly embraced Alisa.
“This is truly an honor, Alisa Marx.”
“Hehe. To think the youngest would get along with the Battenberg bloodline.”
Alisa whispered in his ear. Richard. That name was the only one on the continent.
“Yes. What brings you here?”
“It will be a long story. Since the matter is quite extraordinary…”
“Then shall we listen slowly after enjoying a banquet?”
Richard, who had been clinging to Alisa until then, was pulled away by Alan’s rough gestures.
Alan told his sister that he would be in the castle’s guest room and dragged Richard away. Alisa watched the two people walking away.
Why was it? From the moment she embraced Richard, it felt as if she could use ‘that’. She untied the cloth covering her eyes. Her tightly closed eyes slowly opened.
Though they had surely lost their light long ago, she could see ahead, albeit faintly. It was a very surprising thing.
Richard, who was being dragged away by Alan, glanced back and met Alisa’s eyes.
Then he grinned.
“Ha. The youngest has made an interesting friend.”
Her vision had not completely returned. At most, it would last ten minutes. She wanted to use those ten minutes meaningfully.
“He must know my power. I can assume this was intentional.”
A magic circle was drawn in her pupils, which held the world for the first time in a long while.
The ‘Eye of Laplace’. A magic that only she, the only person in the world, had mastered, unfolded.
With those eyes, she looked at Richard, who had moved some distance away. From his gait to his breathing, even the movement and flow of his Mana.
Everything was captured in her field of vision. But what Alisa wanted to see was something more essential. What kind of soul did her lovely youngest brother’s only friend have?
Drip—
When tears of blood flowed down her white cheeks, she finally saw it.
[Tch. What an interesting set of eyes.]
[…Can she see us?]
The massive sword strapped to his back. Inside it, a deep red giant was looking at her, his mouth agape. Beside him, a knight made of light stood with his arms crossed.
“To think there are two souls in a single sword!”
Alisa struggled to maintain her composure. But…
“That… what on earth is that?”
When the ‘Eye of Laplace’ reflected Richard’s soul, she could not help but be horrified. An overwhelming and brilliant cross, the size of which she could not even begin to fathom, was visible.