The Saintess—Tia de Mezelef.

She was the Empress of Ezer and the one who had presided over the Hero’s execution.

It was a presence that no one here could comfortably welcome, and yet she had arrived without warning.

“The Saintess?” Neville’s brow twitched, “Tia de Mezelef, you mean?”

“Yes!” The soldier pointed outside, “She’s standing in front of the royal palace right now! She says she’s here to see you, Lord Neville, but the soldiers don’t know what to do, so they’ve surrounded her and are waiting for orders!”

“Damn!” Neville hurriedly turned to Clay, “I don’t know what she’s thinking! I’ll go out and meet her before anything happens!”

“Go.”

With Clay’s permission, Neville rushed out. Left alone, Clay was soon approached by Naiad and the human-form Syltanaro.

“What’s going on? Something happened?”

“My Lord, it sounded like someone had just arrived…”

The two had just returned from walking around the palace interior and tilted their heads at Clay, unaware of the commotion.

“It seems Tia is here.”

“What?”

Syltanaro’s eyes widened.

“You mean the Empress of Ezer, who’s now the Saintess?”

“Yes.”

“Tia is here…”

Naiad looked troubled, as if the incident with Yelena had come back to her.

“Naiad.” Clay spoke to her gently, “You stay here. I’ll go check the situation with Syltanaro.”

“A-Are you going to fight?”

“I can’t predict how things will turn out, but if necessary, that’s a possibility.”

Naiad turned her head with a conflicted expression.

“Alright. I’ll stay here.”

Still, she seemed to accept that this was for the best. Clay extended his hand to Syltanaro.

“Syltanaro.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

She transformed into a sword and landed in Clay’s hand.

“Then let’s go.”

Clay stepped outside.

♧

Outside, chaos had erupted.

“Damn it, why is the Saintess here of all places?”

“Did she come knowing who’s here?”

“Is she here to fight or what?”

The soldiers whispered anxiously, spears raised. They were all individuals whom Clay had granted the ability to wield magia.

There was no legal reason why the Saintess couldn’t visit Yaphenon, a brother nation of Holy Krata, but with the Demon King present, it was clearly an uncomfortable situation for the soldiers.

It was unclear whether Tia had come knowing that the Demon King was here. Even so, the soldiers didn’t let down their guard. If the Saintess had come to confront the Demon King himself, battle would be unavoidable.

They had no intention of betraying the Demon King who had saved them. Whatever he was called, Clay was someone irreplaceable to them.

“I didn’t expect a warm welcome.”

Tia, standing alone in front of them, spoke with poise, unbecoming of an empress.

“But I didn’t think I’d be treated with such hostility either.”

“P-Please wait a moment!”

One of the senior soldiers called out.

“Someone has gone in to inform Lord Neville! Please wait here just a little longer until we receive instructions!”

“I understand that.”

Tia answered calmly.

“But I am the Empress of Ezer—and the Saintess. This reaction is quite unusual.”

The soldiers looked at one another in alarm.

“A-Any emperor entering the territory of another nation should normally be escorted in! Appearing here without prior consultation has understandably left us flustered!”

The senior soldier responded logically. Tia gave a slight nod of acknowledgment.

“It seems we have someone here capable of rational judgment. You’re right, what you say makes sense.”

But then she shot the soldier a sharp glare.

“However… where did that power of yours come from?”

“!”

“I saw it just now when you shouted. That was definitely magia, wasn’t it?”

“Th-This is…!”

He had unconsciously revealed it in his agitated state, as the power was still unfamiliar to him. The senior soldier stepped back in confusion.

“I’ll ask again. That power… who gave it to you—”

“Your Majesty.”

A voice cut through the soldiers.

Tia turned mid-sentence toward the source. Standing there was Neville, Crown Prince of Krata.

“Neville.”

“Yes, it’s been a while.”

Though they hadn’t seen each other often, their faces were familiar. Neville looked at Tia and calmly asked, “What brings you here?”

“There are so many ruined areas that it wasn’t too hard to sneak in unnoticed. Of course, I also used a bit of the Saintess’s power.”

“I asked for your reason.”

“My reason?”

Tia tilted her head, then let out a soft sigh.

“You mean why I came? I came to see you, Neville.”

“To see me?”

“They say you were released after being kidnapped by the Demon King, but rumors suggest you’re moving alongside him now.”

“Did you come to interrogate me?”

“That’s not it.” Tia got straight to the point, “I came to ask for your cooperation.”

“Cooperation?”

“Krata tried to bring down Ezer—by using Yaphenon.”

She explained that she didn’t intend to hold Yaphenon accountable for that past, but Krata, on the other hand, could not be left alone.

“As the leader of the Holy Alliance, Krata has committed too many sins. It’s time to restructure their power.”

“You’re suggesting a coalition army?”

“Something like that.” Tia smiled, “Even if we don’t move troops together, just the act of forming an alliance would be enough to tighten the noose around Krata. So? Are you interested?”

Neville fell silent.

‘What’s her game?’

Just as she said, an alliance between Ezer and Yaphenon would pressure Krata greatly. But Neville, as Krata’s Crown Prince and acting representative of Yaphenon, wouldn’t make such a proposal lightly without confidence.

“How can you be so sure I’ll choose Ezer over Krata?”

“Clay.” She answered softly, “There’s no way Clay would’ve let you go without something in return.”

There must’ve been an invisible process of cooperation behind the scenes. Tia emphasized that point.

“Clay must’ve shown you some kind of path. He’s the kind of person who’s good at that. It’s not hard to figure out.”

“I see.”

“In any case, I’ve recognized you as Yaphenon’s official representative. I want to speak with you as equals, so don’t call me ‘Your Majesty’ anymore. Even if you address me casually, I’ll understand.”

It was a bold offer.

Yet Neville’s expression only darkened further.

“I appreciate that I can speak freely with you. But I cannot cooperate.”

“And why is that?”

“It’s not within my authority.”

He, the acting head of Yaphenon, claimed he lacked the authority. Then who held it?

“…Tia.”

A new voice rang out, and all turned their heads.

There stood the Demon King.

♧

Soldiers quickly spread out and encircled Clay, Neville, and Tia. Although the royal palace was high above ground and unlikely to be seen by civilians, they took no chances to ensure no witnesses would observe this scene.

“Clay.”

Tia called out to him warmly.

“I knew you’d be here.”

“You expected this?”

Clay asked, and Tia shook her head.

“I knew you were connected to Neville, but I didn’t think you’d be inside the palace itself.”

“Well, now you know.”

His expression hardened.

“I have no intention of wasting my time on you. Go back.”

“If you were going to send me away, you shouldn’t have shown yourself.”

Tia drew the sword at her waist.

Fwoosh!

A blade shone with radiant light.

Its form was unmistakable to everyone present.

“Th-That’s?!”

“The Holy Sword?!”

The soldiers cried out in shock.

The Holy Sword had belonged to the Hero Clay. It was a weapon that normally stayed in its designated place until summoned by its rightful owner.

Yet now, that weapon was in Tia’s hands.

“Excalbren?”

Clay frowned as he asked, and Tia nodded.

“Yes, that’s right. Excalbren.”

“How are you in possession of Excalbren?”

“He came to me himself, saying he couldn’t just stand by while you became the Demon King.”

Tia twirled Excalbren once through the air as she spoke.

“I figured it wouldn’t hurt to have a weapon. So, we agreed to cooperate.”

“Cooperate?”

Clay looked at Excalbren. The sword remained still in Tia’s hand, showing no reaction at all.

“…Ridiculous.”

Excalbren was a soul sword—a blade that strongly expressed its own will. Yet now it was completely silent. That in itself was suspicious.

“Did you force Excalbren to submit?”

“I did raise my voice a bit louder during the resonance.”

She let out a faint sigh.

“In any case, we’ve reached a sort of balance now. You don’t have to be so concerned. After all, it’s no longer your sword, is it?”

“…”

“I’m not looking to fight. Just like you said before.”

But the reason was different, as she implied.

“I want to cooperate with you too.”

“!”

Neville’s eyes flew wide open.

‘What is she…’

Tia was the Saintess. Even if she wasn’t working with Krata, without the Hero, she was the representative of divinity.

For someone like that to speak of cooperating with the Demon King—it was beyond comprehension.

“I refuse.” Clay answered firmly, “I have no intention of cooperating with you. You already know why, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. To you, I’m nothing more than a traitor.”

They had shared long years together. But in the name of duty and judgment, Tia had let Clay die. No—she had killed him.

“Clay. I know you’ll hate whatever I say.”

She wasn’t so foolish as to think otherwise.

“Still, I believe you know what I’m feeling right now.”

“And why should I care about that?”

“Should I teach you?”

Clay didn’t respond to her question. Tia continued on her own.

“After your death, I refused to acknowledge that anything was wrong with me. I blamed everything on you. It was the only way I could breathe.”

“…”

“But even that wasn’t enough. Probably because you came back to life.”

Having experienced a world without Clay, she now realized how much he meant to her.

“Clay.”

Tia stared at him directly. She didn’t beg for forgiveness. Instead, she offered the only thing she could.

“Use me.”

(End of Chapter)

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