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Volume 7 Prologue

Prologue

Four months have passed since the Lord of the island of Sistina had changed, and Theo Cornero replaced the Rossini family, who’ve been ruling the island for nearly two hundred years.

Once he’s become the island’s new ruler, Theo had distributed the power of his Crest among the townspeople and the soldiers who fought alongside him in his rebel army, after which they hurried to man their new posts in the villages and towns around the island, where they then proceeded to rule in accordance with a new set of laws that were introduced by Siluca. The villagers cultivated the ruined farmlands, and they’ve just started rowing out to sea to fish again.

However, public order has not completely recovered, and residents who fled from the slums of Laxia have turned into bandits and were looting various places around the island, and resistance from the old supporters of the Rossinis still continued. Still, under the guidance of the young hero, the people of Sistina tried to overcome their despair and build a peaceful life, as poor as it might’ve been.

The town of Laxia is also beginning to regain its calm. Although half of their assets were taken away from the island’s rich folks, they were allowed to keep their homes and continue to do business as before. Many people were unable to keep up with the changes and fell into ruin, but since the Chaos Vortex around the island’s seas was no more, new business opportunities were also created.

The new lord has begun preparations to process Sistina’s specialty products, such as olives and grapes, into oil and alcohol that are resistant to deterioration and have high profit margins, and to export them to the continent, which has also become a new source of potential workforce.

People are beginning to believe that Sistina has a bright future ahead of her. However, the Great War was intensifying on the continent, and even Sistina, who managed to avoid direct involvement in it thus far, won’t be able to stay on the sidelines of it much longer.

That day, Siluca had been busy since the morning. She received the news that Eugen Niklae, who was commanding the guerrilla warfare in Artuk and holding back Milza the Viceroy of Dartania, has been killed in battle, and that the former Lords of Artuk wanted Theo to return to the continent as soon as possible. However, there were so many things left unfinished that he was unable to go through with that plan just yet.

Then, after noon, while the people of Laxia were having lunch, it happened. A large fleet of ships appeared at the port of the city of Laxia.
The people were in an uproar, and the news was immediately brought to Theo Cornero’s residence.

「Which fleet is it? 」

Upon hearing the news, Theo ordered his subordinate Lords and soldiers in Laxia to prepare for battle. Siluca also left the office and stood next to Theo after she changed into a robe that was easy to move in while not exposing too much skin.

「Is this a fleet sent by the Mages Association to pick up the Black Witch in the dungeon? 」

Siluca said, hoping that would be the case.

During the battle with the Rossini family, the Black Witch Yana, the perpetrator of the assassination of the two Archdukes in 「The Tragedy of the Grand Cathedral」and a member of a secret organization called Pandora, was taken prisoner, and ever since that day, she was wanted by the Inquiry Committee of the Mages Association that looked for her all over the continent along with all the Lords.

Yana, was first hiding in the Forest of Eternal Darkness, where she tried to revive one of the Demon Lords with the help of Vampire King Dimitri, but she ultimately failed, and ever since that fiasco, she had no place left to go on the continent, so she became a guest of the Rossini family.

When Siluca captured Yana, she immediately reported her to the Association, but so far they never showed up to collect her, which means that the Sages Committee, the highest decision-making body of the Mages Association, must’ve not reached a consensus about what to do with her like total idiots.

From Yana’s confession, Siluca had a vague understanding of the truth behind 「The Tragedy of the Grand Cathedral」, but if the whole truth were to be revealed, the authority of the Mages Association would be seriously undermined. However, this is not a small incident that can be left in the dark. There must be a lot of last-minute bargaining going on in Elam by now as to where they should draw the curtain now. Although Siluca disliked it, she had no intention of going against the wishes of the Mages Association right now. But even if that wasn’t the case, Siluca has been receiving a lot of attention from the ever since her days at Magic Academy, so if she were to go against them now, she might end up in their crosshairs.

Siluca moved with Theo to the observation tower on the cape that was directly connected to the residence. She looked towards the fleet that floated offshore and uses her magic to magnify her vision.

「That is… 」

Siluca felt nervous.
「What’s wrong? 」
Theo calls out to her.

「They look like Dartania’s ships. 」

It looked like a commercial ship, not a military one. However, it could still transport troops and supplies if needed.

「Could it be that Milza is attacking us? 」

「It’s possible, but I think that Milza would come by landing near the city and attacking directly instead of from the sea. 」

She answered as such, but she was also filled with hope. Although Dartania is a maritime country, Milza himself prefers mobile warfare with cavalry. The Banner granted to him by his Crest, 「Fedain」should also strengthen that quality. If it really is Milza who is leading that fleet, there is no chance for them to win. Theo’s army in the city of Laxia is about 2,000 soldiers, but neither the citizens of the city center nor the residents of the slums can be called his allies. It is also doubtful whether they’d be willing to cooperate with them.

「First, let’s wait to see what the other party does. 」

To begin with, there are no military ships here, so they watched from the watchtower for a while, until a rainbow flag was hoisted on the ship. It is the emblem of the Mages Association, used when the Lords also ask for negotiations.

「Let’s head to the port. 」

「Yeah, let’s. 」
Siluca moved with Theo to the port and waited for the small boat to arrive on shore.

Irvin, Emma, and Luna also arrived dressed in proper servant attire and stood nearby. Emma carried a flag with a coat of arms depicting a maelstrom. It was created to promote Theo’s achievements, and is combined with the olive leaf emblem of the Cornero family. Eventually, the boat arrived at the pier, and a few people got off. They crossed the pier and headed straight for Theo. They were all dressed like Dartanians, but Milza was not among them. They got the impression that they merchants, not Lords or a soldiers.

「Are you Theo Cornello? 」

The man at the front called out to him. He wore a white cloth headgear to protect himself from the sun. He was tall and had dark skin, but he also gave the impression of being a gentle man.

「That’s right. 」

Theo nodded.

「And you are? 」

「My name is Endel Serik. My father was Sayid Kuches, the former Viceroy of Dartania. 」

In response, Theo and Siluca couldn’t help but look at each other.

「You’re not an emissary of Milza, are you? 」

Siluca asked the man who called himself Endel. That’s what she guessed from the way he mentioned the Viceroy’s name.

「Milza is my younger half-brother. However, he was decided to be the Viceroy since I was a child, and I was never given the name of the Kuches family. My family was a merchant family, and I was sent to the countries of the Fantasia Union to study. I was in Halusia with my family when Milza usurped the position of the Viceroy of Dartania for himself. 」

It is said that Milza had many brothers, but rumors have spread that he killed many of them along with his father. His aim in that was to seize political power in a short period of time.

「Were you expecting Mirza’s rebellion? 」

「No, I was just lucky. I didn’t intend to serve him, I was thinking of living as a merchant in Halusia… 」

「But it’s different now, isn’t it? 」

「Yes. That’s why I came here. 」

After Endel answered Siluca, he turned to Theo and bowed.

「I would like Theo Cornero, who is called a hero, to lend me his strength to defeat Dartania. 」

「Let’s go somewhere else first, and then we’ll talk. 」

After Theo nodded to Siluca, he proposed as such to Endel.

「Yes, it’s going to be a long story. 」