[Forgotten Journal]
—Aaaargh!
—Run, ru—!
—Help me!
The Empire, which had once built a brilliant civilization as the continent's mightiest nation.
At its heart, in the Imperial Capital of Berham, no glory could be found anywhere in this moment.
Burning buildings made the dead of night as bright as noon.
The city that had been the home of the Empire's people held no life, only screams and the horrid sounds of curses.
The imperial court's high walls had collapsed. The Emperor's palace, which had risen highest and boasted its majesty, had crumbled wretchedly and lay trampled.
—S-Stop. Do not come closer!
The young Emperor fell and rolled across the floor.
Click, clack.
The sound of heels approaching him sounded like a countdown to death.
—What do you want? Wealth? Honor?
—I will give you everything you want.
—What is your purpose? Why do this?
The young Emperor flailed his arms.
The imperial guards who had protected him had long since become corpses cut in two, staining the carpet red, and gave no answer.
Click.
At last the footsteps stopped.
The figure of a woman standing before the Emperor.
An ominous black light leaking from it.
Already a being that could not be called human.
—You asked what this one wants.
Neatly kept black hair scattered in the air.
Through the gaps, the Emperor clearly saw the red eyes glaring at him.
—A perfect nation.
Shing.
A sword was thrust to his throat.
—A perfect Emperor.
Before he could answer, a straight line was drawn.
Roll, roll. Where the headless corpse remained.
The bloodstained imperial crown lost its owner and fell.
The being seemed to feel not the slightest stir, and picked up the crown with an expressionless face.
—None other than this one.
She put the crown on her head.
—The seat that rightfully belongs to Schnellia von Kondenburg.
The throne awaited her.
The moment she took the seat, WHOOOSH!
Pitch-black darkness spread out and stained the world.
CRASH—!
Something enormous surged up from the earth and shattered the imperial palace.
An Outer God.
The absolute being that had stained the world with evil.
Answering its call, a vast army of minions appeared out of the darkness.
From the lonely throne, where not a single living thing remained.
The last Emperor, commanding countless subjects made of evil.
—......Heh.
Laughed softly.
And watched the Empire's end with those red eyes.
Page 71. The Last Day of the Imperial Capital
***
I had gone listless.
The imperial court's subjugation force for the Swamp of the Abyss.
Because I had been made the Lionheart Knight Order's guide.
"This got troublesome."
My father had given me the task out of nowhere.
—Dunker, as you well know, this is the first time the imperial court has intervened directly in our territory.
—You will stand as Grimwald's representative. I will provide knights and attendants.
That's your job, isn't it, Father? What wind blew in to make you dump it on me?
The mood was too grim for me to say that.
I had no interest in family honor anymore, but Father still seemed to misunderstand that I wanted to become a member of the house.
"The sight of you drinking tea instead of liquor is unfamiliar, Young Master."
As I was slacking off in the reception room, Charlotte spoke up.
"I like tea. The tannin and caffeine in black tea have a stimulating effect."
"That is the first I have heard of it."
"I don't drink regularly anymore. And I have no intention of getting hand tremors again."
"A pity. I was going to invite you to my discharge party."
"Let's put it off until something else good happens. Right now it's time to use my head."
I pressed my temples. My head throbbed.
"Third Princess Schnellia von Kondenburg."
"I have heard her by the epithet Apostle Slayer. They say she is an unprecedented swordsmanship genius. I would like to spar with her."
"Go ahead and ask, if you want a scar on your face."
"You speak as though you know the Third Princess."
"I know her well."
Schnellia was a character who had appeared as the boss of a large-scale event.
The original work did not unfold its story directly; instead you explored a world on the brink of ruin and gathered clues about how the Empire had fallen in the past.
And the name Schnellia was one that kept surfacing in the records just as you were about to forget it.
She was the figure most responsible for driving the Empire and the world to the brink of destruction.
With little political power in the imperial court and a low place in the succession, she went unchecked.
All the while, it seemed, she had been steadily manipulating everything from rebel armies to black sorcerers, and even the Outer Gods' minions, from behind the scenes.
The reason Schnellia acted that way was simple.
'She was one of the Fallen, eroded by an Outer God.'
The Fallen.
A term for powerful aura users who had been eroded and turned their backs on humanity.
In simple terms, boss-class.
That a swordsmanship genius great enough to carve her name into history had turned against humanity was an enormous event.
The Emperor's four other children all died. The imperial palace was blown apart in the opening strike. The Medical Institute that could treat Erosion met its end then as well.
'Judging by the timing, it probably hasn't happened yet.'
Then again, who knew. Maybe she was born evil.
"A face I never want to see again."
"Come to think of it, you would have met the Third Princess at a social party, Young Master."
"Ah, that did happen."
Whenever it was, I remembered sneaking along to a palace social gathering and getting caught and scolded by my father.
"Back then I just thought she was a young lady my age with a somewhat odd personality. I had no idea she was imperial family, let alone that she would turn out like that."
It was long ago; surely she would not remember me.
"Do not worry. I take responsibility for your safety, Young Master. I will carry out the escort duty the head of the house ordered to the letter."
Charlotte bent her arm at a right angle in a sign of loyalty.
"Come on, however frightening she is, she's not going to just bite me."
"Have you not heard the rumors? Every time the Third Princess's subjugation force passes through a noble house, a noble turns up dead in a suspicious accident. Mostly those hostile to the imperial court."
"From now on, do not leave my side for twenty-four hours a day."
Scary.
"And I have to guide them on top of it. I'd rather die than go back in there."
"We cleared as far as the fifth floor. We are the only ones who know the terrain."
"Nothing to be done, then."
Having to stick my head back into the mouth of an Outer God that might devour me. Nothing could be more uncomfortable.
Still, leaving the dungeon alone was not an option.
Since it had come to this, I would make active use of the situation.
"They arrive in two weeks, was it?"
"Correct. Do not burden yourself too much; think positively."
"Positively."
Huh.
"That's a hundred more clinical subjects to legally test my potions on, isn't it?"
Aura users, no less.
"I did not expect you to be quite that positive. Using an imperial knight order as lab rats for home-brewed potions. A remarkable idea."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
I spread out a map. The Lionheart Knight Order was said to be on its way from subjugating another dungeon in the north.
I traced their route.
"They'll have been on a forced march, and they're coming through the desert."
I did not need to see their condition to know it.
"If you can't avoid it, enjoy it. Let's give them a proper reception."
***
"Young Master, I've finished sorting the potions you brewed."
Thunk. Hammer set down a wooden box as she spoke. It was all potions.
"Hey, hey, can't you read? What does that say?"
"Handful of...... care?"
"'Handle with care,' you idiot. If even one breaks, your head breaks with it."
"Yes, sir."
We were in the northern forest.
For two weeks we had been gathering the materials we needed from the forest and making potions.
It was pure wilderness, a treasure vault in its own right.
Which also made it dangerous, since you never knew what might jump out.
By working the knights hard, I had been able to make a wide variety of potions.
Enough that my compounding speed could not keep up.
Being a noble really was good.
"We return. Take care in handling the cargo."
The knights were moving busily at Charlotte's order when it happened.
"All hands, on guard!"
—GRAAAAH!
At the same moment as Charlotte's shout, an aberration appeared out of the dark forest.
An enormous bear over three meters tall. Its pitch-black eyes said it was eroded.
Scary.
In the original work it would have been a trash mob, but right in front of me like this, the resolution was insane.
"A monster!"
"Battle formation! Protect the Young Master!"
The moment the knight order drew their swords.
SHNK— SCREEEECH!
A trail of light appeared from somewhere.
It drew a clean arc through the air.
—THUD!!
The next moment, the monster bear's head separated from its body and it collapsed.
Urp.
Dark fantasy style combat. I was going to throw up.
"What was that?"
"What just......"
Click. Someone walked out from behind the great bear's remains.
And the moment I saw her.
'I'm screwed.'
I froze solid.
Black hair like endless darkness, as though it would swallow all the brilliant sunlight.
In blue eyes that looked plucked from the deep sea, not a trace of emotion was visible.
Thick armor wrapped her body, and if not for the pure white uniform visible through its gaps, her slender limbs and frame looked as if they might snap at any moment.
'So I end up meeting this woman after all.'
The Empire's Third Princess.
Schnellia von Kondenburg.
The worst of the Fallen, who had knocked me out of my seat with jump scares more than a few times in the original work.
The monster who destroyed the Empire.
She lifted the huge monster's corpse easily with one hand and dragged it over.
THUD! She dropped the monster down as though tossing it, as if showing off to me.
"Your territory will want better management. Unless you intend to keep monsters as pets."
Who was she to boss me around when we had just met?
I barely swallowed the words that had risen to my throat.
Imperial family. Imperial family.
One little slip and it's contempt of the imperial family and off with my head.
I hadn't eaten a Chop-Chop Fruit, so what could I do? Bow my head.
"You are House Grimwald's young master?"
"No, it's this one here."
"Young Master, what are you doing?"
I tried to push Hammer forward in my place, but she was too heavy to budge.
"Pff. Still the same man."
Her Highness laughed at me.
I decided to greet her properly.
"It is an honor to behold your countenance, Your Highness."
Let's think positively.
She spoke normally, so at least she was not eroded yet.
Which meant we could at least communicate.
'A princess. A princess.'
One of the highest powers in this nation.
Which also meant she could become my money bag.
Schnellia gestured. Then, stomp, stomp! The knight order revealed itself.
"It's the Lionheart Knight Order......"
"Even their build is different."
"They look like they're marching off to war."
I felt my knights' tension at my back.
Compared to our knights in heavy iron armor, every one of the Lionheart Knight Order was heavily armed in adamantium full plate.
Their lines were exact down to the tips of their toes. Their eyes blazed like those of predators.
"Felling a monster in a single blow. Remarkable skill, Your Highness."
"Put away your meaningless flattery. None of it means anything until the Outer God is subjugated."
I was sure of it now. Erosion or not, this woman simply had a sharp tongue by nature.
As sudden as it was, I happened to be carrying plenty of stock, so the timing was good.
Time to scatter some bait.
"I received a letter saying you are the dungeon's guide."
"That is correct, Your Highness."
"Where is the dungeon? Lead the way."
"You're an impatient one. Rush like that and trip in front of all your knights and you'll have a try-not-to-laugh contest on your hands."
Whoops.
One joke to lighten the mood and she was glaring at me like she meant to kill.
"Dunker Grimwald. Do you intend to trade wordplay with this one?"
"Of course not. You and the Lionheart Knight Order are guests visiting our territory. Guests must receive the very best hospitality."
I had prepared something special.
"You have been on a forced march for months. Attempting the dungeon in this state would be suicide. You must provide your knights with rest and treatment."
"A count's knight order must be a feeble thing. My knight order does not tire from this much."
"Is that so, I wonder?"
I walked up to one of the Lionheart knights.
"Wow, look at that expression. Terrifying. Did you all chew on rats on the way here? Loosen your faces. Take off those stuffy helmets, too."
I opened one knight's visor.
Swollen gums and cracked lips were revealed.
"Oh dear. So they weren't posing, they were in no state to speak. This one too, and this one."
"......"
One after another, I lifted the knights' visors.
As expected, scurvy had advanced considerably in all of them.
"They all have injuries around the mouth......"
"Could they have been eroded?"
I shook my head at the knights' question.
"Look closely. What does it look like to you?"
"......Ah!"
Hammer realized and clapped her hands.
"It's the expedition's aftermath! The one we caught too."
"They'll be under a great deal of stress. No doubt they marched the whole way chewing nothing but salted jerky. Am I right, Your Highness?"
Schnellia was silent a moment before answering.
"......It is because they have been fighting monsters. We have enough potions."
"If you had enough potions, why are they all in this state?"
"......"
"The answer is simple. Because you had no potion that treats the symptoms."
I picked up a flask from the wooden box.
Slosh. The yellow liquid glittered.
"What is that?"
[High-Grade Multivitamin]
[Sweet and tangy!]
"A Grimwald special-brew potion."
"A potion. What do you call it?"
"Ah, the name."
Come to think of it, I had not decided what to call it.
The word vitamin would be unfamiliar to them.
Still, if I had to name it, there was only one option.
"......Vita Five Hundred."
"Vita Five Hundred......?"
Schnellia tilted her head.
"An unfamiliar name. Is it a new product?"
"A special brew I developed myself. Drink a bottle and rest well and your cracked gums heal right up. Not only that, minor ailments like colds vanish in an instant."
At my words, Schnellia tapped her brow thoughtfully.
"I do not understand. The potions we were supplied are sufficient, yet they have not healed the knight order. Do you mean your potion is better than the Medical Institute's?"
"I told you. Accurate use matters more than being better."
I spread my arms like an actor and bowed my head.
"Allow me to introduce myself again. I am Dunker Grimwald. Guide for this subjugation campaign, and."
I raised my face and met Schnellia's eyes.
"A doctor."
Time to sell some drugs.
In more ways than one.