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The central street where the parade was taking place was filled with chaos from the moment the airship exploded.

“The airship… it exploded…!”

“Was it an accident? But the Princess is on board!”

“Isn’t it going to fall down here!?”

With the explosion of the airship, flames and smoke scattered in all directions, plunging the citizens of the capital city into fear. The festive atmosphere created by the grand parade was instantly ruined.

As the explosion occurred, debris from the airship fell down. Although most of it was small metal shards or glass fragments invisible to the naked eye, if any fell onto the bustling central street, anyone could be seriously injured.

Charlotte clasped her hands together and closed her eyes.

In that moment, the world was filled with light.

While a typical high bishop’s holy barrier barely protects a single building, Charlotte’s barrier completely covered the sky of the capital city. The debris was blocked by the barrier, and nobody was harmed.

Indeed, she possessed overwhelming divine power and extraordinary magical skills that lived up to the name of a Saint.

Meanwhile, Prince Wilhelm looked up at the burning airship with a bewildered voice.

“Why did that suddenly happen…?”

Wilhelm’s voice betrayed his confusion and panic as he seemed unable to comprehend the situation.

Charlotte opened her eyes and glared at him. Her gaze mixed with suspicion, as if to say, “Did you orchestrate all of this?”

Feeling her scrutinizing gaze, Wilhelm scowled.

“Why on earth would I do such a thing? What reason would I have to ruin this parade?”

Charlotte kept her eyes fixed on the prince, silently demanding an explanation for why the airship had exploded.

Wilhelm vehemently denied it, shouting loudly.

“I only tinkered a bit with the airship’s magic output device! To ensure Elizabeth’s face wouldn’t show up during the parade! I never said to blow up the airship!”

“…….”

In the end, the fact that he had some sinister plot remained unchanged. Charlotte wasn’t surprised by that. Up until now, Wilhelm had crossed lines that no human should ever cross.

Despite that, Charlotte ultimately decided to stop blaming Wilhelm. She already knew he wouldn’t reflect or change because of this incident.

More importantly, she needed to focus on ensuring the citizens of the capital city remained unharmed.

She poured all her power into creating a barrier that covered the entire capital. Even for Charlotte, casting such a spell alone was not easy, and all her divine power was consumed in maintaining the barrier, but there was no other option.

If the airship itself fell onto the people, it would be one of the most terrible disasters in the capital’s history.

Meanwhile, while Charlotte maintained the barrier, Wilhelm commanded the Knight Order and soldiers.

“Calm the citizens down. Tell them it’s safe with the Saint’s barrier!”

“Understood, Your Highness. Shall we disperse the citizens?”

“What? If we do that, the parade will end right here—! Ahem, just tell them to stay put. If so many citizens leave at once, it might create even more chaos!”

To an outsider, it might seem like he was genuinely worried for the citizens’ safety, but Charlotte could glimpse his true intentions. He likely aimed to protect his own face by preventing any more damage to the parade.

Is this truly the hero chosen by the light?

There was a time when she believed he was the only one who could defeat the Demon King…

Now, she was no longer disappointed. She only regretted that foolish time when she had chosen a hero.

Charlotte quietly gazed at the sky.

Her heart was racing.

“Ion…”

In this chaotic moment, not many had noticed, but Charlotte did not miss it. A man was plunging toward the airship.

No matter how far away he was, she couldn’t possibly mistake him. Since that fateful meeting and parting, not a single day had passed without her thinking of him.

Her eyes followed the airship, slowly descending. It felt as though if she looked hard enough, she might just catch a glimpse of the person she loved.

As always, he was once again running toward danger. The thought of being unable to do anything made her heart ache.

“Goddess, please… hear this prayer.”

She fervently wished for Ion’s safety.

*

The airship was slowly descending towards the ground.

Only then did the crew’s expressions show signs of relief. They had faced possible death, but it seemed they would manage a safe landing after all.

Heinrich looked at the ground growing closer, letting out a self-deprecating laugh.

“How arrogant, the Faceless Hero… But I suppose you have the right to be arrogant. You’ve accomplished feats that even the Holy Sword-wielding Dragonkin couldn’t achieve, so what do the army or the Royal Guard have to fear?”

Heinrich’s voice was drowned out by the explosions, roaring flames, and rushing winds around them, unheard by the other crew members.

But it was not lost on Katarina.

‘Who? The Faceless Hero? This man? That one?’

She barely suppressed her jaw from dropping in shock. She had to endure as her gaze keeps drifting towards Ion.

However, Elizabeth was different. Since she had declared that she was merely there to protect the students, her crimson eyes were focused solely on Ion.

Her gaze was filled with questions of ‘Why?’ confusion, and doubt.

Affection between people is usually mutual. Unilateral affection can linger briefly but cannot last long. There must be give and take for a relationship to form.

Elizabeth had intended to use Ion to fulfill her ambitions, but she had yet to offer him anything in return. She had proposed no deals and guaranteed no benefit.

In such a situation, receiving unilateral and effectively reasonless—although she provided a reason that Elizabeth couldn’t grasp—kindness from another person was an exceedingly unfamiliar experience for her.

Ion spoke quietly.

“If we leave it like this, he will die.”

Even after the bleeding had been staunched, with one arm severed, the blood loss was significant. Heinrich’s lips had already turned blue, and his complexion was that of a near-death person.

Someone needed to bring medicine and perform first aid; on one side was a princess, and on the other, one of the continent’s Seven Heroes. Ultimately, Katarina had no other choice but to take action.

“I’ll go!”

“…Huh? Alright. Thank you.”

Elizabeth nodded to her guard, who seemed tense more than usual, and entrusted the task to her.

As soon as Katarina set off to fetch the medicine from the infirmary, Heinrich let out a pale laugh.

“What a shame. If the plan had succeeded… the day when she claims the throne wouldn’t have been far off…”

“True. Thanks to you, there will be quite a bit of work to do once we return.”

They could hold the First Prince responsible for neglecting the parade management, and it would also be necessary to keep an eye on Heinrich’s mysterious ‘one’ who had been lying in wait all this time.

In the end, it was a beneficial turn of events. If they could just return safely.

“Is that so? As a servant, I cannot commit such disloyalty… I must at least show some minimal results… I wouldn’t regret it even if I fell into hell.”

“What?”

Heinrich’s eyes glinted with madness.

Ion’s expression hardened slightly.

“…That won’t do. Killing you seems the best option.”

Realizing Heinrich was still unwilling to give up and was attempting something, Ion tried to react, but before he could, something exploded from beneath the airship, violently shaking it.

Kwaaaang-!!

“Kyaaaaaah!”

It was as if an explosion had occurred; the hull shook violently. Ion wrapped his arms around the waist of the stumbling Elizabeth and gripped the railing tightly. Elizabeth clung to Ion’s shoulder, embracing him.

Bang!! Bang!!

The shaking didn’t stop with just one. With each successive shock, the airship tilted precariously, and the crew members were roughly thrown against the walls and floor. Ion quickly tried to determine the source of the vibrations.

“What was underneath the ship?”

“Uh…! The cargo hold… But there surely shouldn’t have been anything inside!”

It was a meaningless statement. The captain, who should have checked the cargo hold, was a spy for the intelligence agency.

Suddenly, the ship’s bow surged upwards, launching the airship into the sky.

From the direction of the captain’s room, Doctor Brown shouted.

“The directional control system is damaged! The ship wants to rise!”

Ion quickly checked the ground and shouted.

“Jump down below!”

“What!? Are you insane! If we jump down from here, we’ll all die!”

“There’s a holy barrier right below! Just jump!”

“Damn it…! Everyone, abandon ship!”

The crew screamed as they leaped down from the nearly capsizing airship.

It was a dizzying scene that evoked thoughts of falling to their deaths, but instead of crashing to the ground, they were blocked by a white light barrier stretched between the sky and the ground, cushioning their landing without any shock.

Even Doctor Brown leaped toward the barrier, and soon Katarina, who dashed out of the infirmary, ran across the deck to regain her balance and headed toward Elizabeth.

“Princess! I’m right now—!”

“Kuhuhuh—!!”

It was a fierce roar that seemed to shake the air.

Katarina felt a sense of paralysis wash over her and lost her balance, leading her to fall off the deck below.

“Your Highness—!!”

Katarina fell, reaching out her hand to Elizabeth until the last moment.

Heinrich, who was firmly attached to the spear and couldn’t fall, burst into a maniacal laugh.

“Ahahaha! Just like the Faceless Hero has trump cards, I too have at least one hidden card up my sleeve!”

Uzhizik! Bang!!

Soon, breaking through the deck, a beast emerged, its claws embedded in the floor as it roared threateningly.

Ion instantly recognized the beast’s identity.

“The Beast Legion Commander…?”

The commander of the Beast Legion, who had lost his life in the last war, grinned at Ion, baring his fangs with a wild light in his eyes.

“We meet again! My long-time rival—!!”

 

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