True Strength of the Four Stars
The sudden appearance of the intruder shocked not only Ludancia"s head, but the soldiers as well. But there was someone among them who"d heard of the Four Stars of the East.
「Four Stars of the East? She"s an adventurer from Ponsonia! What is she doing in Forestia?」
「I heard they"re rank B.」
「So what?! Get yourself together, men!」
The soldiers exercised caution as they watched Sarah, but she didn"t look the least bit concerned.
「How dare a lowly adventurer like you interfere with our problem?! Get all three of them!」Ludancia"s leader ordered with a shrill voice.
The soldiers moved. They were in a large room, sure, but it was still indoors. Closing the distance would take no time at all.
「S-Sarah!」
「It should be about time.」
「For what?」
Luka noticed Sarah"s arms around her waist. With her free hand, Sarah took out a black ball from her pocket and slammed it onto the floor. The purple smoke jetting out of it quickly hid the ladies and blocked the soldiers" vision.
「What"s this?! 」
「Block the entrance! They"ll get away!」
「Be careful not to hit each other!」
「Right!」
The trained men covered their mouths with their hands as they peered cautiously through the smoke. Sarah pulled Luka closer and ran.
「Whaaaa?!」
「You better hold your breath so you don"t inhale the smoke. Otherwise you"ll have a coughing fit. Can you hold for thirty seconds?」
Luka nodded, but she didn"t know what Sarah was up to. The adventurer pulled on the old lady"s hand as well and stood on the other side of the room—by the window facing the main street. Luka"s eyes widened. Red paint dripped from the window. She couldn"t recall it being there before. It was clear that Sarah applied it right before she appeared. Sarah opened the window. As wind blew in, the smoke gradually dissipated.
「They"re escaping through the window?! 」
「The fools! We"re on the third floor!」
The soldiers could see them now. Like they said, they were on the third floor. Directly below was the main street. There was neither a cushion to break their fall, nor trees to help them get down. If they jumped down, they wouldn"t get out of it unscathed.
「All right, let"s go!」Sarah said nonchalantly, holding out her hand.
Luka grabbed it, trusting her. Why? She didn"t know. Maybe because the woman appeared in her time of great need, or perhaps it was just her hunch. Or maybe it was the choice she arrived at: go with her or get captured by her mother.
「D-Don"t do it, Princess! You"ll hurt yourself!」
A soldier rushed over. A few more seconds and he"ll make it.
「I"m… going!」
「Down you go.」
「…Wha?」
Luka felt her body flying through the air—Sarah tossed her out. The princess wondered where from her slender body did she even get the strength to do that.
Panicking and confused, she shot her hands out, grasping at nothing but air, as her body accelerated down towards the earth. What would happen to her if she crashed to the ground? Luka shut her eyes tight.
「O" traveler of the wind, sing your never-ending ballad of journey, and grant me power. Air Wall!」
Something coiled around Luka"s body as it descended rapidly. It felt as though it pulled her clothes, cheeks, hair, even her fingers. A ma.s.s of air.
The speed of her fall decreased greatly and eventually reduced to zero. As soon as the tip of her toes touched the ground, compressed air dispersed like a balloon deflating.
Luka blinked incessantly. She had no idea what had just happened.
「Why does Sarah always have to be so reckless?!」
「Now, now. It"s fine. She believed you could do it. It"s proof of her trust in you.」
「I guess it depends on how you look at it. But what would she have done if we didn"t see the signal?!」
Women who looked to be adventurers appeared before her; one with long, black hair—the same color as Hikaru"s—and another with ample b.r.e.a.s.t.s.
「Your hair is a mess. I"m sorry for the rough treatment. But we weren"t sure if we had to save you, so we waited until the very last moment. If there"s anyone to blame, it"s Hikaru for not providing sufficient information.」
A third woman appeared, stroking Luka"s hair. She had bright, blonde hair tied up in a chignon. Her face was lovely, the kind you didn"t see too often. The silver breastplate she had on seemed to glisten.
「My name is Selyse Lande, an adventurer. We, the Four Stars of the East, came here to protect Luka Lordgrad Ludancia. That is you, correct?」
Luka nodded.「Did Hikaru send you?」
「Hikaru, huh? He told us you were the third daughter from a powerful family. It seems you really do know each other. We"ll make good use of his connections.」
In the meantime, Sarah jumped down, carrying with her the old lady. Selica created another air cushion to absorb the impact of her descent.
「Granny!」
「P-Princess! I-I can"t feel my legs.」
「I"m sorry. I"m sure you"re both thrilled after escaping certain doom, but I want to get out of here quick. There"s tons of pursuers, right?」
「Please help us escape.」
「That was the plan from the start.」
Soldiers streamed out from the building.
「But before we go, we have to break their minds first.」
Luka saw confidence in Selyse as she walked slowly forward. An hour later, Luka and the old lady shook off their tail with the help of the Four Stars of the East, and disappeared.
Rumania and Euroba suggested the proposal for the ma.s.s wedding and the marriage between Claude and Luka to be settled between Kirihal and Ludancia, not by the seven nations.
But the Prime Minister, Zofira, insisted that Kirihal and Ludancia were no nations, but simply regions. As such, matters that transcended borders were to be settled by the highest body, i.e. the government of Forestia and during the meeting between delegates. In other words, it would be preferable to resolve the issue here and now. In the end, the votes went five to one.
League"s father, Billion, gave his approval. He simply took a pragmatic approach; the ma.s.s wedding might give way to business opportunities, and he had to have a hand in it from the start or else he couldn"t a.s.sure influence in the creation of rules and regulations that would benefit Rumania.
With this, the ma.s.s wedding will proceed under my father"s watchful eyes. But we should be happy we made progress, even if it"s just one step. Anyway, I"m worried about Luka.
Once the meeting ended, League met with Roy outside. Roy and the others couldn"t find Luka. When they reached the place where she was staying, they found multiple soldiers gathered around. The atmosphere was heavy, and when they asked where Luka was, they said she"d gone missing.
Apparently Claude was about to charge straight to her mother, but Mikhail and Ivan managed to keep him in check.
「Will you come with us right now?」
「I can"t. My father and I will need to discuss about the matters that transpired during the meeting.」
Roy let out a low groan. League gave a strained laugh in spite of himself.
「You should get in touch with the others. There"s no need to hide our connection anymore. I"m sure you can count on Silvester and Catherine.」
「O-Okay!」
Roy ran off to meet them. I just hope that"s the end of it, League thought, but he felt worried. Later that night, he received word from Roy saying “Everyone met up safely. Adventurers helped.”
「…Adventurers?」
League had no idea what that meant, and for a long time—which was unusual for him—he racked his brain hard.