Incidentally, Tiat Siba Ignareo was rather fond of fictional stories.
On Island No. 68, there was a small, old cinema in the semifer village not far from the faerie warehouse. The young Tiat had, many times, shamelessly begged the adults at the warehouse to bring her there.
True to their name, recording crystals were special pieces of quartz that could record and store the scenes around them. The cinema’s equipment allowed the stories locked within them to be displayed in front of one’s eyes, bringing to life a vast assortment of dramas, each set in different corners of the world featuring actors of all shapes and sizes. Within them there was love, dreams, hope, and adventure—all of which enraptured her.
Most of those films were set in the city of Collina di Luce. Just as she had once been mesmerized by those stories, so too had she been captivated by the city depicting them. Yet, all she held were mixed feelings in the present.
As the airship cut through the skies, she kept remembering those events, reliving that battle, and recounting that farewell.
On the day of the Elpis Incident, when Collina di Luce had been invaded by the Beasts, Tiat was there in the city. She had fought for the first time then, wielding Ignareo. And in that battle, she had bid farewell to Willem, who had been a father to her and all the other faeries.
She sighed, thinking of the erstwhile yearning she once held for her favorite city.
All childhood fancies had an expiration date. Now that she was a mature faerie, she knew how to face reality on some level. Never again would she feel the pure, innocent joy she’d once derived from those works of fiction. When she landed there, only painful memories would resurface, and not the excitement she’d felt before—or so she believed, all the way till she disembarked the airship.
“Phew.” The yearning she once felt in her bones had been diluted by the passage of time, yet it seemed as if it would not vanish so easily. “Oh, wow…!”
Striding down the gangplank, she allowed herself to soak in the lively evening atmosphere of Island No. 11. One breath of the local air was all it took for a wave of emotion to wash over her. Collina di Luce! The cradle of history! The jewel of the skies! A melting pot of romance and legends!
With all her might, Tiat tried to suppress the urge to shout. If left unchecked, her boundless excitement might’ve erupted then and there and caused her to raise a ruckus.
“No, I mustn’t be like that.” Get a grip, she thought, patting her cheeks. Don’t forget all the painful memories here. It isn’t something to feel happy about, or else… Hmm, it sorta feels really disrespectful to Willem?
Out of the blue, she recalled a certain person’s words.
“You mustn’t cry even when you’re sad? I’d never say something like that. Still, don’t take it as an excuse not to smile.”
“You can still laugh when you’re sad, and cry when you’re happy. Make sure to always laugh and cry to your heart’s content, okay? That’s the privilege you children enjoy, heck, you could even call it your responsibility.”
Those were lines from a film she’d once watched. An old assassin, who wound up raising the granddaughter of a target he killed, had told her that many times. It wasn’t something Willem said himself, yet it felt like something in his character to say. In her heart, that was the sort of person Willem Kmetsch was—a father who imposed virtually no restrictions on how the young leprechauns ought to behave.
She believed, without a doubt, that he would surely say something along those lines were he here.
“Ugh, whatever!”
Amidst both laughter and tears, she cradled her head in her arms. Why, oh why do I always end up like this? What am I supposed to feel here then?
Right. On the verge of a breakdown, one small corner of her mind still sought to operate on reason. I’ve gotta meet someone here.
Leprechauns were not permitted to go out on their own. According to the regulations, they had to be supervised by an officer of the Winged Guard at all times. It wasn’t enforced that strictly, but she couldn’t outrightly disregard it either.
Many airships flew in and out of the big cities every day, ferrying tourists, goods and other such cargo. In principle, such airships could only dock at the well-furnished port districts, hence they were usually crowded around the clock.
The Winged Guard airship that had taken her there had unloaded its cargo and left immediately.
“All I’ve heard is that the supervisor this time will be waiting here…”
I sure hope they’re reasonable. All the supervisors she’d known thus far didn’t really conjure the image of an ideal soldier in her mind. Personal character aside, they at least respected her as an individual instead of being strict and controlling. I’m quite lucky all the ones I’ve met were so nice, but that might not always be the case, she thought, glancing around as she walked. Still, she saw no one in uniform that looked to be the supervisor.
“Sorry! Please make way!” Several semifer carrying heavy-looking boxes dashed past Tiat, kicking up a light breeze that stirred her bangs.
I’m just being a nuisance by standing around, but it’s not like I can drift too far either. Just as she was still lost in thought—
“Ti-” A voice came from behind suddenly. “-at!” And from her blind spot, a pair of arms reached out, pulling her into a tight hug.
“Huwagh?” A surprised scream, combined with the oxygen being squeezed out of her lungs, came out from her mouth as a strange, garbled cry.
“Who’d have thought it’s really you, Tiat! Just look at you! Haven’t seen you in a while and you’ve gotten so big already!”
She was shaken back-and-forth violently, and as her vision began to blur, she saw some curious passers-by turn their heads to look. Good grief, this is so embarrassing. But anyway…
“Huh?” She recognized the voice, in addition to that powerful and overenthusiastic greeting. Years ago, she saw it practically every day at the faerie warehouse.
“Nopht?”
“Yep!” The shaking stopped, but she was still held in a tight vise.
Struggling, she twisted and turned, eventually breaking free with some difficulty. Wheezing and panting, she raised her head and finally took a good look at that person.
Right there stood a woman in her twenties, with a head of maple-red hair and even redder eyes. She was quite tall—a whole head taller than Tiat, who’d have to look up to meet her gaze.
Nopht Caro Oracion. A name popped up in her mind. Two or three years ago, the Winged Guard sent her on a special mission, and she went her separate way from the others at the faerie warehouse. Well, I guess the one standing here does look a lot like Nopht. And sounds like her too. And just now, when I asked her, she did say “yep.”
“But…”
“Hmm?”
Her thoughts were in disarray. And to make things worse, the appearance of an unexpected face had only raised more questions. After sorting them out, she decided to ask them in order of importance.
“You let your hair grow out?”
“Oho, so you did notice. At first, I just thought it was a pain to cut it, y’know? So I just left it like that, but then Rhan said it suited me, so that’s when I decided to keep it long.”
Wait, no, that’s hardly important.
“And you look taller too?”
“Eh, just a little. Besides, look who’s talking. Whaddaya know, the wee little lass has grown into a proper young lady now.” Nopht grinned wickedly.
Where have I seen that laughter before… Anyway, that’s not it either.
“Uh…” Tiat took a deep breath before continuing. “Why are you here?” Yep, that’s the one, I ought to have asked that from the start. Third time’s the charm.
“Oh? Haven’t you heard?”
“No, I was completely clueless until you suddenly ambushed me.”
“Well isn’t that tragic.” Hey, that was all on you. Is that really what the culprit should be saying? “Anyway, we only received word after returning from the ground two days ago. That’s why we flew here directly from the 31st.”
The ground, huh? Which means…
“You guys were on the surface all this time? Until now?”
The surface. A lost paradise. A dead and destroyed land under the Beasts’ dominion. Countless ancient artifacts and lost wisdom slumbered on the lands below, but those who wished to uncover them often paid for their folly with their lives. Such was the aboveground world…also once the hometown of Willem Kmetsch, and the eternal resting place of Chtholly Nota Seniorious.
“No need to be so surprised. Hasn’t Nygglatho told you already? My third officer here’s in that line of work, you know.”
Nygglatho was the faerie warehouse’s caretaker who’d been sent by the Orlandry Merchants Alliance. To all the faeries there, the female troll was like a big sister and a mother at the same time.
“I mean, I did hear that a third officer was in charge of the surface investigation team. But hold on a sec, the surface isn’t somewhere you can just swoop down to and leave so easily, right?”
“Yeah. Two months for a round trip, though it’s not that taxing once you get used to it.”
“I really doubt just anyone could get used to that… Ah, right, I’ve got to meet—” The shock of her reunion with Nopht had almost made her forget about meeting the Winged Guard officer.
“Yep!” Smirking, Nopht gestured behind her with her chin.
“‘Yep’ my ass, could you not run off on your own? I’ll be the one getting an earful for this, you hear—” A squat figure ambled over from somewhere behind Nopht.
He was a boggard in an officer’s uniform. A sub-race of Goblins, most of them tended to be guarded and morose, with the disposition of artists.
“I hate to interrupt your heartwarming reunion, but would you happen to be Tiat, young lady?”
“Ah, yes…”
It was, without a doubt, Tiat’s first time meeting him, yet she felt a deep sense of familiarity. She remembered hearing his name come up quite frequently at the faerie warehouse. For example, as a salvage expert who had retrieved quite a few dug weapons from the surface; the one who had found Willem and introduced him to the post at the faerie warehouse, and also one of the few who witnessed Chtholly’s final moments.
Long sought after by the Winged Guard, he joined them at last after the Elpis Incident, and was placed in charge of the expeditions to the surface. Currently, Nopht served as his bodyguard.
If memory serves, his name is…
“I’m Glick Graycrack, pleased to meet you.”
Yep. Glick, of the Graycrack Clan.
“Pleased…to meet you too.” With some trepidation, she lightly shook the dark green hand he extended. It was the rough and calloused hand of an experienced craftsman.
“I’m Tiat…Tiat Siba Ignareo. Thank you for taking Nopht under your care.”
“Haha!” Glick turned his head. “Look at ya. At least the younger sister’s got some manners, eh?”
“Cut the crap!”
They all laughed.
“Is everyone at the warehouse doing alright?”
“Well…I guess, for now.”
“I see, that’s good.”
Just then, Tiat remembered something. Nopht was previously the user of dug weapon Desperatio, and once bore the name “Nopht Keh Desperatio.” But Desperatio was lost in battle, and so too was its name from hers.
Not long after that, she’d received the chance to go for another adjustment. The girl who had once been Nopht Keh Desperatio was found to be compatible with dug weapon Oracion, and became the mature faerie soldier Nopht Caro Oracion…if Tiat’s memory served her right.
“You’re doing fine too, aren’t you?”
“Well yeah, staying upbeat’s just about my only strong point, after all.” Nopht shook her long, flowing locks.
What’s up with that? Tiat wondered. Where’s the boyish Nopht who brashly insisted on cutting her hair short? Why, she thought, does her hair look so elegant? Tiat had naturally curly hair, so morning bedhead was a constant cause of concern for her. What the hell? That’s totally unfair! I’ve got every right to be indignant, don’t I?
“What’s wrong?”
“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing.” Embarrassed, Tiat averted her eyes.
“I really don’t know what to say… Even though I’m your senior, I’m really sorry that I couldn’t be of help in your hour of need.”
“Don’t say that… It all happened because I’m no good.” Tiat further turned her face away.
“C’mon, y’know that’s not it!” Nopht grabbed her hair, and ruffled it hard. “You always give your best shot no matter the situation, so it isn’t your fault at all!”
She became slightly ticked off. What would Nopht, who’d been away from the warehouse for who-knows-how-many years, know of Tiat Siba Ignareo?
Yet, she still felt a hint of happiness in the anger, making her speechless at her own child-like naïveté. Get a grip! You’re already a grown-up!
It was a long way to the Winged Guard headquarters in Collina di Luce City. As the three of them walked side by side, they gawked at the peculiar features lining the streets—holes.
The street’s facade, which had remained unchanged for as long as anyone could remember, was full of pits and cavities. Giant holes dotted the walls and paving stones, and while they had been filled in with stone and cement, it was impossible to restore the streets to their original state.
“What caused all that?” Tiat wondered out loud.
“The Piercing One, Beast Number Two, Aurora. Five years ago, when Elpis released them en masse, it was you guys who defeated them, right?” Nopht scratched her hair, as if she’d just said something shameful.
“Ah… Um, it wasn’t just us.”
“Yeah, I guess the Winged Guard was out in full force too. In terms of toughness, the Second Beast is small potatoes. So there’s nothing to be scared of, ’cos even a regular matchlock can destroy their bodies.”
“But,” she continued, “the Beasts are beings that do not know death. We can slice them apart and burn their remains, but their black taint will still stay on these slabs. Even then, they are still not dead in the literal sense. After some time, they regain their form, and become active again.”
Since time immemorial, dug weapons were the only weapons that could truly vanquish the Seventeen Beasts—and the only ones who could wield them were the faerie soldiers. Some had surmised that it was not just due to the sword’s immense destructiveness, but also because they were imbued with venenum, the antithesis to life and something even the immortal Beasts could not ignore.
“You don’t mean…” Tiat sucked in a breath.
“Yeah, it’s just as you imagined. It caused a wave of panic when several of them came back to life. They managed to destroy them somehow back then, but we’d be screwed if they kept coming back again and again. So, any walls and pavings with the black taint were dug up and thrown to the surface. Things were really a mess back then.”
A mess, huh… No doubt about that. Aside from reading the limited description about them in textbooks, the city’s residents lived their lives knowing absolutely nothing about the Beasts. So when they were suddenly thrust into danger by an unknown enemy, they could only panic and run for their lives.
“It feels like somehow…everyone on the street’s really gloomy.” Tiat brought up an observation that had been bugging her. “Has it been like that ever since that day?”
“Nope, it started around two years ago. Heaven’s Arrival was just starting to take off back then, and I’d say that’s the reason why.”
Heaven’s Arrival espoused a dangerous, ancient ideology, one that was perhaps even inextricable from Regule Aire’s own history. They preached that the surface was unclean and the skies pure, such that those who had left the surface should set their sights even higher, and leave the floating islands to journey among the stars. With that idea as a base, they enticed people to end their own lives, claiming that doing so would give their souls release.
“…I see. That’s depressing.” Tiat couldn’t understand the minds of those people. After all, they only had a limited lifespan. In the face of such inevitable mortality, why would they seek to throw away their lives even earlier?
“Indeed, it is.”
All things—even the most magnificent ones—must come to an end. Likewise, the city of Collina di Luce that she had once adored would never remain draped in eternal glamour.
“Feodor Jessman, was it? The fellow our young lady is chasing,” Glick changed the topic somewhat lightheartedly. “Isn’t he an imp? And brother-in-law to the Elpis Air Defense Force’s deputy commander? To think he joined the Winged Guard and even managed to climb to the rank of fourth officer. After painstakingly preparing a plan to rebel, he failed, and then ran away? This guy’s life really is a rollercoaster ride.”
“Is he really someone you should be taking so lightly?” Nopht’s eyes narrowed, her displeasure obvious. “You guys haven’t forgotten what the Defense Force did five years ago, right? If he’s trying to repeat that tragedy with the remnants of the Defense Force, then he’s nothing but an enemy. This shouldn’t be a laughing matter, no?”
Tiat cowered a little as if to avoid Nopht’s piercing gaze. “That idiot might be one of them, but he’s, uhh, slightly different.”
“What?”
“I can’t really explain it myself. But, while he may be a bad guy, he isn’t really that bad. He might be dangerous, but…erm, I don’t think he’d pull off something so terrible…”
“Nope, I don’t get what you’re trying to say at all.”
Yeah, I’m not really sure why I said that either.
“I don’t, but I think I’ve got an idea ’bout the kind of person he is now. Je-ez, I see you’ve got that look on your face too.”
“Huh?”
“Go take a look in a mirror. It looks just like hers back then.”
Her? Who is she talking about? Tiat wondered. She waited for Nopht to elaborate, but the other girl stayed silent.
“However, you’ve come at a bit of a complicated time even if you wanna chase after this Feodor right away, missy.” Glick mused, scratching his nose. “Nopht and I belong to the 2nd Division, while you, girl, are from the 5th. You’re practically an outsider here. And since you’re here as reinforcement to help deal with a problem in this city, at least on paper, we can’t let you run around as freely as you’d like.”
“What a pain in the neck, can’t we just drop those pretenses?”
Glick smiled wryly. “Don’t say that. I’m no longer the young, fired-up fellow I used to be, you know.”
Among the various races of Regule Aire, the boggards’ lifespan was on the shorter side. They reached the age of maturity at twelve, were considered old at thirty, and neared the end of their lives at forty. Tiat did not know his age, but going by his words, she supposed that he was getting on in years.
“Darn, that’s why I can’t stand these cautious, old people types.”
“Whatever you say.”
Seeing the two bicker—though it felt very much like routine banter—Tiat hesitantly posed a question. “Uh, sorry to interrupt…but what exactly is this trouble anyway? All I know is that you guys needed an extra pair of hands, but I haven’t actually heard the details.”
“Oh, yes, about that.”
“Wait, never mind—” Tiat lowered her head apologetically. “I guess it’s not convenient to discuss these things on the street, so we should wait till we reach the headquarters…”
Glick paused for a moment, then said in a low voice. “Lately, four Winged Guard VIPs have been assassinated in succession.”
“Huh?”
“Nopht, you pay attention too. We’d better finish this discussion before we reach HQ.”
“Huuuh?”
Baroni Makish, that bastard. He probably predicted that I’d do this… After finishing his lament-filled tirade, he waved the two of them closer. Exchanging a glance, Nopht and Tiat leaned in to hear his words. “Everyone killed were those involved in the adjustment of you faeries.”
“Wha—?!” Just as Nopht was about to cry out in surprise, Tiat placed a hand over her mouth.
Leprechauns first appeared in the forms of young children. Once they reached a certain age, they would undergo a special adjustment process to reach maturity, and subsequently wield a dug weapon to participate in battles as a full-fledged faerie soldier.
Being a faerie soldier herself, Tiat had also undergone the process. She didn’t quite remember the details…only that she’d been stripped, then injected with some kind of medication that seemed to contain anesthetics several times, so she was pretty much only half-awake the whole time. Even when she asked the doctor carrying out the procedure, they’d only say “You don’t need to know” and refuse to elaborate.
Only recently had she come to know one thing. The leprechauns, who came into being as children, would originally dissipate and disappear as children too. Those that underwent adjustment, however, avoided that fate. Thus, they reached maturity and had their lives extended. Meanwhile, an unadjusted faerie would follow its natural life cycle, and perish before reaching adulthood.
Another problem had recently cropped up as well. For various reasons, the Winged Guard’s upper echelons had decided to review their usage of the leprechauns. Consequently, the adjustment of the young faeries at the faerie warehouse was put on hold.
If they stopped for a moment to think, however, they’d realize that this measure was bound to be temporary. To the Winged Guard, there was no benefit in discarding the weapon known as the leprechauns.
A mature faerie soldier was like an unwieldy bomb. Without a battlefield to be unleashed upon, it posed a great risk to have many mature faeries be on standby at any one time, in addition to being extremely costly. The halting of the adjustment process was likely meant to reduce potential risks and expenditures to the barest minimum, while keeping a lid on the population of mature faerie soldiers.
Thus, it was still likely that the adjustment program would restart in the future.
For example, if several mature faerie soldiers were to die at this moment; or if it was proven that these living bombs could yet be effective weapons on the battlefields without martyring themselves… Then, their juniors destined to await death at the warehouse could be given a future where they were allowed to grow up.
That was what the four of them—Tiat Siba Ignareo, Lakhesh Nyx Seniorious, Pannibal Nox Katena and Collon Rin Purgatorio—believed, when they were voluntarily dispatched to Island No. 38.
“Who…” Her throat felt dry all of a sudden. “Who would do such a thing, and why?”
“The obvious answer would be that someone wants to destroy the ‘faerie soldier’ system for good. I mean, among those involved, apparently only a few know the ins and outs of the adjustment process. As long as those few are killed, and any backup records destroyed, the whole system grinds to a halt just like that. Though the truth of the matter remains hidden for now.”
“Why?”
“Who knows? At the moment, we don’t have enough intel so it’s difficult to draw any conclusions. What’s more, the targets were all privy to the Winged Guard’s top secrets, which means our enemy probably has some level of insider info. That’s why the guys at HQ are more than a little antsy right now.”
“Gah,” Nopht sighed in frustration. “I can’t stand it. What is it with everyone and all their little plots and tricks?”
“Hear, hear. People ought to live more simply, ain’t that right, young lady?”
“I guess? Hahaha.” Tiat gave a forced laugh. I really wanna let Feodor hear this conversation.
“Anyway, that’s how things are. For better or for worse, we’ve determined the next possible target. You guys ought to be familiar with him. He is—”
Glick paused for dramatic effect. “Doctor Margomedari Brompton.”
Tiat blinked. She searched her memory, but could not recall that name, nor match any face to it. Uh…
“Who?” The two girls asked at the same time.