Ars, the capital of the Asura Kingdom, was the largest and most populous city in the world. At its center stood a white-walled castle—naturally enough, said to be the largest and most beautiful in the world.
It was known as the Silver Palace and was the residence of the royal family.
Within its walls, there was a fierce, ugly, and perpetual struggle for power that hid its immaculate appearance.
The kingdom's nobles never tired of plotting, deceiving, and betraying one another. They fought day and night.
The world of this palace was small and hellish, a place where it was said no one could be trusted, especially after the strange death of Minister Darius Silva Ganius, which was like stirring up a hornet's nest within the capital.
In addition to the royal family's residences, the Silver Palace contained a series of splendid gardens.
The Garden of Lilies.
The latter was a particular favorite of a certain individual. Her name was Ariel Anemoi Asura, and she was the second princess of the Asura Kingdom.
From her mother, the queen consort, a famous beauty, she inherited beautiful features and lustrous golden hair; from her father, the king, she inherited an unparalleledly beautiful voice.
And although she was not yet of age, her charisma was overwhelming. Most of the capital's residents already spoke of her as the most beautiful princess who had ever lived.
Once every three days, this young woman came to the Lily Garden.
She sat at a pure white table, accompanied only by her guardian knight and her mage, and silently sipped her tea.
Sitting alone at her table, she enjoyed her momentary respite, exchanging only a few brief words with her two guardians.
Her guardian knight was a boy of great beauty in his own right.
He had beautiful, lustrous brown hair and strong facial features; his nose was well-formed, his jaw well-defined.
His name was Luke Notos Greyrat. The second son of the Greyrat family, one of the kingdom's four great provincial houses, he was a talented young knight who had already reached the intermediate rank of the Sword God at the astonishing age of 12...
The princess's guardian mage was somewhat older, perhaps sixteen or seventeen, a young man rather than a boy.
Although not as handsome as Luke, he was still handsome in every way; his somewhat thin face possessed a pleasing appeal.
His presence added a touch of playful charm that complemented the other two's beauty, making it even harder for anyone to imagine approaching them.
His name was Derrick Redbat, third son of the well-known Redbat house, and he was an advanced-rank water mage who had graduated from the illustrious Asura Institute of Magic.
On that day, as on many others, they were quietly conversing in the Lily Garden.
"Well, then, what color were they?"
Ariel's words echoed faintly through the quiet garden.
"A beautiful shade of pink... Ah, but with an orange tinge as well," replied the young knight Luke from across the table, where he was present.
Derrick, the princess's guardian mage, listened silently. The somber expression on his face suggested he was pondering her words.
"Personally, I prefer cherry blossoms in a field of white porcelain..."
"With all due respect, Miss Ariel, I feel that inward-facing ones also have a certain appeal."
"My goodness! Do you like inverted ones?"
Ariel's tone was somewhat shocking, but Luke responded calmly. "Well, I admit I'm not especially particular when it comes to such details. In the end, size is all that truly matters to me."
Ariel sighed and shook her head. "Honestly. You have no taste, Luke."
In response, Luke simply shrugged.
And what were the two of them talking about? Simply the breasts of the new maid, Farisha.
"Luke. Miss Ariel. I think it would be best if you behaved a little more discreetly."
Derrick was a more conventionally minded man.
In large part, this was because the Redbats were simply a mid-ranking provincial nobility.
"Oh, Derrick...you really should learn what it means to be an Asuran noble."
"My lady is right, Derrick. You're always like that. If you don't know how to read the room, you'll never be popular with the ladies."
As Ariel and Luke shrugged, Derrick sighed heavily.
"That's not what I meant, Miss Ariel. You may very well rule this kingdom one day, so it doesn't seem wise to expose yourself to gossip and jealousy. You risk making enemies."
This time, it was Princess Ariel's turn to let out a long sigh. "Look, Derrick. You always say things like that, but you do remember that I'm the second princess, right?"
"Of course. Which means you're in the line of succession and a potential candidate to succeed the throne."
"I have two older brothers and an older sister. They seem to have found a husband for my sister, but my brothers are fighting mercilessly for the throne. With them around, there isn't the slightest chance I'll become queen."
"That's not true. You're the daughter of the queen consort. That makes you the only legitimate heir to the throne, and—"
"Stop it, Derrick," Ariel interrupted sharply. "What if those words reach my brothers' ears? Do you want them to send assassins after me? It's bad enough that I have all these nobles swearing loyalty to me out of self-interest—"
"If you choose to fight, Miss Ariel, I would gladly give my life to protect you from anyone they send."
"Would you please stop saying such alarming things? That's not very convincing anyway. I know what you really think of Luke and me... You'd probably like to trap me in a power struggle just so you can abandon me when the fighting starts, right?"
Derrick's eyes widened in shock. After a moment, his body began to shake, his face turned fierce, and he clenched his hands into fists.
"Look, Derrick. I don't care if I never take the throne. I can still sip tea in a lovely garden and live my life as I please, and that's enough for me. I wouldn't stand a chance against my brothers anyway. The idea of voluntarily putting myself in that mess is absurd."
Derrick's heart was clouded with frustration, but he couldn't find other words to say.
As he turned and left the garden, Ariel and Luke shrugged, then resumed their discourse about the nipples of the palace women.
It's not that Derrick had abandoned his responsibilities as the princess's guardian mage. He was just going to the bathroom...
...
As he locked himself in the bathroom, Derrick sighed heavily.
He was mentally replaying the conversation he had just had with Princess Ariel.
Ariel insisted she had no interest in becoming queen, but Derrick so wanted her to take the throne.
It wasn't that he thought his brothers, the first and second princes, were unworthy candidates. If either of them took the throne, they would undoubtedly mature into
a respectable and ordinary king comparable to those who had come before.
But according to Derrick, that wasn't enough. With either prince on the throne, Asura would continue on its current path, rotten to the core, yet expanding.
The ugly and pointless feuding of the nobility would continue unchecked, wasting money and energy that could otherwise be used for progress. And over time, Asura could become vulnerable to foreign influence.
As a result, the kingdom had stagnated.
Of course, it was still making steady progress in the fields of magic and technology. But the Dragon King Kingdom to the south had surpassed it in technological development,
and the Magical Nations to the north were making greater strides in arcane research.
While Asura still had overwhelming advantages in other respects, at this rate it was hard to say where things would be after another century... or even half a century.
The Dragon King Kingdom in particular was watching Asura like a hawk for any sign of weakness, eager to claim some part of its bountiful land.
"Miss Ariel could change everything, and yet..."
Derrick genuinely believed the second princess was capable of pushing Asura onto a different path.
There were already quite a few people who would gladly give their lives for Ariel.
Derrick himself was one of them; it had been painful and infuriating to hear her so casually discard that loyalty.
"Surely your life is at little risk if you continue acting this way... but you're lowering yourself to the level of a corrupt noble..."
Perhaps she didn't want to bear the expectations of her compatriots? I had been chosen as the guardian mage specifically because she thought he wouldn't push her down a more difficult path? The princess never said as much, but perhaps she detested him...
Derrick gave another sigh.
But just as he sank deeper into his melancholy, he heard the faint sound of a human voice.
"Hmm?"
Someone was having a conversation behind the bathroom.
"Princess Ariel..."
"...kill..."
Having chosen some alarming words, Derrick sucked in a breath and pressed his ear against the back wall.
"Does Sir Grabel see Miss Ariel as a threat?"
"That's right. Her popularity among the common people is remarkable, after all. He's quite annoyed that she's more well-known than he is, even though she almost never appears in public."
"It's a bit odd, now that I think about it... Whatever role she's playing right now, she could be laying the groundwork behind the scenes."
"Correct. When you can't win a head-on fight, you have to hide in the shadows, I suppose."
Derrick frowned at this.
Ariel's popularity among the citizens was partly due to her natural charisma, but she also showed herself to them far more often than First Prince Grabel.
"If that's really the case..."
"Certainly. The girl will become a hindrance."
"...I suppose it would be best to take precautions against future trouble."
"I feel the same. And so, out of deep concern for the interests of Prince Grabel and the Asura Kingdom as a whole, I've already made certain... arrangements."
"Hahaha. I suppose I should have expected as much from you."
Derrick was tempted to leave the lavatory and kill the men outside it, but he quickly squashed the thought.
These two were almost certainly nobles from the first prince's faction.
Derrick could kill them here and now with his magic, but that would be a senseless act.
Everyone would assume that Ariel had ordered her guardian mage to assassinate two nobles loyal to the first prince.
This would be interpreted as an act of open hostility against Grabel himself, and would lead to a steady stream of attacks from his followers.
For a moment, Derrick wondered if such an outcome might force Ariel to seek the throne after all... but if the princess had no real motivation to fight, they would be put on the defensive, cornered, and ultimately slaughtered like animals.
Abandoning the idea of killing the men, Derrick left the bathroom without a word.
One way or another, he had to take action against this new threat.
Was it an assassin? Or perhaps some kind of poison?
He had to tell Ariel immediately... and urge her, once again, to face this battle head-on.
With these thoughts in mind, Derrick walked quickly back toward the Lily Garden, clutching his staff under his robes so he could protect himself against any sudden ambush.
"...How long has it been since I fought?"
"Can I protect her...?"
He expressed his anxieties... and then shook his head to dismiss them.
This was something Derrick had no way of knowing, but...
The Fittoa displacement incident took place at that very moment.
"Miss Arie—what—?"
The moment Derrick re-entered the Lily Garden, his jaw dropped.
His eyes were fixed on an area toward the back of the garden, a section known as the Hibiscus Forest.
A huge beast standing on two legs had just emerged from the trees.
It was a Terminator Boar,
but it was missing its head.
and a few meters away there was an unconscious elf girl with white hair.