“Waaaaaaaah!”

“Uooooooooh!”

“Waaaaah!”

“Temar! Temar!”

“Luman! Luman!”

“Geloman! Geloman! Geloman!”

“Temar! Temar! Temar!”

Outside, it was no different from a festival.

The people of the capital, packed tightly inside the castle walls, roared the Heroes’ names. Loudly, powerfully, as if their voices might reach the sky. Their chant sounded like thunder.

In front of the royal palace stood the soldiers and knights heading out to war, the knight commander, and the Heroes who would lead them at the very front.

Because they wore silver armor, nothing could be seen but their eyes.

It was early spring, and today, in the particularly harsh wind, the Heroes’ cloaks snapped violently. The star patterns carved inside their bloodred cloaks, the medals and distinctive designs fixed to their armor. They were emblems that announced their battle achievements and marked them as the king’s Seven Stars. Clear bloodred patterns had been engraved with magic so that enemy soldiers would see them, panic, and flee.

Ragniel stood on the enormous platform and solemnly recited words of blessing for them. But Temar and Luman were not listening to him. The eyes inside their helmets were looking at the royal castle balcony.

With the very thing they had thought of as a cruel ability, they stole glances at the blond-haired boy standing with his back to the balcony window.

Just once.

If only he would turn around.

At a moment when they should have been praying together for victory in war, they wished to see the boy’s face.

“Saint......”

Ragniel faltered. Usually, when he gave words of blessing to those heading for the battlefield, he would recite the name of Oerne, the bloodred goddess of victory from scripture.

Yet strangely, today, that name would not come out, as if a thorn had caught in his throat.

Amid the shouting, murmurs of “Why did he stop talking?” began to mix in.

At last, Ragniel’s mouth opened again.

Not knowing what heart he shouted with. Doubting whether this was purely his own will.

Ragniel cried out the saint’s name.

“Saint Leviantehnuk’s blessing upon you!”

“Waaaaaaaah!”

A roar that seemed to tear the sky rang out, and Ragniel’s voice thundered after it.

“May my sons return as true warriors!”

Fireworks burst, and flower petals flew.

The soldiers, who had been striking the ground with their spears, knelt in unison. Before the thick cloud of dust had settled, the knights also dropped to one knee. The knight commander bowed his head with solemn courtesy.

Then, at last, the Heroes standing at the very front raised their hands.

Condensed light flashed into being for a single instant.

A golden spear bearing an auspicious aura. A blue sword that gave off a sound as if it might rip the air apart. A greatsword radiating a ferocious energy hummed as though it might devour this land at any moment.

As if demanding blood.

The fear lasted only an instant. They remembered that these terrifying beings were their allies and roared like beasts. Their wishes came surging in like a herd of cattle, demanding that the Heroes cut down the enemy commander and annihilate them.

When Ragniel spread both hands, the cheers cut off at once.

The Heroes and knights mounted their horses, and the soldiers turned in time with the signal, opening a path.

Hero Temar stood at the very front as they walked down the wide-open road.

The brightest shining star, the seventh star of the king’s Seven Stars.

The golden emblem glittered. Luman and Geloman followed behind him.

The sound of hooves and armor finally made the departure feel real. Even the people who had been cheering grew wistful in that moment and prayed for their safe return. Yet just as strongly, they wished for the Heroes to bring back the enemy general’s head. Even if it meant offering up honorable lives!

To give their final farewell, they stopped their horses before the castle walls.

The moment they saluted their king, Luman and Temar were able to see the one they had wanted so desperately to see.

Their bodies faced Ragniel exactly, but their deep gazes were turned toward the one they loved.

Toward the boy with golden hair and wet eyes, who did not shed a single tear.

It was the moment their vow to lay victory at his feet was offered before the boy.

***

The royal castle was moving in secret.

It had been immediately after the departure had been announced in the banquet hall. Everyone had risen to pray for victory and drive away misfortune, throwing their glasses to the floor.

When the sharp sounds rang out in layers and completely swallowed the music, the doors of the banquet hall opened without warning.

“Disaster has struck! Lord Giselle! Disaster has struck!”

Before anyone could feel anything complicated about Giselle’s name being called first instead of the king’s, the attendant, panting as if he could barely breathe, threw himself to the floor as though he would shatter his knees and cried out.

“Hero Verdi, Verdi has......!”

“Speak the rest at once!”

“Verdi has arrived gravely injured!”

“How badly is he hurt?”

Ragniel shot to his feet in shock.

That could not be. The tragedy of losing a Hero had ended seven years ago! There would be no more such tragedies! He would not allow it!

Ragniel trembled all over, unable to take even a single proper step, and Giselle caught hold of him.

“It would be best to end the banquet here. Geloman, Luman. Escort His Majesty to his room. Temar, you come with me to Verdi.”

The blood had drained from the Heroes’ faces as well. The nobles, wearing expressions mixed with fear and dismay, hurriedly left the banquet hall.

One tall, thin noble stopped walking and looked back, only for an attendant to whisper and urge his master onward.

Watching the nobles file out, Giselle quietly ordered the attendant who had come running with the news to summon the mages, then grabbed Temar’s arm and pulled him away. Temar, who had frozen from the shock, seemed to belatedly remember Ren and faltered, but by then he had already been dragged out of the banquet hall by Giselle.

Among those left behind, there was no one to look after Ren.

Fortunately, Ren remembered the way back to his room. It was complicated, but surprisingly easy to memorize. Thanks to the patterns on the carpet laid across the floor, which caught his eye with surprising clarity.

“Ren.”

Someone called him. When Ren turned, it was that man.

Peruan’s father, Riperoman.

“May I call you that?”

It was a dignified voice. Even at a glance, it was clear he felt kindly toward Ren.

“If it is all right with you, could you spare the time to have tea with me?”

“......”

Blink. Blink. Blink.

Ren showed no sign of opening his mouth as he blinked.

Remembering the words his son had repeatedly asked him to say, Riperoman had no choice but to sigh.

Just as Ren was about to turn away again at the man’s sudden sigh, Riperoman made a show of sweeping back his hair.

The dignified middle-aged noble suddenly transformed into someone with an oily air. For a moment, someone’s shadow seemed to flicker over him.

“My dear. Would you please have tea with me?”

“......?”

The voice asking him on a date was nothing but sweet, but the smile on his lips held a certain discomfort. Judging by the faint crease between his brows, he did not seem pleased about saying such greasy words.

Even as Ren looked at the smile formed along the man’s faint wrinkles, he could not erase the look of bewilderment from his face.

No, what is with this person? He’s strange!

But the stranger thing was that Riperoman’s strangeness did not feel unfamiliar.

Riperoman wiped the strange expression from his face and sighed deeply. Returning to his dignified face, he pushed back his disheveled hair. This time, the motion was natural.

Looking at Ren, who had gone stiff with a dubious expression, Riperoman carefully opened his mouth.

“My son said that if I said it this way, you would surely spare me some time. It seems it was not a very good choice.”

“......Peruan?”

Ren carefully said his name. It bothered him a little to casually call a noble by name, but he could not very well call him “that person” either.

“Do we look very alike?”

At the affection in his voice, Ren’s expression slowly loosened. They had already known who each other was before the banquet, so this question was probably only meant to ease the atmosphere.

“Yes.”

Riperoman did not miss the warmth in Ren’s answering voice either.

“Then, will you spare me some time?”

As if deliberately trying to use a comfortable tone, the ends of Riperoman’s words sounded awkward.

“All right.”

Ren nodded.

When Riperoman said he had not heard the answer from earlier, Ren readily told him he could call him by name. Then he followed Riperoman’s escort toward the greenhouse garden.

As they walked, Riperoman brought up light subjects.

He mentioned Ren’s favorite snacks and anecdotes he had heard from Peruan. Most were pleasant things, and compliments that made Ren embarrassed. Even so, Riperoman took out a letter hidden inside his clothes and handed it over. The outside of the letter, marked only with red sealing ink and no family crest, read, “To my beloved, from your Fel.” Ren’s hand trembled faintly as he received the letter, but Riperoman only laughed quietly and pretended not to notice.

It was as if the events in the banquet hall had never happened. The insult Ren had received, the nobles scattering in confusion at the shocking news...... Like that, they arrived at the greenhouse garden.

The warmth adjusted through magical engineering welcomed them softly. The scent of plants and soil, and the faint fragrance of flowers, seemed to say this was a place where he could feel safe.

An attendant brought warm milk and black tea. Riperoman called him back and told him to bring something simple to eat as well, and soon after, he brought stew and bread.

The savory smell and the scent of pepper stirred the appetite. Riperoman dismissed both the attendant he had brought with him and the royal castle attendant.

“I forgot to ask for a blanket. Are you cold?”

“No. It’s warm.”

But Riperoman was already standing. Ignoring Ren’s puzzled gaze, he suddenly took off his coat and draped it around Ren’s shoulders.

The gesture was so natural and fluid that Ren could not bring himself to say it was all right. By the time he tried to refuse belatedly, Riperoman had already pushed the stew in front of him.

“You worked hard holding it in.”

Unlike Peruan, his tone was plain. But father and son both seemed skilled at comforting people.

Ren’s face crumpled.

“There must be many things you’re curious about. I’ll tell you what I can, as much as is enough to protect you.”