The Kingdom of [Ingrassia].
A land of wealth and commerce, the greatest metropolis in the West and home to the largest distribution network on the entire continent.
Despite being the country closest to the frozen continent ruled by Guy, it had endured demonic invasions for centuries. As imposing as it was, it was also famous as a kingdom with highly advanced technology.
Naturally, its population far surpassed that of most other nations, and it also boasted more monthly festivals than one could count on both hands.
"...Hey, mister. Isn't it kind of strange how many peo— no, how many people there are? Is there some festival today or something?"
"Hm? Ah, well, you said this is your first time visiting, miss, so I suppose you wouldn't know. It's a festival that's been going on for over ten years now, though sometimes there are years when it isn't held."
"...Huh~? Even though it's the kind of festival that may or may not happen each year, this many people still show up?"
"Heh heh, of course they do. Because—"
If one had to name the grandest festival in [Ingrassia], among the countless celebrations so common they could almost feel ordinary—
Waaaaah!!!
"—today is the day when the legendary [Hero Party] appears in full."
—then eight or nine out of every ten citizens of [Ingrassia] would surely point to today, the day that coincided with the opening ceremony of the Free Academy.
It's the [Hero Party]!
That's really the [Sword of Spirit]!!
Even Lady Shizue and Lady Ria are here...!
Please come this way just once—!
A grand festival with a ten-year tradition, one that caused not only the people of [Ingrassia] but also adventurers and travelers from other countries to flood in by the masses.
That was what today was: the "rotation ceremony" of the [Hero Party].
"......"
"From what I've heard through the grapevine, the [Grand Master] who founded the Free Academy is one of the [Hero]'s direct disciples, so every now and then they come by together with the party members, just like today."
The coachman, who had answered the mysterious girl's question in a warm, easy tone, soon brought the horses to a stop and spoke to her again.
"If you're interested in them, miss, you should go visit the Free Academy yourself. It's not the sort of place that turns people away, so even a traveler like you should be able to stop in for a while."
"Okay! Thanks for looking out for me, mister."
Wearing a bright smile, the girl hopped lightly down from the carriage. She rummaged through the pocket of her strange outfit, which looked somewhere between a dress and a cloak, then casually flicked a coin toward the coachman.
"Here, this is a tip~!"
"...Hm? This is..."
A small coin, gleaming gold.
He had never seen one like it in his life, but the moment the coachman noticed the unmistakable national emblem of [Dwargo] stamped in its center, he rubbed his eyes for several seconds before his jaw dropped open.
"...A d-dwarven gold coin?!"
That was only natural. Even after a lifetime spent working as a coachman, he had only ever seen gold coins a few times, and only from afar.
"Th-this is way too much for a tip, isn't it?? Even if you're a noble lady, giving away this kind of fortune..."
The coachman, who had just received a sum far beyond anything he had been paid when he first picked her up, felt burden before joy. He hurriedly tried to return the gold coin to the girl, but—
"...Huh...? W-where... did she go?"
—by the time he looked, the girl had already vanished completely.
In a single instant.
Like a mirage.
Or perhaps like a demon's prank.
**
Tap... drip, drip...
A back alley of [Ingrassia], connected to the slums.
Because of the [Hero Party]'s rotation ceremony, this place felt even emptier and darker than usual, but now it was filled with the sound of a young girl humming to herself.
"Hmm~ I wanted to have a cozy little meeting with just the two of us for once, but [Blanc] is tagging along again this time too?"
The mysterious girl had gone out of her way to travel slowly by carriage all the way from the Kingdom of [Coleus] to the Kingdom of [Ingrassia].
If she truly wished, she could have circled the world in mere hours by flying alone, yet as always, she let her short-tied purple hair sway while she strolled lazily through the slums.
Her steps were as quick as a child's, yet as elegant as a noble's.
"......"
With every step she took, more and more criminals in the darkness fixed greedy eyes on her, but the girl simply kept humming as if she did not care in the slightest.
"Hm-hm-hmm~"
At first, leisurely.
"......"
Then midway through, lightly.
"......?"
And at the end, cheerfully.
"......!"
And by the time her humming finally came to an end—
"Hmm... Maybe because I'm annoyed, but this isn't fun at all."
All the greedy gazes fixed on her vanished cleanly, as if erased by magic.
Sssss...
All that remained were the bright red bloodstains left behind by the owners of those gazes, and the faint poisonous mist drifting around the girl.
Nothing else remained.
"Still, since Adelio personally called for me this time, I guess I'll stop my little 'stress relief' here~?"
Under normal circumstances, she would have killed every human in the slums, but today she had only killed the criminals, so that was fine—or so the girl murmured. On her face was a smile utterly different from the one she had worn moments earlier.
"Hehehe~"
A demon's cruel smile, unbearably cute and beautiful, and all the more terrifying because of it.
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