The ãMaze of Trialsã still continued on. Inglis walked in deeper.
In front of her, the sight of a red-haired young man appeared. It was probably her memory when the man was a bit over thirty. However, his fine figure assumed that he was younger than he actually was.
ãYour MajestyââI am happy to see you.ã
He bowed reverently and knelt before Inglis.
ãRandallââã
He was the man who was supposed to inherit the Sylvair Kingdom after King Inglis. A man with natural-born talent that far surpassed that of any ordinary person in both literary and military arts, yet he didnât get conceited because of it, and put others before himself. He had the strength and will so strong that Inglis believed it wouldnât be strange for Randall to be chosen as the Divine Knight instead of her.
King Inglis had found him in a poor, cold village when he was just a boy, and he kept him and raised him ever since. For King Inglis, who had been alone throughout his life, he was akin to a little brother or a son to him. King Inglis had no children, but he had the intent to raise a worthy successor. That successor was him, Randall.
ãâ¦â¦ Why has the world become like thisââEven if I asked you, you donât have the answer, do you?ã
Here was a subspace that resurfaced memory. It couldnât possibly provide her with information about something she didnât know.
ãIndeed, Your Majesty.ã
As he said so, Randall drew his sword.
ãCome at me, then.ã ãYessir! Here I come!ã
Randallâs speed as he stepped into the fray was exceptionally faster than Inglisâ other retainers. It could be said that he was in a completely different league. Howeverââ
Diagonal slash, horizontal sweep, overside slashââ Inglis evaded all of them with dance-like footwork.
ãDAAAaaah!!!ã
Randall put in more spirit and unleashed a series of slashes, all of them evaded paper-thin, and thenââ
Clack!
The last thrust was stopped between Inglisâ fingers.
ãNNNuuuuhh!?!?ã ãâ¦â¦ This place isnât so good.ã
Even if the shadow appeared to be Randoll, he should be at least stronger than this. There must be a limit to the strength this subspace could recreate. Which was why Inglis couldnât blame it if it couldnât completely replicate everything. That being said, itâs troubling to think âsomeone of this caliber inheriting her Kingdom.
ãI canât say I like it.ã
While muttering so, Inglis gave Randall an uppercut kick, and the latter vanished.
ãIf I continued on forward, itâll just repeat the process all over againââ ã
If the Goddess Alistair shows upââ
Inglis held an emotion close to love towards the Goddess. She yearned for her so dearly that she took upon herself to stay a bachelor for the rest of her previous life.
I donât want to hit her and my feelings for herââ Which meant she would surely show up. After all, this place was that kind of space. Misgivings, regrets, negative awareness that one kept subconsciously avoidedââall of those would show up and literally hit them in the face. Overcoming them would be the trial for the personâs strength and will power, the very meaning of those words.
ãI donât need to obediently follow all the way through, do Iââã
Inglis looked up, then she held her palm open above her head. From there, Ether converged, forming a huge pale bullet of light.
This place is a subspace created by an Artifact, butââWhat if it gets hit by an overwhelmingly destructive power that surpasses the Artifact that made it?Time to test it!
ãEther Strike!ã
CRAAANNNNGGGGG!!!!
With a sound of broken glass, the Ether Strike shot up, obliterating the boundaries of the subspace in its wake. There seemed to be many layers above, as the projectile penetrated the ceilings of several spaces.
ãIf thereâs up, then up I go.ã
As Inglis attempted to kick the groundââ
ãD-, dear me, what WAS thatâ¦â¦!?ã
From the hole in the ceiling, Liselotte from the Knight division peeked out.
ãI see. So it connects to othersâ space.ã
Inglis muttered to herself as she kicked the ground and jumped up to Liselotteâs side.
ãI-, is this your doingâ¦â¦!?ã ãYeah. I didnât want to continue on walking straight ahead.ã ãDestroying an obscure concept such as this spaceââto think youâre capable of doing thatâ¦â¦ J-, just who are you?ã ãIâm just an ordinary Squire, though? Rafinha Wilfordâs squire.ã ãI know at least that much, Miss Inglis. Everything you do, you stand out above the rest.ã ãI do?ã ãVery much so. However, if you are Miss Rafinhaâs squire, may you please tell her not to hate her classmates so much? I have no intention of being Miss Rafinhaâs enemy.ã ãAahâ¦. Rani is mad about Leoneâs matter, you see.ã ãIsnât that inevitable? If you consider that personâs constitution rather than the person herself, it is just natural not to carelessly trust her and put her in a distance, is it not? I am still the daughter of the Prime Minister, I always exercise caution.ã ãWell, tell you whatâ¦â¦. Actually, how are you doing? Do you think you can go out safely?ã ãIâm not doing very well. This place keeps reminding me of awful things. Iâm getting sick of this place, too.ã
Said Liselotte, a sigh escaping her.
ãSame goes for me. Thatâs why Iâm trying to forcefully make my own exit. Want to come with?ã
Inglisâ finger pointed to layers above.
ãInteresting. So you can destroy the very meaning of this nasty test.ã ãYeah, I guess so.ã ãWell then, I shall accompany. We are going up, arenât we?ã ãYes, we are. Letâs go then.ã
Said Inglis as she lowered her hip, trying to jump further upââ
ãHold a minute. There is no need for that.ã
Saying so, a pair of pure white wings appeared behind Liselotteâs back. The Artifact she carried was in the shape of a halberd, but its Gift was probably this pair of wings.
ãTake my hand. I shall bring you up.ã ãThank you.ã
When Inglis grabbed a hold of her hand, their body floated softly. They went up, going through several layers.
Then, as they were approaching another layer, two voices roused their interest.
ãStop! What are you doing to my brother!?ã
The voice of a little girl?
ãGet out of my way! You are mistaken! You need not cover someone like him!ã
And the other voiceââbelonged to Leone. Just what was happeningââ