As soon as we were admitted into the castle, a guide was assigned to us.
We were quite a large group, so we moved through the royal palace in a long procession. At the front is Pauline-san—the Ninth Princess. We followed behind her (me, Mia-san, Felix-san, and then more than twenty members of the Raven Corps).
The castle, built upon the foundation of what had once been a great temple, was incredibly tall. We had to climb steep, endless flights of stairs. Perhaps the nobles and the king had lifts of their own.
At last, we entered a grand hall.
I knew I shouldn’t stare, but my eyes kept drifting from one sight to another. The polished floor faintly reflected our figures. The stark white light of magic-stone lamps scattered and shimmered across its surface. The walls were carved with the likeness of the god Odis, and above us stretched ceiling paintings praising that same chief deity.
—A fabricated mythology.
The thought surfaced unbidden, and my throat tightened.
The sound of our footsteps changed as we stepped onto a carpeted corridor. The gazes I felt from the sides were those of nobles sizing us up. It seemed we had gained some allies within the palace, but this was no place for carelessness.
Mia-san leaned closer and whispered,
“…Hey, don’t you think they’ll take our weapons? Normally, they would, right?”
Pauline-san answered without hesitation.
“It’s fine.”
She kept her gaze forward, not even shifting her eyes.
“It’s not impossible that there are nobles aligned with Ymir. The slave traders had that much influence within the kingdom.”
That was true. We had come in such numbers precisely because we had to be wary of an attack from the nobles.
Mia-san curled her lips slightly.
“Heh. Even with the king here, huh?”
“That is how strong the nobles’ power is. To the point that even the king’s orders are not always given the weight that it should have.”
At that moment, our guide came to a halt. After offering a deep, respectful bow, they opened a set of massive black doors. A great chamber lay beyond.
The first thing that came to mind was a boss floor in a dungeon. The high ceiling and the wide, pillar-sparse rectangular space felt strikingly similar. The differences were the wine-colored carpet covering the floor—and the central area, enclosed by a low barrier. Within that partition stood a desk. This was likely a council chamber, where those wishing to speak would step forward to that position.
Chairs were arranged around the enclosure. From where we stood, the seats closest to us were empty. The farther back it went, the more people filled them—and directly opposite us sat a man wearing a crown. His silver hair and green eyes bore a clear resemblance to Pauline-san.
From the gold coin, Solana’s voice spoke up—
『Rion…』
“Yeah.”
It was the king.
Broad-shouldered, draped in a thick, heavy-looking robe.
The mere thought of meeting his gaze felt almost irreverent—yet I had no idea what proper etiquette demanded. In the end, I simply relaxed my body and stood as straight as I could.
Then, from the horn, another voice spoke.
『That will do.』
It was Heimdall.
『As long as you do not lack respect, there is no such thing as ‘correct’ way to conduct yourself here. After all, you are about to overturn everything.』
Pauline-san stepped forward and dropped to one knee.
“Your Majesty, it has been some time.”
The warriors followed suit, kneeling in unison.
Mia-san and I were completely late.
No one had explained anything to us!
Panicking, we hurriedly copied the others.
Then, the king spoke.
“Rise.”
Pauline-san stood, and at the king’s command. To ‘proceed’, she stepped forward to the center of the enclosure.
A heavy silence fell over the chamber. All eyes turned toward the princess. Her tall white headdress stood dignified and resolute.
“I will now speak of the truth behind the myths. Some of you may have already felt a sense of unease after the message delivered in the name of the god Odis.”
Her voice did not falter.
The man she had addressed as Your Majesty is also her father. And yet, her words rang out clearly, unwavering.
“The powerful monsters that were said to have been completely defeated in the myths—have appeared in both Alvis and Flocia. If the gods had truly triumphed, such beings should not exist.”
She paused.
“What this reveals is the deception of the myths. The gods did not seal the monsters within the labyrinth as a result of victory. They were on the verge of defeat—overwhelmingly so—and thus sealed the monsters away to delay their loss.”
A ripple of unrest ran through the nobles. The king remained impassive, his face is unreadable.
“And now, that seal has been weakened. It is being undone by a faction of the resurrected monsters. This is precisely what is occurring in Alvis and Flocia at this very moment.”
Pauline-san pressed on, her voice steady.
“This means that the battles interrupted by the ‘sealing’ have now resumed.”
A murmur swept through the chamber—confusion, disbelief, even veiled accusations. Words fell upon Pauline-san like a storm.
Dressed in the robes of the Odis temple and crowned with her tall headdress, Pauline-san stood there declaring a story that denied the very myths themselves.
“Adventurers alone are not enough to fight. Yet, the people must be protected.”
Even the nobles raised their voices, reacting with a mix of outrage and incredulity.
“How dare you deny the myths!?”
“What proof do you have?!”
“Why should we nobles be the ones to protect commoners in the first place?!”
“Skilled we may be, but the ones who should die first are the peasants!”
Pauline-sam did not flinch. The verbal stones hurled at her seemed to shatter harmlessly against her resolve.
Solana spoke softly,
『She’s strong.』
“Yeah.”
『She must have faced countless battles in the temple while we were fighting, and emerged victorious in all of them.』
Pauline-san tapped her staff against the floor.
“Your Majesty. At this moment, many dugeons face the threat of releasing even more monsters. I ask that you command the soldiers across the kingdom, as well as the knights in the castle who possess combat skills, to join the fight.”
The king raised his right hand. The nobles’ voices fell silent instantly.
“…As king, I already know what you know.”
A ripple of astonishment swept through the nobles.
“But to make the nobles—those with real power—believe this truth, you’ll need proof.”
Pauline-san turned her gaze toward me.
“The proof is here. I will show the ancient gods who have awakened to resume the battles.”
She tapped her staff against the floor and smiled.
“I will open your eyes and let you see for yourselves.”
I placed my hands on the gold coin and the horn.
“Wake up!”
Light scattered in a dazzling cascade.
The gods sprang into the air. Solana, Thor, Uru, Loki, Sigris, and Heimdall. Some hovered above the floor, some stood firmly upon it, manifesting within the royal hall itself.
A voice trembled as it escaped.
“T-this…..G-Gods?”
Perhaps it was not doubt so much as astonishment—a reflexive gasp of confusion and wonder. But the gods themselves presented undeniable proof.
—Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Thor and Heimdall. The two massive deities laughed, a booming sound that seemed to pierce the ceiling and reach the very heavens. Several nobles collapsed to the floor in sheer shock. It was a laughter no human could ever produce—raw, overwhelming, shaking the very core of the heart and inspiring awe.
“I am Thor!”
Thor pointed to his chest with a gigantic thumb. Lightning crackled from Mjolnir, held tightly in his right hand.
“I am Loki.”
“I am Sigris, the Valkyrie.”
“I am Uru, the God of Hunting.”
“I am Heimdall.”
Solana hovered in the air, hand pressed to her chest.
“I am Solana, goddess of the sun.”
The nobles stood frozen, their minds reeling. First struck by the princess’s words, then disoriented by the king’s acknowledgment, and finally rendered speechless by the very appearance of the gods themselves.
Mia-san glanced at me.
“.…This whole sequence huh.”
“Yeah. The preparation Pauline-san mentioned, it was probably just to get the king’s agreement first.”
The corrupt nobles had stripped the royal capital of real power. Yet the king still retained some measure of authority—perhaps because so many nobles had abandoned the castle.
Pauline-san had already secured her advantage in advance.
Felix-san spoke softly beside me.
“Well, the trade-off seems to be the reestablishment of the king’s authority, I suppose. And it seems the plan to convince the nobles worked beautifully.”
Within the enclosure, Pauline-san raised her voice.
“If you protect the people here and now, it will be a tremendous achievement for you, the nobles who remain in the capital. Just as the chief god used the word ‘hero’ in his message, in a city where many nobles have departed, your influence will grow.”
I could understand, in a vague sense, what she was doing. She was dismantling the assumptions of the myths, making it clear that the kingdom could no longer operate as it had. And yet, she offered them an opportunity to earn glory through action.
—It had the feel of a negotiation, yes, but it was brilliant.
As if to drive the point home, Thor spoke.
“I’m counting on you.”
“Ooooh!”
A roar of excitement swept through the chamber. This time, it was exhilaration, not outrage. The gods’ encouragement had reached not only the nobles but even the soldiers guarding them.
Mia-san smacked her forehead with a sharp thwack.
“The utterly useless nobles fled the capital long ago. The ones left are at least willing to try to protect the city. In that sense… it might actually work out in our favor.”
I nodded, and felt my chest burn with the same heat.
“Un!”
Of course, not everyone was convinced. Some remained confused, others scowled. Yet many of the nobles—especially those who looked like warriors—were visibly stirred, caught up in the excitement.
The chamber swelled with energy.
Solana drifted down gently beside me.
“Rion”
Her voice, paired with her sharp gaze… I felt a sudden, tense awareness. Something unsettling was about to happen.
“.…Could it be…. monsters?”
Just as we were advancing, so were our enemies.
—Oooooooo!
A low, rolling roar traveled on the wind like distant thunder. One voice followed another, chaining endlessly. The royal castle sat at the city’s center, yet the cries of the monsters came from every direction—east, west, north, and south.
Solana grabbed my hand.
“Even here, I can feel Ymir’s magic seeping up from below. That monster is strengthening the command that loosens the seals—it is growing stronger by the moment.”
Led by the goddess, I slipped between the ranks of the warriors and stepped out onto the terrace of the chamber.
From up here, the buildings below seemed laughably small. Every bird flying past was beneath us. And under the open blue sky, the monstrous cries echoed. Black smoke spiraled upward from the direction of the Western Dungeon.
I realized that everyone in the chamber was looking at me. I drew the horn from my pouch. Its faint glow—left from the power Rue had infused yesterday—seemed to hum with readiness.
I turned to the goddess and asked.
“Other dungeons too? All across the world?”
“Most likely.”
I stood overlooking the royal capital, feeling the eyes of the chamber on my back.
Taking a deep breath, I blew into the awakening horn, the Gjalhorn, letting its sound ride on the wind.
| 【Master of the Horn】… fully unleashing the power of the awakening horn, Gjalhorn. |
The tone spread across the capital—no, across the world.
Immense magic poured forth, and beneath the blue sky, bands of light danced like the aurora.
“Everyone—”
I called out, turning around. Pauline-san smiled at me.
The first battle—the war of words—was over. Now, the fight against the monsters unleashed upon the capital would begin.
“Gods, everyone, let’s go!”
Leaving Pauline-san and a few guards in the chamber, we gathered on the terrace. The power of the gods wrapped around us in light. Together with the dozens of warriors from the Raven Corps, we soared into the sky.
Below us stretched the city where I was born and raised.
A feeling of grandeur lit up my chest. Wrapped in light, flying above, everyone in the capital was surely pointing up at us.And so, the battle to protect the royal capital began.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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