Chapter 1, When Peaceful Times Cease to Exist : Prologue

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「Hurry up, Ephralce.
We’re going to be late to the council meeting!」

「Please wait, Zege-senpai! There’s no need to be hasty! Aahh! The documents will fall!」

Ephralce, who is wearing round-glasses stumbled over the hem of her long skirt she held in her hands, nearly dropping a large amount of documents, but Zege, moving along with swiftness that belied his middle-aged weight exquisitely supported her.

「Today, the long awaited debate will begin, the world will be watching, and definition and documentation will be compiled regarding Archfiend Alfiris, who indirectly triggered the recent battle.
It’s worth my life just to have won the right to participate in this debate! You lot should be thankful to the spirits for your good fortune to be involved in this venture when you just graduated from college!」

「If I had studied at my desk, I would have just graduated first in my class, and I was going to spend my time relaxing as a librarian in a library where nobody comes to bother me.」

「In spite of that, it was a very innovative graduation thesis for that.
I think it was called ‘A Hero’s Perspective as Deciphered through the Logic of Magical Constructs and Friendships?’ You told the story of the Demon Lord Alphiris from a perspective that has never been seen before, and it was very original.
I have read it as well.」

「Haa~ I’m afraid so.
You’re like an Archfiend aren’t you, senpai?」

Ephralce’s round glasses gleamed, but Larkon was unconcerned and continued on his way.

「What if it was the case?」

「No, I just wanted to make sure.
In my opinion, Alfiris is just a normal human being, so wouldn’t it be a problem if our opinions conflicted in the Council?」

「Hmph, how could an ordinary person continue to sway millions of people into war for hundreds of years! Did you see the gravestone at the Hesperdes Hill? The number of grave markers for humans, elves, seekers, barbarians, dragonkin, beastmen, and other demi-human races alone occupies enough space to form a country! If you don’t call that woman who started this war an Archfiend, what else do you want to call her?」

「If you’re referring to the ‘Strategic Takeover,’ I’m sure many people who wanted to participate in it, and I don’t think you should blame her for what happened after her death.
It’s true that the world changed drastically before and after the appearance of Alphiris… I guess this council meeting is to discuss that.」

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「You’re right.」

Once again, Zege responds with a snort.
Ephralce hurried to keep up with him as he walked at a fast pace, skipping down the stairs one step at a time.
Since the debate will be attended by a large number of guests from lords, nobles, and military personnel, as well as the general audience, security is expected to be tight.
The guards, standing at regular intervals, saluted Zege and Ephralce in turn.

「We also represent a prestigious role, the Library of the Yesod’s Foundation.
I’ve been working hard for more than a decade, singlemindedly, since I became a librarian, to get this job.
Normally, it would be uncomfortable to have a young woman like you in the room, but the higher-ups decided that you have a unique point of view and could add to the debate.
Don’t worry about me, you can say whatever you want.」

「Thank you for your generosity, it means a lot.
But we don’t have to agree on anything, do we?」

「I don’t care.
Whether if it’s the Bard’s Guild, Union of Scholars, or the representatives of any demihuman races or kingdoms, they will never be able to match the amount of information we have on Alfiris.
It’s no exaggeration to say that what we say will determine the outcome of the conference.
Our roles is to provide a unique perspective.
It’s not about unifying opinions.」

「I see… Senpai.
I’m getting nervous even after all this time.」

「Hmph, of course it is.
The lords of this world are gathered here.
Hey, are you sure you’re going to be okay dressed like that? Why don’t you look a little more presentable? Your glasses are out of place and your braid looks like it’s coming undone.」

「I’ve been doing some last minute research… Well, it’s not my job to stand out at meetings.」

「What? You’re not going to tell me that dressing up is great, are you?」

「I’m confident that I can make my seniors fall in love with me.」

Zege couldn’t help but laugh as Ephralce’s glasses glinted mysteriously.

「If you can make that jokes before a meeting, you should be fine.」

「Well, I’m really confident, aren’t I?」

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「Then I’ll look forward to it, by the way, though I’m already a married man.
First up is the meeting in front of you.
Open the gates!」

　With Ephralce tilting her head to the side, Zege raises his hand and heavy doors of the assembly open.
Lords, scholars, and audiences from all over the world will be there to discuss the life of one person.

　In some biographies, she is described as a cruel and fierce woman, while the bards call her compassionate and loving, yet brave and heroic; in others, she is called a great king or an archfiend and in other situations, she is praised as a wise woman.

　Certainly, it’s about the life of Alfiris, the cursed female warrior that is said to have ruined the world.

＊＊＊

　「Hnn.
Hmm.
Ah, I slept well there…… Well, for an encampment, I did really slept soundly.」

When it woke up with a huge yawn from Alfiris, the sun was shining through the trees and a fresh breeze was blowing.
It’s been a month since she have seen the mooi birds that herald the arrival of spring.
Here in the Falte Forest, slightly south from the middle, were surrounded by a very pleasant sunny atmosphere.
Well, if she hadn’t, she might have been a little more careful about where she slept, even if she was indeed not particular about trivial matters.

「It is more comfortable than a cheap inn.
I guess it’s all thanks to you?」

The one below her with its rather sleepy black eyes turned towards me was the forest wolf that lives in this forest.

「Sister Anorn would have laughed at me if I told her I spent the night with a magic beast as my pillow.」

Sister Anorn is a clergywoman whom she have come to know well, if not as a friend, after meeting her many times in the inn town.
It seems that we are going to the same destination, but the speed of progress will be a little bit the same between the sisters who are heading east, praying and doing charity work in the towns along the way, and Alfiris, who is taking requests and deciding where to go as her interests takes her.

Three days ago, when she left the town of Dayton, she did something she have always wanted to do: let a rolled branch tell her where to go.
But the branch pointed in a completely different direction from the highway,

「You don’t want to do that, do you? You’ve got no sense of direction!」

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And while Anorn was told to do so, she half-heartedly plunged into the forest with a grin on her face, and as expected, it was Alfiris who got lost.
In this area, the road are well maintained and the monsters are well subjugated, so unless you go too deep into the forest, you won’t find dangerous monsters that can kill you, but the forest is still a place that is out of the range of human civilization.

「I knew a cave by the river was monster’s nest.」

But then again, she is just a young woman.
She resisted the temptation to bathe, and after making sure that there was nothing at the cave, she bathed herself for the first three days, filled her stomach with some food she had, and fell asleep in the cave.
Then, the beast’s roar woke up Alfiris, and she saw the forest wolf, twice the size of her horse, in front of her.

「I’m so glad that the wolf is just alone here, it would be bad if there were many of them.
If weren’t for Master teaching me how yo negotiate with fiends, I’d probably be looking for another place to sleep… It’s all thanks to Master.」

In the end, after a fierce battle, she succeeded in defeating the forest wolf and demanded a bed for the night in exchange for treating her wounds.
The monsters that live in the forest, especially the beast-like monsters called Magical Beast, are obedient to those who are stronger than them, and even those who never forgets a favor.
Also, forest wolves are gentle even as a magical beast and will not attack humans unless they are considered as a danger to their territory.
Well, it was Alfiris’ carelessness that angered that wolf.

The forest wolf looked at her with friendly eyes after she healed it, so I gave in to the temptation of his fluffy fur and fell asleep with the magical beast as my pillow.

「It was comfortable to sleep in, but hey.
I wonder if fiends like me.
Or maybe this child is just used to people.
Human men don’t attract the right kind of people.」

Suddenly, I thought of the time when I was almost kidnapped by bandits, and my frivolous mercenary friends, and I sighed.
She looked at the forest wolf, who stared at her suspiciously.

「You might be much better than humans.
Some of the people I’ve met have been good, but most of them are bad.
Is it possible that I’m too ignorant of the world to feel safe talking to a magic beast? Hey, do you think I’ll be able to find any decent friends, or lovers too? Is it really difficult because I have ‘black hair’? Well, there’s no point in asking you, is there?」

Alfiris asks for life advice.
Of course, there’s no way that the magic beast could give a proper answer to her, so it just tilted its head.
Alfiris prepared herself for the day.

「Then I’d better get going.
I’m sorry for such a scene all night.」

“I’ll stroke the wolf’s throat”, she said.
It might be easier to talk to a human man if they could see the kind expression she shows them at that time, but the fact that she can’t make that expression graphically is one of the reasons why Sister Anorn is disappointed in her.

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「Okay, so the closest town is Iz, right? It’s time to get serious about the town.
I’ve been on the road lately, so I’m a little low on cash.
I can get food and water in the forest, but I need to care of my weapons soon.」

While muttering, Alfiris who began walking, her face had already got the ruggedness of an adventurer.

That’s right, Alfiris is an adventurer who carries a sword and travels in spite of being a woman.
In a world dominated by demons, there were few women who could make a living with a sword.
Most of the women’s occupations are as apprentices in stores or menial farmers in wealthy families.
There were few artisans and scholars, and more than half of them could not study at their jobs.
In this context, if a woman was to obtain a prosperous life, it was the mistress of a nobleman, a high-class harlot in a big city, or an adventurer.

Many of the women who wielded swords were either knights belonging to a knightly order, or a mercenary.
She was dressed in a light armor and a round shield that at a first glance looked like a knight’s, but she was no knight.
She works as a bouncer at an inn, guards troops and merchants at the request of the guild, and subjugate demons while earning money as a mercenary.

In this day and age, female mercenaries were considered a lowly occupation, and if they didn’t have money or a job, many of them would work as prostitutes, but Alfiris never did anything to humiliate herself.
This was because Alfiris’ master had made her promise to do so, and even if she hadn’t, her pride wouldn’t have allowed it.
Also, her knightly attire, tall height for a woman, intelligent and neat face, and above all, her “black hair” made it difficult for a man to make an indecent offer to her.

Those who can use magic may see changes in their hair color depending on the nature of their manipulation.
For example, red hair is for flames, and so on.
Of course, this does not happen to everyone, but only to those who are more powerful.
It is said that commoners tend to have chestnut hair, while the noble class has blond hair.

It is an honor to be a mage, but since there is usually one system of magic per person, and since it is similar to exposing one’s abilities when fighting a battle, she dye her hair color to make it unrecognizable.
And the dye was generally black, which was readily available and widespread.
Therefore, those with black hair were proof of high ranking mages or those who showed affinity for the dark arts.
Hence, norma people avoid associating with people with black hair.
They were afraid that if they offended those people, they might do something against them with their magic.
However, in reality, magic is not that useful and there were very strict restrictions put on mages, but the general consensus doesn’t know that.

Some of them ignored the invitation, but Alfiris didn’t take any notice of them (although she was too ignorant of the world to know what they were asking for at first), and those who persisted in asking would end up being torn to shreds, as if a rag that had been blowing on a horse’s body for a year would better.
There’s no such person that exist who could deal with Alfiris head one with her abilities.

As such, it has been almost a year and a half since Alfiris already started her journey, but she still hasn’t reached her destination.
She is on her way to the city of Vegrado in the east, as her teacher advised, but…

「Master said, ‘It’s about six months if you travel normally……’ Such a liar! It’s true that I’ve been making a lot of stops, but I’m not getting there at all!」

However, she put aside the fact that she did not read maps properly (partly because the maps of those days were poorly made and had only a narrow range), had a habit of wandering around, and had been involved in various troublesome situations out of curiosity.
At any rate, she was aiming for her destination with the sense that “east is the direction where the sun rises.” Moreover, the time required was “normally six months” as mentioned by the master, and that was with a horse.
The master would have never imagined that Alfiris would try to walk from the central western part of continent tothe eastern edge.

On the other hand, it could be also said that this is inevitable.
She had been living in isolation in the mountains for seven years since her master had picked her up at the age of ten.
If it had not been for the help of kind people on the way, she would have been sold of to the prostitute district around Tarum within a week of her departure.
Is it because of her virtue or because of the nosy, drunken sister that such misfortunes have not come to her?

「Well, I’m pretty sure Alfiris is coming here to Iz.
How many times have she gotten lost and fought demons this time.
I’ll have to tease her a lot.」

It was five days later, after being chased by a lost fiend once more and losing the energy to argue by the time she reached the town, that Alfiris was teased all night by Sister Anorn, who was sitting in a tavern with a cup of fire wine in her hand, thinking.