Prologue

It was the middle of the night, yet the king’s office in the Royal Palace of the Kingdom of Valschein was lit brightly enough to be able to read even in its darkest corners.

The aristocracy was notorious for its obsession with appearances, and their decor reflected this obsession—rooms were often filled with rare artifacts from foreign kingdoms, and on occasion, an unusual relic from a different continent altogether. However, most of the furnishings in the king’s office were created by artisans of his own kingdom.

The only object that was obviously foreign at first glance was the magical instrument currently being used to illuminate the room.

The occupant of this office, his strong features drawn into stern lines, was an incredibly busy man. As he scanned through the documents laid out before him, he was simultaneously listening to a report from the man standing before his desk.

A pair of glasses were perched on the king’s nose. Recently, he had been having trouble reading the small letters on the papers he had to peruse every day, and so lately, he always had his glasses on hand.

The king wanted to hide the fact that he required reading glasses even though he was still under fifty years old, so the glasses never left this room. It was difficult to believe that this was the same King Valschein who was known far and wide for being nominally in control of the Yumiella Dolkness.

The king looked up from the documents and removed his glasses, returning his attention to what the man standing at attention before his desk was saying. The man finished his report, never wavering in his focus.

“I see, so we still do not know where she went,” the king said as he rubbed his temples. His tone was troubled. “When I first heard she disappeared, I thought we would quickly locate her somewhere nearby.”

“I apologize. It doesn’t seem prudent to make a big show of things and publicly announce that she’s a person of interest to the state, so we haven’t been able to expand our search as we’d like to...”

Though the young man seemed deferential enough in the manner in which he framed his words, a barely concealed grin hovered around his lips, an expression that made it seem as if he wasn’t concerned at all. The king, however, knew better: an amused smirk was this man’s default expression, and in this case, it belied his internal frustration.

The man with the constant smile was called Ronald. In aristocratic society, being able to trace one’s lineage was of paramount importance, but despite this fact, very few knew his family name. This was on purpose due to the simple fact that Ronald could easily get chased out of the Royal Palace if word got out that he was actually part of the notorious Hillrose family.

Prior to setting his plans for a coup into motion, the duke of Hillrose had sent off his son, Ronald, to serve the king. Although his father’s coup had ultimately failed, Ronald had climbed up the ranks to the point that his name had become the obvious answer if one were to ask who the king trusted the most in his court.

Trustworthy and highly skilled, Ronald took care of tasks the king preferred to keep hidden behind the scenes. Hence Ronald’s involvement in the current missing person case—the king wanted to handle this matter internally.

“She’s someone who has the potential to be a trump card for this kingdom,” the king said with a weary sigh. “I’ll send over several more skilled trackers. I want her found and brought back here, no matter the cost.”

Ronald nodded. “I am much obliged for your support.”

“I’ll leave it to you, then,” the king said. “I must ask, though, is there really not a single lead...?”

“Yes. It’s incredibly strange, but we have absolutely no reports of anyone seeing her.”

The king began to think through the facts as he understood them. She would definitely have been found if she’d traveled a long distance—there were guards on the town roads and many passersby to serve as witnesses. Even if she had traveled only on isolated roads, she would stand out precisely because there weren’t many people there.

“She might unexpectedly be hiding somewhere nearby,” the king suggested.

“It would be a great relief if that were the case, but...is she really the sort of person to do something like that?”

“It was just a thought.”

Just as Ronald had pointed out, the king knew that she wasn’t the kind of person who would expend a lot of effort to sneak around. Everything that the king knew of her suggested that she was straightforward to a fault. If she wanted to run, she would likely just run, going as far as she could without looking back. But, if that were the case, where exactly had she disappeared to?

“She must have someone helping her,” the king said.

“Yes, I think that is definitely the case,” Ronald agreed. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s already left the kingdom.”

She would’ve been easily found if she were operating alone. If there was someone helping her escape, however, it would’ve been much easier for her to leave the kingdom undetected. With the girl’s small stature, she could have been concealed within some cargo on a carriage, or some other such method that would’ve made it difficult to find her.

“Could it be considered a kidnapping?” the king asked.

“A kidnapping...?” Ronald considered. “If she had actually resisted, there would be some evidence of that.”

“Kidnapping is not just putting a sack over someone’s head and abducting them. Tempting someone with sweet promises and manipulating them into following you is a form of kidnapping.”

“I understand,” Ronald said. “You believe that someone goaded her into deciding to escape on the spot.”

“From what Edwin’s told me, it didn’t seem like she’d been talking to any potential accomplices before that. This seems like it could be the most natural course of events.”

Ever since that incident, she had isolated herself completely, and the only one she’d opened up to was the second prince, Edwin.

Ronald thought silently for a bit before speaking again.

“We will only consider the worst-case scenario—the possibility that she was abducted by another kingdom. We will ignore all other possibilities for now and focus on that.”

“I’ll leave it to you. You must bring Alicia Ehnleit back at all costs.”

Ronald bowed deeply in response to the king’s command.

The girl they had been discussing, one Alicia Ehnleit, was a user of light magic—something incredibly rare in this world and a definitive trump card against the element of darkness. In other words, she was the strongest pawn the kingdom had against the ever-present threat of Yumiella Dolkness.

Back in the king’s office, another man entered a beat after Ronald exited, making them just miss each other.

“You’re back,” the king said to the second man. “Judging from your expression, I assume she wasn’t just hiding in the dungeon.”

“I apologize,” the man said. Unlike Ronald’s ever-hovering smile, this man wore a terribly haggard look.

This man was Adolphe, commander of the Knight’s Order and the pride of the Kingdom of Valschein. He was a swordsman who had been, until a few years ago, considered the strongest person in the kingdom. At the time, he’d been at the extraordinary level of 60. What was particularly notable about him was that this strength was despite the fact that he was completely untrained in magic.

As might be expected in a world where most skilled magicians were of an aristocratic background, genetics had a large effect on magical ability. It didn’t matter if someone increased their level and mana stores—there was a certain level of innate talent needed to convert mana into elemental magical energy and produce a spell.

The commander of the Knight’s Order was a symbol of hope for the people of Valschein who had no ability in magic—he was living proof that one could climb the ranks with just pure skill and swordsmanship.

However, Adolphe didn’t brag about his accomplishments. He might have had a sense of inferiority because he couldn’t use magic, but despite being the strongest person in the kingdom in both title and level, he showed no signs of being attached to the top of the ranks. Even when royalty from foreign kingdoms showered him with compliments, desperate to poach him for themselves, Adolphe would modestly deflect their commendations and say, “There will eventually be someone who can surpass me.”

The king respected Adolphe for both his military performance and his integrity. Seeing one of his staunchest supporters looking so worn down with care, he offered words of comfort: “Don’t worry too much about it, Adolphe. It’s nothing you should feel responsible for.”

“No, the failings of my subordinates are my responsibility,” the grizzled swordsman countered. “Please decide upon our punishment once things have settled.”

As Adolphe’s words suggested, the Knight’s Order had been involved in Alicia’s disappearance.

A year and a half ago, Alicia had journeyed to the Demon Lord’s castle with a party of warriors brought together in...