Chapter 39

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Destiny and the Drums of War
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The airfield at the edge of the cliff came into view, and soon, Whees reduced his wingbeats, landing gracefully on the ground as gently as falling snow.

“You've returned, Captain.”

A Raphi with fluttering blue feathers greeted him.

It was Napari Hoya, Whees's adjutant and the unit's most promising young man.

“Have all the men returned?”

“Paz is out scouting the border, and Gerald is on standby for shift change. The rest of the men are resting in the barracks.”

“I see. Everyone's been working hard on patrol lately. Keep the unit in order while I'm away.”

Whees flapped his wings to shake off loose feathers, then started walking toward the barracks.

His upright gait, stiff posture, and disciplined movements were the same as ever, but his ruffled feathers made him look somehow tired.

“Captain. Are you planning to rest at the base all day today?”

“No. Her Majesty is alone, so I must return to headquarters. I only came back for a moment because the Grand General said he would stay by her side.”

Napari looked at Whees with worried eyes.

For months now, Whees had been pouring all his energy into guard duty and reconnaissance, unable to sleep properly.

The Grand General, reasoning that a scout could escape at a moment's notice, had selected Whees to be the Queen's guard. The constraint of having to be with the Queen almost all day forced Whees to move his quarters from the base to headquarters.

“Wouldn't it be better to rest a bit longer today? Your feathers are a mess.”

“It must be from being so busy. Don't worry about it.”

“The facilities are better at headquarters, but... it's not a place where you can truly relax, is it? Please, rest a little longer.”

Napari stood in Whees's way, trying his best to persuade him.

Understanding the young man's concern, Whees gave a bitter smile and gently pushed Napari aside.

Napari was right. It wasn't that headquarters was uncomfortable, but a Raphi's instincts couldn't stand living there.

Raphi cannot function without Refrigerant Stones.

The need to rely on a small necklace to live instilled a strange sense of compulsion in the Raphi soldiers, and requests to be free of the stones, at least while sleeping, flooded in.

After deep consideration, the Grand General realized there was royal territory near the Twin Mountains and turned it into a resting place for the Raphi soldiers.

That place was the 8th Squad's outpost, where the two now stood.

The psychological comfort offered by the chill of the mountain ridge was incomparable to headquarters. Whees, too, wanted to cast off his Refrigerant Stone and rest deeply.

But he couldn't, not when he thought of the Queen.

“With the Refrigerant Stone, it makes no difference whether I'm here or there. I understand your concern, but it can't be helped.”

“There's no need to be so meticulous about guard duty...”

“You know how things are these days. The atmosphere among the lords is tense, so we must be even more diligent with her security. Have you heard the news about Duke Witten?”

Napari relaxed his furrowed brow and answered with a sigh.

“Yes. That she handed the duchy to Rutherford and gave Witten the position of Grand Tutor... The soldiers have been in an uproar, saying Her Majesty really blindsided Witten.”

“Indeed. I was waiting outside the conference room, and the atmosphere was incredibly bleak. I don't know what Her Majesty was thinking... but we'll need to keep an eye on the situation over there. When Paz returns, tell him to scout Witten's territory.”

Entering the barracks, Whees removed his Refrigerant Stone and tossed aside his pants and vest. He wore clothes as a courtesy to other races, but it was far more comfortable without them.

He then sat down and began to preen his feathers.

“I must be more tired than I thought. My feathers are a complete mess.”

His white feathers, once a source of pride, had lost their sheen and were sticking out haphazardly.

He bent over, plucked out the old feathers, fluffed up his downy under-feathers, and cleaned the ones stuck to his beak.

A light flap of his wings sent the groomed feathers fluttering down. Napari, who had been taking out a fresh uniform nearby, hurried to clean up his captain's feathers.

“How is Her Majesty? I remember you weren't too pleased with her at first... It seems you two are getting along well?”

“Back then, I was disappointed because she seemed much younger and weaker than I expected. But not anymore. She's intelligent, her hair color is beautiful, and most importantly, I heard she used to live in Pomnos.”

“What? Her Majesty did?”

“That's right.”

“Wasn't she just visiting for a few days as a tourist? Or maybe for work?”

“No. You know that Her Majesty fled the palace with her mother, right? She said they escaped to Pomnos. She lived there for over two years.”

Napari, who had been unfolding the uniform, paused and looked up in great surprise.

“A human, living there for two years... Is that true?”

“Yes. And what's even more surprising is that she's acquainted with my mother. I suppose it would be difficult for a non-Raphi to live in Pomnos without the chieftain's help.”

Napari let out a soft gasp, his beak agape.

“What an incredible connection. It's rare for a human to live in the north, and there are so many Raphi cities... How could she be from the same hometown as you, Captain? Wow. Isn't this destiny?”

“...Hah, destiny.”

“Oh, now that I think about it, wasn't the reason you left Pomnos to find your destined partner?”

Destined partner.

As soon as he heard the words, Whees scowled and clicked his tongue.

It was an attitude meant to mask his embarrassment with displeasure.

Whees fiddled with the fine feathers beneath his eyes and grumbled in an uncomfortable tone.

“That only applies to Raphi women. What kind of destined partner would a human be?”

“But Raphi women rarely leave their cities, don't they? And yet you said you were looking for your destined partner beyond the north.”

“I told you, that's not it. I came to help the Grand General.”

“To be honest, when you first said that, I thought you were a bit strange... but later, I started to think you were quite the romantic.”

“Hey, Sergeant Hoya.”

“Putting aside any romantic relationship, isn't that destiny? How many humans from Pomnos could there be in this world? And what are the chances that one of them would become your sovereign? People call a meeting with such slim odds destiny.”

Heh, Napari grinned, letting out an amused chuckle.

Normally, Whees would have snapped at him to stop talking nonsense, but this time he only stared with a displeased expression, saying nothing.

Destiny.

He hadn't felt she was his destiny when they first met. He'd just thought it a remarkable coincidence.

But recently, spending so much time with the Queen, Whees had gradually become intrigued by the inscrutable woman.

Arsinoe was so different from the royalty he had imagined.

She was open and friendly but never crossed a certain line, always maintaining her decorum. She seemed spontaneous at first glance, but she thought deeply before acting—a strange human in whom a mature old man and a young girl seemed to co-exist.

Her hair color was fascinating, her eye color even more so, and watching her wheat-colored hair glitter in the sunlight, he felt as if he were looking at a high-purity gemstone and couldn't tear his eyes away.

He didn't know the human standard of beauty, but he had heard she was quite a beauty.

Then again, seeing how her hair and eyes sparkled, she must be quite pretty even to human eyes.

That was it. It might not be destiny, but he couldn't say he wasn't interested in her.

Whees hid his inner turmoil behind a calm expression.

“Stop worrying about my destiny and go find your own. Anyway, enough of that. What's the situation at the border? They were acting like war could break out any second, but there's been no news.”

“The news from a couple of days ago was that Dopein crossed Antevasila's border, and a small battle broke out. The main forces of either country have yet to move.”

“It would be nice if it just ended with them wasting their provisions like this...”

“With the Empire backing Dopein, it's unlikely to just fizzle out. I hear the Empire is already covering a portion of their supply lines.”

Parnas wasn't the one at war, but the conflict's aftereffects would reach them one way or another.

Already, refugees concerned about the situation were flooding in, and merchants, worried Parnas might also be dragged into the war, were raising grain prices to sky-high levels.

With the harvest just over, there was no immediate problem, but if the war between the two nations dragged on, Parnas would inevitably suffer an economic blow.

A worried look spread across both their faces.

Just as they were agreeing on the need to watch the Empire's movements, the sound of urgent footsteps approached.

“Captain! Captain!”

Paz, who had gone out to scout the border region, roughly shoved the door open. Beneath his trembling eyes, his yellow beak gaped as he shouted the urgent news.

“War has finally broken out! The main forces of Dopein and Antevasila are clashing on the Pel Plains!”

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

“Ah... so it's begun. I had a feeling they would make their move soon.”

Lucy murmured to herself, her eyes fixed on a piece of white paper.

She carefully cut the paper along a shape drawn in pencil, then gently stroked the white, tree-shaped cutout with her fingertips.

Walter, who had delivered the urgent news with a frantic expression, was rendered speechless by Lucy, who, far from being surprised, was cutting paper with a perfectly serene face.

War had broken out, and she'd simply acted as if she'd expected it.

“Your Majesty is always so composed. I shall strive to learn from your transcendent calm.”

“Oh, stop being sarcastic. Is it because I wasn't surprised like you thought I'd be?”

“That is not it.”

“They've gathered tens of thousands of soldiers; they couldn't just keep eating through their provisions forever. But... hmm. You said Dopein attacked first, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Then Dopein will win. I suppose we should start focusing our efforts on defense...”

Walter's eyes widened slightly at her matter-of-fact declaration that Dopein would win.