บท 24: Chapter 24
I was tempted to give him a pat on the back for being so brave, considering this was probably his first time away from the SS.
But the situation was too urgent for leisurely chit-chat.
The enemy was so close now that she could hear their footsteps even if she didn't listen.
"They'll be here any minute now, Your Highness."
Selvia looked toward the door and nodded.
"Yes. I know."
"Then when they open the door, would you be so kind as to shoot twice at the ceiling?"
"The ...ceiling?"
Not the enemy?" Selvia looked back at me, puzzled, but I was quite serious.
"It doesn't have to be the ceiling, the point is to make gunshots."
"Why on earth would... not. I get it."
Selvia must have realized the urgency of the situation, because she didn't bother to argue with me.
Thud-thud-thud.
Just then, the sound of their quick steps rang in my ears.
As I wait with bated breath, the sound of the door swinging open on its hinges adds to the din.
"Here we go."
Realizing the door is open, Selvia pulls the trigger twice as I say.
Light flashes in the dark living room and a deafening gunshot rings out.
It sends the agents running back outside.
There is silence afterward.
They're probably huddled against the wall in the hallway, discussing over the radio how to handle the situation.
"How to kill him, exactly.
They won't be able to escape the Empire without making a spectacle of themselves in the ballroom.
That means their mission is to kill the Empress, not kidnap her.
But the agents have no idea where exactly she's hiding.
The gunshots they heard as soon as they opened the door would have sent them scrambling backwards in panic.
Behind the couch? Behind the bookcase? Under the desk? Or did she open the door and shoot from another room? All sorts of speculation would ensue.
Usually, the grenade is at the end of the list.
It's common practice to throw a grenade in the direction of where you think the enemy might be and see how they react.
That was the moment I was aiming for.
I swallowed hard and paid attention.
Click-clack.
The sound of the grenade's safety pin being pulled out tickles my ears.
My nerves immediately kicked into high gear, and I jumped to my feet, reaching for my revolver.
I could see the agent on the other side of the door in slow motion, trying to pick up the grenade and throw it this way.
I must not fail. Pausing for breath, I carefully aimed the grenade and pulled the trigger.
The gunpowder explodes, bullets fly, and the world resumes its normal time.
Kwaang─!
The grenade that was hit by the bullet explodes, sending shrapnel flying in all directions.
"Ow!"
"Ugh!"
The agents who were hit by shrapnel in their bodies scream, breaking the silence.
I felt like I was going to vomit, having just finished my neural acceleration, but I couldn't miss an opportunity like this.
"Your Imperial Highness."
"Yes!"
As Selvia and I step out into the hallway, the agent, still breathing, pulls a pistol from his arm.
Before I could process it, Selvia pulled the trigger first.
BANG!
With a bullet lodged in his forehead, the agent's head drops to the floor, leaving a terminal thud.
Relieved, she looked around and saw the other agents lying dead.
Eight agents had been eliminated in a matter of moments, but they weren't out of the woods yet.
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"Your Majesty, there will be other agents who heard the gunfire, and there is no way they would have sent only eight men on a mission like this."
"Then we need to get out of here as soon as possible...."
No. It's too late. Footsteps were coming from the center staircase of the hallway again.
─ Upstairs! There's an imperial princess upstairs!
─ Gather everyone! Kill on sight!
─ The top floor of the hotel! Don't let her escape!
Your breathing becomes ragged from the tension. Unfortunately, the only person I could trust now was Selvia.
"Come here!"
I grabbed her wrist and sprinted toward the end of the hallway.
Selvia, running after me in a panic, called out.
"Daniel, it's a dead end!"
"It's not a dead end! The walls are made of glass!"
"Now what the...!"
Realizing my intentions, Selvia's eyes widened in horror.
"Are you saying you're going to jump through there?"
"Yes. The stairs and elevator would have been taken by them, so this is the only way!"
"Don't be stupid..., suicide is not an option!"
Frustrated. I looked back at Selvia and said.
"Your Highness can use space travel magic, can't you!"
"How can I use that... No! That's not perfect, it only works within line of sight!"
"I see, it's a good thing we're on the top floor of the hotel!"
I'm not sure if the situation was ridiculous or if I was crazy, but laughter escaped me.
Running, I raised the revolver and without hesitation pulled the trigger.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three bullets slammed into the tempered glass, creating a crack.
At the same time, agents shouted from the center stairwell.
"Over there!"
"Open fire! We have orders from above to kill!"
I leapt up, kicking the floor, and slammed into the glass wall.
Boom! The glass wall shattered, sending shards flying everywhere.
Selvia, holding my hand, soared beautifully among the shards of glass.
But her flight through the sky was only for a moment.
"Hmph!"
Gravity was no match for us, and we were soon plummeting toward the ground.
The wind whipped our hair and uniforms around us, and the hem of Selvia's dress fluttered like a flag. It was white.
"Your Majesty!"
Selvia, stunned by my shout for her to wake up, takes a deep breath and nods.
Her eyes take in the view of the old town, which is closing in on us in real time, and she utters a short incantation.
Immediately, Selvia's and my bodies are enveloped in a pure white light.
*.
When I open my eyes, Selvia and I are still in the air.
But the ground was close.
I grabbed Selvia and slammed her shoulder into the ground.
"...!"
My body jerked and I felt a sharp pain, but it was bearable.
Before the pain wears off, I look around and breathe a sigh of relief that no one is around.
All I could see were broken records and broken furniture.
It looked like a dumping ground for household discards.
"Ugh...."
Selvia, who had been wriggling in my arms, raised her upper body.
She seemed to feel dizzy, as if she had just used a spatial travel spell.
But she soon regained her composure and looked up at me.
"...Are you okay?"
I was surprised. I expected her to ask me if I had successfully escaped.
"Yes. I'm fine."
I pushed myself up with my hands.
I looked down at Selvia, who was sitting on the floor, and I couldn't believe my eyes.
Her neatly combed hair was disheveled, and her luxurious evening gown was a mess of dirt and blood.
It was ironic that her sapphire-encrusted earrings and necklace were still sparkling in the moonlight.
...Huh? Moonlight?
I looked up and realized the ceiling had collapsed.
I looked up and realized that the ceiling had collapsed.
In her haste, she had chosen a random place to hide.
I reached out for Selvia, thinking I'd picked the right place.
"Please get up, the floor is cold."
She nods, grabs my hand, and gets up.
I bend down lightly to check on her.
"Are you not hurt anywhere?"
"Uh, yeah. Fortunately, the only place I'm hurt is... wait."
A flushed Selvia pushes my upper body away.
There was a hint of annoyance in her tightly closed eyes.
"Don't you think sometimes the distance is too close?"
"No, ...I was just concerned for your safety."
"I know, I know... ha. Never mind, are they safer than that now?"
"I suppose so, since we won't be able to track them back to wherever they fled to by spatial travel."
Even if they could, the Imperial Guard would arrive first.
The SS would have been called out immediately after the Ethereum Conversion Bomb went off, so they should have entered the Old City by now.
Selvia nodded once, as if she had thought of that as well, and walked away from me.
An awkward atmosphere descended between Selvia and me after that.
When the situation was urgent, we joked and talked to each other, but once the situation was resolved, an unexplainable awkwardness settled in between us.
Add to that the subconscious thought in the back of my mind that the closer I got to Selvia, the further I might alienate her from the rest of the world, and I couldn't show her any friendliness.
I couldn't even speak to the Empress, one of the most noble people in the Empire, in a casual way.
So, to kill time until the guards arrived, Selvia spoke cautiously.
"...Daniel, do you know how to dance?"
Dancing? I shook my head.
"I've looked over my shoulder, but I've never really danced, and as you know, I'm from Goa, so I don't know much about social skills like dancing. So why are you asking me that out of the blue?"
"Just. I thought it would be better to dance than to be free, and there's still time before the banquet is over."
Turns out, she wasn't wrong.
The banquet ends at midnight.
"Your Majesty, I would love to join you, but my skills are not up to the task...."
"I'll teach you, it's not that hard."
Hmm. I couldn't refuse if he came this far.
"Then I'll give you a lesson."
"Okay."
Moving closer, Selvia grabs my hand.
"Follow me."
With that, Selvia lifted my hand at an angle and stepped on the staff.
It was quite slow, perhaps out of respect for my beginner status, but I could barely keep up.
I stumbled a few times, and Selvia laughed uncontrollably.
I felt unnecessarily embarrassed.
"I thought you said you couldn't ...."
"You learn as you go, ego, again."
Selvia moves her foot again, and my foot follows hers.
After repeating the action a few times, I can now mimic her to some extent.
I've created something that approximates a dance, albeit clumsily.
As they dance by the light of the moon, they hear the sound of a helicopter in the distance.
"Your Majesty, the SS is...."
"Don't stop."
I'm about to say that this is no time for foolishness, but I stop myself.
Selvia was smiling a faint smile of amusement.
It was a far cry from her expressionless dance in the ballroom.
For some reason, I didn't want to spoil her fun.
So I clumsily tapped my foot, and the ensuing dance became a circle dance, ending the waltz.
I'm still reeling from the fact that I made it to the end of the waltz when Selvia releases my hand and looks at me.
"Remember," she said, "you need to be able to dance this well so you don't go anywhere and be ignored."
While I'm still trying to come up with a response, the sound of a helicopter circling in the sky begins to get closer and closer, until the sound of propellers can be heard directly overhead.
"Your Majesty!"
The sudden shout made him look up to see an elderly man, nearly sixty years old and fully armed, standing in the doorway of the helicopter.
He hastily pulled out a radio slung over his shoulder and pressed the transmit button.
"Command, this is the waste collection center at 87 Alter Markt in the Old City! We have found the Empress and Captain Daniel, both unharmed except for minor wounds! Send reinforcements here immediately! I say again! This is the Old Town...."
I feel my nerves relax, now that I'm actually alive.
As I breathe a sigh of relief, Selvia's and my gazes casually meet in the air.
We stood still for a moment, and then we both let out a hearty laugh.
It was the end of spring.
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