Глава 11

If they did, it's likely I haven't seen them before.

Mr. Totter. How long has it been since you became a mercenary?

It'll be my fourteenth anniversary next month.

You must've seen weapons from most countries out there.

Certainly, but not every country out there.

I'm just your garden variety merc. I haven't seen the weapons of any particularly elite forces.

If I had, I wouldn't be alive right now.

Morgan, Indra. Head back outside the path and stay alert.

Secure our evac route, just like before, right?

I hope I don't miss out on anything good.

Siege, we can't act rashly now...

Do you hear the battle above us, Dagda?

No.

I do. This trembling... I can imagine it.

I can't go back empty-handed.

If the sword will stop all of this, or even just ease all the sacrifice and slaughter...

Then I shall do it.

I do not see this as a responsibility. It's just... a tiny act on my part.

It's nothing different from knocking out the front teeth of those thugs who come looking for trouble.

Vina...

Allerdale, you said it yourself. Having taken this step, we can't turn back now.

You look pretty cheesed.

Hmph, this was my chance to fight right beneath the palace!

I just hope they don't actually run into anything that calls for a fight.

Eh, you should know what a big sacrifice I'm making for you. If someone whacks you in one go, you've got to have a friend to yell for the others, right?

Haha, my silly Hannah.

Do you remember how Vina looked when we first met her?

How could I forget?

She was real cocky.

She was tiny, but she was full of herself, she hardly talked. You couldn't even tell when she was angry, but when she fought...

Haha... Who do you reckon taught her how to fight?

She said it was her teacher.

And I thought she had some brawler from Norport for a teacher.

Then we found out about who she was, and it all made sense. Probably a knight with muscles for brains.

Seriously, though, aren't princes and princesses all meant to wear frilly clothes and have trouble running? What kind of teacher would have her fighting like she's facing a wild beast?

Haha, when she first told us who she was, I thought she was having a laugh.

Vina wouldn't kid about something where life and death is concerned.

I thought it was a new gang looking for trouble with Glasgow.

But it turns out it was an operation to assassinate the heir to the throne? Hah.

They were pretty tough, though.

I thought it'd be a lot more fun to follow a crown princess on an adventure than living the thug life. Besides, this princess has got a special place in my heart.

Before I knew it, we were following Vina out of Londinium, wandering the world with her, and making it back here.

Now... If the heroes in the legends had a choice, they'd rather lie down on the sofa and gulp down a cold beer, wouldn't you agree?

Having second thoughts?

Of course not. We've come this far already.

I started on my memoirs already, and I'm going to make a huge with the book! It's called <i>The Legendary Vina and Her Legendary Mates</i>. All I need now is a publisher.

With your sorry vocabulary? Forget it!

Vina said it was cool!

This reminds me... of that pub that we smashed the sign of.

That was the first battle we won with Vina leading us!

That night, we drank all the booze in their cellar. In the end, Baird carried us back to the lorry, one by one, and drove us home before the police got there.

Are you bloody daft? I was the one who carried you on my back. Baird was so off her trolley, she tried to steer the loo! And you wanted her to drive?!

Haha.

All I'm thinking is... No matter where we are, we can still come together and make a name for ourselves, right? Even if it's just taking over a pub from the other gangs.

Say, Hannah...

We've been back for days already. Why hasn't Vina so much as suggested paying Glasgow a visit?

The key.

Before we left, the Doctor gave me this key.

The Doctor told me that Dr. Kal'tsit negotiated for this... Only this can open the door that leads to the Mausoleum of Kings.

I know this key once belonged to a Draco.

...Allerdale.

Do you know... where the other key is?

The other key.

The key that belonged to the Aslan royal family. It, too, can open this door, and it should have been passed to her by her father, but she has never seen the key herself.

Why ask me that, all of a sudden?

I just remembered... another legend about the Sighs of Kings.

'With the sword in his hand, the Aslan padishah tried to conquer the last swath of foreign land.'

'The Draco king's fire Arts flew straight toward him. His armor burned away in the flames, disappearing in purplish drops. However, his sword was far harder than his armor.'

'The moment it pierced the Draco king's body, only half of the Aslan padishah's sword remained.'

'And so, the Draco king lived, and the Aslan padishah lost his right hand.'

'After the Draco and the Aslan signed their treaty, the sword was reforged, and it has since become the symbol of Victoria's centuries-long glory.'

My ancestors... once nearly killed a Draco king.

And now I hold the key of the Red Dragon's descendants...

...to open the door to the Mausoleum of Kings.

Here, it doesn't matter whether one is Draco or Aslan—

One is only Victoria.

The door opens.

It is much easier than she imagined. It's so simple, as though everything was already in place, awaiting only this tiny push from her.

The Mausoleum of Kings—

A millennium of Victorian history surges toward her, the Aslan who left, only to return.

These filthy rebels! They've been at this since Sudean!

Bring out that massive metal thing of yours!

You mean the self-propelled cannon? Sarkaz, there's still lots of our men up ahead!

Send them a signal.

Ever heard of danger close? You know how wide its attack range is? They won't get away in time!

That's their problem. <i>Our</i> warriors know how to survive on the battlefield.

Over there—A movable mechanical Originium cannon!

What... What the hell is this? That's no normal artillery shell!

Did Kazdel have some kind of advanced research institute I never heard of?

And in such a short time too... How did Manfred manage this?

Have you found the control area with your drones yet?;Focus.

Control area... Control area... Crap, Doctor. These artillery shells've got Arts that jam my drones.

Like I said, Londinium's system is easy to crack, but Sarkaz witchcraft is tough!

Doctor, we'll take it from here.

Whoa, Feist!

Everything's set the way you wanted it.

The engineering team will make sure your drones will fly free.

You've got an idea?

Miss Closure, these Originium cannons were assembled in our factory.

So... You aren't planning on taking them apart right here and now, are you?