Mio

"Zem City developed around the Colosseum in the city's center," Mio

explained, pointing towards the towering Colosseum as she led the way.

It was a massive, austere structure reminiscent of the Roman Colosseum

—probably larger than Zem Castle itself. The stone carvings on the walls

were a sight to behold, too. The fact that the vast majority were of men

carrying swords was indicative of this country's belief in the supremacy of

brawn over all else.

Aisha, Naden, Owen, Mio, and I had all come down to the castle town.

Everyone but me was dressed as normal, but I would stand out if I wore my

military uniform like I had when meeting Sir Gimbal, so I changed into

something lighter—like what an adventurer might wear.

Mio continued her explanation as we stared at the majestic Colosseum in

awe. "This structure predates the rise of the first Mercenary King Zem,

dating back to the country that existed before Zem's founding. The

mercenaries who lived in that country were low in status. They were treated

like war slaves, and would throw their lives away for anything if you had

the money. Some mercenaries who were in trouble financially were forced

to put their lives on the line as gladiators in this very Colosseum."

"They made a spectacle of it?" I said. "I see... Zem brought all their

grievances together and rose up, huh? Do they still put on those sorts of

massacres there?"

"No. There are shows where people fight the wild animals and dungeon

monsters that others caught to prove their strength, but there are no battles

to the death between people anymore," Mio responded. "The worst that

happens is someone gets carried away and kills their opponent during the

Great Martial Arts Tournament."

She was answering questions when asked, like she was supposed to. I

couldn't sense any hostility in her words or attitude.

"The battles between people and animals are popular, and spectators

come from across the continent to see them. The most popular is the battle

between the mercenaries and the dragon that walks on land."

"The dragon that walks on land?"

"It's a type of wyvern that gave up the skies to run around the

mountains. They call them 'earth dragons,' or 'wingless ones.' They're

fierce creatures that use their devolved wings for balance as they run around

on two legs. ...You can see one right over there."

I looked in the direction Mio indicated, and there was a rhinosaurus

pulling a freight car. The majority of the freight car was taken up by a cage,

and there was a massive animal inside it.

"That's an earth dragon...?"

Based on Mio's description, I had been imagining something like a

carnivorous dinosaur, but it was a bit closer to a wyvern than that. It had

horns, and was spiky all over, giving off the impression of a ferocious beast.

On top of that, it was large enough to compete with Ruby and the other

members of the dragon race, in terms of size.

"Hmph, it only looks tough. That thing's no match for me," Naden said

dismissively.

Wait, wait, why was she feeling so competitive?

"Do they tame creatures like that in Zem?"

"No, earth dragons are ferocious, so they don't get attached to humans.

They just catch them to fight in the Colosseum. They're still wild animals."

"...Isn't that dangerous?"

"I've heard that there have been many cases of them escaping and

running wild," Mio said dispassionately.

Wait, they escape?!

I worried if that was all right, but Mio shrugged. "It's fine. The people in

this country are ridiculously good at fighting against animals."

"Oh, I see. You're talking about Zem's riding-beast hunters." Owen

nodded, seemingly satisfied with Mio's explanation.

"Riding-beast hunters?"

"Sire, do you notice anything when you look at the people walking on

the street?" Owen asked, leading me to look about our surroundings.

I had been noticing earlier that many of them wore breastplates,

gauntlets, and other such pieces of light armor over top of their clothes.

They looked indistinguishable from adventurers at a glance, but were all of

them actually Zemish mercenaries?

"There's a lot of people dressed like adventurers in light armor?" I said.

"That's also true, but it's something else. Please, pay attention to their

weapons."

"...Oh!"

There was something that definitively set them apart from a typical

adventurer. They all used weapons like spears, axes, and halberds. Ah,

because of how often they are in tight places, adventurers prefer not to use

weapons with a long reach, I thought, recalling my own escapades as Little

Musashibo.

"The mercenaries here are all using long-handled weapons," I

commented.

Owen gave me a satisfied nod and said, "In the Army, we have a saying.

'If you're facing a Zemish mercenary, get off your horse.' The Zemish

mercenaries use long-handled pole weapons, and they're famous for being

especially effective against cavalry."

"Ahh, and that's why they're called riding-beast hunters?"

"Yes." Mio nodded. "Zem is not a fertile country, so they can't afford to

raise a large number of horses, wyverns, or other riding beasts. Because of

that, historically they assumed only the other side would have mounts, and

created and developed tactics that allowed even a foot soldier to fight

against mounted warriors."

"On top of that, if a mercenary can take a high-status person like a

knight prisoner, they can receive a ransom for them. That's why Zemish

mercenaries are super strong when they're facing cavalry. Many of them

use long-handled weapons so they can surround the knights and pull them

down," Owen added. So there was a proper reason for it, huh?

"So, why do you tell people to 'get off your horse'?"

"Because it's hard to make tight turns on horseback, it's actually harder

to fight a line of soldiers in close combat from up there. If everyone is on

the ground, it's harder to tell who's higher in status, too."

"Ah, I get it."

It seemed like mercenaries had extreme strengths and weaknesses. I

hadn't planned it this way, but how we holed up in the fort outside Randel

and struck them as they came in must have been one of the more difficult

situations for them to handle.

"You were saying they couldn't raise a lot of wyverns, right? Do they

not have much in the way of wyvern cavalry, then? They guided us in when

we landed at Blanc Zem Castle, though."

"The wyvern cavalry report directly to the King of Zem," Owen said.

"The king's direct forces are this country's elite warriors, and standing

army. They aren't loaned out to anyone. Because raising wyverns is

expensive, there's a natural limit on the number of them they can keep. It

would be a lot of trouble if they loaned them out to another country and lost

them as a result."

"I see..."

They must have been keeping the strongest soldiers in reserve. In which

case, though Zem's mercenary companies were renowned for their strength,

the ones being loaned out were actually the weakest. This country wasn't to

be taken lightly.

I looked up at the Colosseum again. "So this is where they hold the

Great Martial Arts Tournament."

"That's right." Mio nodded in confirmation, a pensive look on her face.

"The Great Martial Arts Tournament is a major event that the whole country

works together for. The warriors fight in an elimination format for the right

to have a wish granted. The battles continue until one of the opponents

yields, or is rendered unable to continue fighting. That can include death."

"So they literally put everything on the line, huh? ...And you're

participating in the Great Martial Arts Tournament, too."

"Yes."

Hrm... I figured I shouldn't make her feel cornered if I didn't have to, so

I'd avoided touching on the core of the matter before now, but maybe it was

time to ask a direct question.

"If you're fighting in the tournament, you must have a wish you want

granted, too, right?" I asked. "What is it you want so bad that you're willing

to risk your life to get it?"

"That, I cannot say." Mio looked straight at me. "I will grant my wish

with my own strength. In order to see it through, I cannot tell you it here. I

intend to win this tournament, so I'm sure you'll find out then."

Well, of course she wouldn't spill the beans so easily. Mio seemed

strong-willed like Georg, so we wouldn't find out anything until she won it

all. While I was thinking about it, Aisha stepped forward, quickly inserting

herself between Mio and me.

"Madam Mio. I couldn't detect any dark emotions in what you've said."

As Aisha stared straight at her, Mio's eyes stared back at her,

unswerving. Aisha knocked on the hilt of her greatsword with the back of

her right hand. Because we were on a busy street, she was trying to

intimidate her without actually putting her hand on it.

"However, if you intend to harm His Majesty to avenge Duke Georg, I

will cut you down," Aisha declared.

"Liscia asked us to do it. I won't hold back on you, either," Naden added

with her arms crossed. Her black hair spread out and sparked a little.

Even in the face of their threats, Mio showed no sign of being

intimidated. "I can see you two really do love King Souma."

"It's obvious that a wife should be concerned for her husband's wellbeing."

Naden followed up with, "Normally, it's the other way around, though.

Oh, well. 'The right person for the right role' is practically a family motto

for us, anyway."

"The wife protects the husband?" After listening to the two of them, Mio

closed her eyes quietly. "...Come to think of it, Lady Liscia is a wife now,

too. I wonder how she feels."

"Madam Mio?"

"It's nothing. More importantly, there's somewhere I'd like all of you...

especially Madam Aisha, to come with me."

"Especially Aisha?"

When I asked her that, Mio nodded. Taking one of the sheathed

longswords off her back, she pointed it towards the door to the Colosseum

and said, "I'd like to have a match with Aisha in the sparring arena of the

Colosseum."

"A match? Why?"

"My father always believed, 'We say more through combat than through

words.'" Mio held up the scabbard for us to see. "If you wish to know me,

Madam Aisha, we should cross swords in a sparring match. I can tell you

have considerable prowess as a warrior. For my part, I think that it will

make good practice for the finals tomorrow."

"No, but..." I stammered.

Before I could say any more, Aisha responded, "Let's have it out, then."

"Aisha!"

"Let me do it, sire. I want to judge her with my own eyes." Aisha looked

straight at me. It looked like we had a strong-willed one on our side, too... It

didn't matter what I said, now. She wasn't going to listen.

"Fine... But be careful you don't get hurt."

"Understood!"

That was how we ended up with an impromptu mock battle between

Aisha and Mio.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

We were in a practice arena surrounded by stone walls, with nothing else

but a sand floor. The sounds of sword colliding with sword echoed through

the air as Aisha and Mio traded blow after blow.

"Hahhhhhhh!"

"Yahhhhhhh!"

Sparks flew as Aisha's greatsword and Mio's two longswords collided.

They were both using blunted training weapons, but if they made contact at

that speed, the one who got hit wasn't going to get off with just minor

wounds. I had seen Aisha and Liscia spar before, but this was nothing like

that.

At the time, Liscia had been using technique to dodge, parry, and

neutralize the attacks that Aisha threw at her with dumb brute strength. That

one was what you might call a battle of hard versus soft. However, Mio,

like Aisha, was also all about hard.

That made this a battle of hard versus hard. Mio's martial arts were

impressive to behold, and though she was facing Aisha in a straight-up test

of brute strength, she wasn't being pushed back.

"Urgh! Can I not push through?!"

"Compared to my father's heavy sword, this is nothing!"

When Aisha took a big swing with her greatsword, Mio crossed her

longswords to catch it and then knock it back. Then she took two swings

with her longswords, with a time delay in between them. Aisha blocked

both with her greatsword.

"You're pretty... good!"

"You, too, Madam Mio."

The two exchanged words while jostling with the hilts of their weapons

locked. Perhaps deciding that the greatsword was too hard to use when her

opponent was so close, Aisha held her sword in her right hand while

performing a backfist strike with her left. Mio blocked it with her elbow.

Next, Mio launched a low kick, but Aisha raised one leg to protect her

defenseless thigh. They continued trading roles as attacker and defender

like that for a while. Naden, Owen, and I, who were watching the fight from

a safe distance were in total awe.

"Wow. They're fighting with fists in between their swords."

"I've never fought with a sword, and even I can tell how abnormal their

strength is..." Even Naden, who didn't specialize in fighting in her human

form, was entranced with the way they fought.

"It's like a collision of souls. Both of them are fine warriors," Owen

spoke up. The old general, who was the same hard type of warrior as the

two of them, got emotional at the sight of their battle. "I wish you could

fight at even one-tenth of that level, sire."

"No way, that's absolutely impossible! Even if there were a hundred of

me, I couldn't fight like that!"

"You mustn't be so dispirited. You have an heir now. Let's add more to

your training menu."

Urgh... That stirred up a hornet's nest. But, well, the reason the

onlookers could talk about it so lightly was that the two combatants looked

like they were having a riot.

"How about this?!"

"Not yet!"

As they competed with strength and in technique, things got more and

more heated. They fought with swords, punches, and kicks, never pausing

for a breath, to keep their opponent from having an opening to use magic.

"...?!"

Mio's sword knocked Aisha's greatsword upward. But that was a ruse.

"There!"

In the instant it was exposed, Aisha pounded her fist into Mio's belly.

Mio was sent flying backwards, but she corrected her stance in midair and

landed on her feet.

"Guh...!"

However, the damage must have gone through, because she held the spot

where she was hit and grimaced. Aisha, meanwhile, stood there, not going

in for a follow-up.

As I was wondering why, snap, the string holding Aisha's hair in a

ponytail burst. Her silver hair fell down.

"...It looks like you only missed me by a hair." Aisha said.

Mio shook her head as she continued grasping her belly. "You landed

such a clean hit on me that I have no choice but to admit defeat."

"Think nothing of it. It was pretty dangerous for me, too. You're plenty

strong, Madam Mio."

"...It's a good thing you weren't participating in Zem's tournament."

Mio said with a wry smile.

"With the skill you have, I'm sure you'll achieve good results in the

tournament." Aisha furrowed her brow. "But... Madam Mio, what is it you

want to wish for if you win?"

Refusing to say anything, Mio looked away.

"Your father said, 'We say more through combat than through words,'

right? There was no indecision in your technique, I felt something like a

strong conviction there. Something not held captive by grudges and hatred."

Aisha laid down her training sword and approached Mio. "If you have a

grudge against the country and His Majesty, you can't have a very positive

view of me. I am his wife, and will protect him no matter what. Yet, I feel

nothing like that from you. During our match, you were almost like a child,

enjoying the chance to test your strength. What exactly is it that you..."

"...That, I cannot say." Mio stretched and turned towards us. "My wish

is something I must grant for myself. If I don't, I cannot face my father in

the afterlife. I'm sure it will all become clear when I win the tournament."

She looked at me with unswerving eyes—they were filled with

determination. The way she wouldn't budge once she made up her mind

was just like Liscia. Was that because they had trained under the same man?

If so, there was probably no way to get an answer out of her.

Ultimately, we ended up going back to Zem Castle without having been

able to suss anything out.

◇ ◇ ◇

That night...

Naden rolled over onto her side in the big bed, then let out a sigh. "...We

couldn't figure anything out, huh?"

"Yeah. She didn't seem to be harboring any negative emotions, though."

Having returned to Blanc Zem Castle, we went back to our room. Aisha,

Naden, and I were talking about what had happened today there.

"For now, at least, her requesting my head as her prize... seems unlikely,

I think. She has the same sort of single-minded personality as Liscia, so I'm

having a hard time imagining that she's been deliberately hiding her

negative emotions from us."

"Yes. In fact, she seemed ill-suited to that sort of performance." Aisha,

who was sitting in a chair, her arms crossed, agreed with me. "In that case...

is her wish to 'Restore the House of Carmine,' or something along those

lines, perhaps?"

"If that's all, I feel like I could probably grant that."

I obviously couldn't return all of their lands to her, and there would have

to be conditions, but restoring her house wasn't out of the question. Georg

had done everything properly in regards to severing ties with his family, so

Mio and her mother weren't guilty of any crime. She'd likely have the

support of Glaive, Owen, and others from the Army too, so it wouldn't even

be that difficult.

"But if that was her wish, Mio wouldn't need to participate in the

tournament. She must have involved another country because it's something

that couldn't be granted in the Kingdom."

So it's something we can't do anything about, or perhaps something Mio

doesn't think we can do anything about...? What exactly is she thinking?

While I was pondering that...

"Darling... Could it be that you feel guilty towards Madam Mio?" Aisha

came right out and asked me, and I couldn't argue back when it came up so

suddenly.

"Well, yeah... The issue of Georg is a problem I've left untouched ever

since I first took the crown. When I think of my responsibility to the

victims... It's complicated."

The reason the Kingdom was stable now was because of Georg's

contributions. I had never forgotten that, but thinking I should give it some

time, I ended up putting off dealing with the problem. The fact that I was

now at the whims of a single woman was the cost of my indolence.

Aisha gave me a stern look. "Darling. Even if Madam Mio's wish ends

up being something you think you could grant, please think long and hard

about the result of doing so before you make a decision."

"...You do realize I'm trying to be careful of that, right?"

With a wry smile, Naden added, "But you're not always logical about

things, are you? Especially when it involves family."

"Well, yeah... There are some things I can't compromise on." I looked

away.

Naden let out a sigh. "Liscia studied under Mio's dad, and she respected

him, right? 'Because they both learned under Georg, I want to do something

for his daughter...' Is what you're thinking, isn't it, Souma?"

"...You understand me well."

"You're easy to figure out," Naden said with a smile. Aisha was

nodding, too.

"If she knew that she was a ball and chain around your ankle, making

her husband make bad decisions, Liscia would be sad, right? We'll shoulder

your guilt with you. So, please, make the right decision."

"Got it." I gave a meek nod.

They were both right. If I let my emotions put the people I wanted to

protect in danger, that would defeat the purpose. I had... to see this through.

If she wanted the restoration of her house, fine. If not, the only other thing I

could think of was... That could be pretty difficult.

I let out a little sigh at the premonition I got.

◇ ◇ ◇

Around the same time, Colbert was going to another room, alone.

It was the room given to Mio in Blanc Zem Castle when she was

assigned to be Souma's guide. Mio was chosen because she said she was

from the Kingdom. But the room was only temporary, as she didn't serve

Gimbal personally.

"Excuse me. Is Madam Mio here?" Colbert knocked and called out. The

door immediately opened.

"...How may I help you?"

"Ah!"

When he saw the state Mio was in, Colbert's face froze. Since she was

in her room, Mio had taken off her armor, and was wearing a thin tank top.

The thin fabric couldn't hide her figure the way her armor could, and her

breasts were asserting themselves.

While averting his eyes from her appearance, Colbert said, "I-I'm sorry

to bother you when you were relaxing. I am the Kingdom's Minister of

Finance, Colbert. I came hoping we could talk a little."

"By all means." With that, Mio invited Colbert into her room, seemingly

unconcerned.

"Huh? It's all right?"

"You came to talk, didn't you?"

"Ah, right... Pardon me."

Even as he felt a little flustered, Colbert went into Mio's room. Being

temporary quarters, the room was simple, with a bed and not much more.

There were no real furnishings, just a mannequin that Mio could put her

armor on, and her two swords leaned up against the wall.

Mio offered Colbert a chair, and sat down on the bed facing him. "Did

Sir Souma ask you to look into me?"

"Ah! Yes. There is that, but..." Unable to look Mio in the eye, Colbert's

gaze wandered as he spoke. "I wanted to relive some old memories, so I'd

like to talk, even if it's just a short while."

"Old memories? ...Come to think of it, you do look familiar." Mio stared

hard at Colbert's face. "You're not from the Army, right? You look more

like a bureaucrat."

"Yes. I was originally involved with the finances in the Principality of

Amidonia. When Duke Carmine was still alive, I met you along with Julius

sometimes when we were mediating, after clashes. Though I don't think we

ever spoke more than a few words to each other."

"Oh! From back then?!" Mio clapped her hands.

"You remember?"

"Yes. Father always praised you two. He said, 'There are some good

youths in Amidonia, too.' Oh, yeah... There's no difference between

Elfrieden and Amidonia now, huh?"

Maybe because she'd learned he was an acquaintance, Mio was acting a

lot more casual now.

Colbert nodded. "It's technically a united kingdom, but yes, we've

become a single country."

"So that's why you're serving King Souma, huh? What about Sir

Julius?"

"A lot happened, but he's in the north now, and doing quite well. He

married the princess of a kingdom he was staying with, and is working hard

on behalf of his family."

"Sir Julius is? The guy that had such cold eyes? I can't even imagine."

The conversation popped like they were a couple of old friends. Colbert

knew that even if he tried to dig into matters, Mio wouldn't tell him her

intentions, so he worked to understand what she was like while making idle

banter.

When he spoke to her like this, he could only see her as a normal girl.

Her expression changed at the smallest of things, and she would chuckle

when he told a funny story. He felt no hostility, no wariness, and she didn't

seem worried about anything.

In fact, she was so natural, she didn't seem bothered by how provocative

the outfit she was wearing right now was, and her chest swayed every time

she reacted to something. There were many times Colbert looked away in

embarrassment.

"You keep looking away? Why is that?"

After a while of prodding, she got suspicious, so Colbert gave up and

told her, "Could you, um... put something over yourself?"

"Hm? I don't need to. It's not like I'm naked." Mio gave him a blank

look. Because she had spent so much time in the Army training with burly

men, she didn't have much in the way of feminine shyness, apparently. "I'm

proud that I don't have a lot of excess meat on me, too."

"Well, yes... You don't, but..."

"This is the body my Mother and Father gave me. What do I have to be

ashamed of?"

Mio was so bold, Colbert started to feel effeminate for having let it

bother him. He did his best to carry on without staring at her chest.

"Speaking of your father, you don't look much like him, huh? Duke

Carmine was terrifying to stand in front of, but you're... um... beautiful."

"Ahaha, thanks. They always tell me I get my looks from Mother. With

the complaint, 'If you would have taken after her internally too, you'd have

grown to be a proper lady.'"

"That's not true..."

"I can recognize it myself. I got my stubbornness from my father." Mio

let out a self-effacing laugh. "But even though you said he was terrifying,

you didn't hesitate to tell my father your opinion, did you? I was

impressed."

"Well... Duke Carmine didn't kick people for voicing their opinion."

"Huh? Did someone kick you?"

"Well, yes. Lord Gaius, and quite frequently..."

When he was working in the Principality of Amidonia, any time he tried

to admonish Gaius VIII, the man had gotten angry and kicked him. If he'd

been able to write him off as someone who didn't listen, like Roroa had, he

would have been fine. But, because he was unfortunate to have a serious

personality, he clashed with all of the military officers but Julius.

"The militarists hated me because I spoke too much for such a

weakling."

"Hee hee, look's like you've got a difficult personality, too." Mio gave a

small smile, but eventually put on a serious expression. "Hey, Sir Colbert."

"Yes?"

"Do you know anything about the series of events that led my father to

raise a rebellion?"

"I—" Colbert couldn't come up with an immediate answer when faced

with that serious look of hers. He wasn't sure how to respond, but her

sincerity made him think he needed to give her a response nonetheless. "...I

only started serving the Kingdom after they annexed Amidonia, so I haven't

been told anything about Duke Carmine's rebellion, since it happened

before then."

The fact was, Colbert didn't have any information on the rebellion that

wasn't public knowledge. The people who did know the situation were

tight-lipped. It was likely only Souma and his wives, and a very small

number of their closest retainers who knew.

"...Oh, yeah?" Mio's shoulder slumped in disappointment, having sensed

no lie in his words.

As he looked at her, Colbert spoke up, "Madam Mio, you..."

"Please, don't ask, Sir Colbert." But Mio gently rebuffed him. "I'm sure

nobody wants what I'm wishing for. Deep down, Mother probably wanted

to stop me, and Father... if he were here, he'd get angry, and tell me to mind

my own business."

Mio looked at the longswords leaning against the wall.

"But this is still the only path I can take."

"Madam Mio..."

Sensing her determination, Colbert could say no more.