Looking down at the collapsed Puppchen, Hiro kicked him in the leg and rolled him over onto his back. He then pulled the sword from his waist and sat down on his back.
âLetâs get him to wake up, shall we?â
Hiro spun the hilt of his sword around, held it upside down, and swung it down with great force. The tip of the sword pierced the back of Puppchenâs hand and buried itself deep into the ground.
âAah? Wh-wha â Gyaahh!?â
Hiro grabbed Puppchen by the hair and slammed his face into the ground, causing his nose to bleed vigorously.
âTell me more about the sixth princess. If you lie or anything, it would hurt you more than now.â
âHyiuuu, hyiuu, stop it.â
âKeep it short; I donât have much time.â
âI-I did capture the sixth princess, but since sheâs the princess of the Grantz Empire, I had to take good care of her.â
âBut that doesnât make any sense. I heard that the Third Prince Blutar asked to see her to confirm her safety, but you refused.â
âT-thatâs because the conditions were bad! I was afraid that he would take her back. She was important for me to negotiate with.â
âSo, where is she now?â
âShe was taken by the Felzen remnants. Theyâre not human; theyâre demons. You never know what they will do to the sixth princess. Thatâs why I refused to hand her over to them, but I couldnât resist when they used their strange powers.â
ââŚ..Strange power?â
âThe woman uses a strange spear. She can freeze things around her and manipulate the weather to make it rain spears.â
âHeh, thatâs an unusual woman.â
What exactly is this woman, and how can she even control the weather� The only thing he remembers from his memory is a single spear.
(âŚAnd since she can freeze things, it must be the Ice Emperor.)
He thought it was the Five Demon Emperorâs Sword, the Blue Demon, but it was a double-edged sword, not a spear. If so, it must be one of the Five Emperors of the Spirit Sword, the Ice Emperor.
It is not surprising that the spirit sword would choose a person from another country since spirits are originally the protectors of humans, although he did not think that they would have left the Grantz Empire.
(The Grantz Empire is only favored by the Spirit King among the humans.)
âMoreover, the woman is a survivor of the Felzen royal family.â
âThatâs a troublesome owner indeed.â
In the past, the Ice Emperor has been a bit of an oddity, but it makes sense that he would go out of his way to favor a person from an enemy country⌠The Ice Emperor is the most eccentric of the Five Emperors of the Spirit Sword.
âThat woman hated the Grantz imperial family. If you think about the safety of the sixth princess, youâd better help her as soon as possible. Unlike me, she will not be kind.â
âHow was Liz when you handed her over to the Felzen remnants?â
âI tried to be as hospitable as possible, but it seems that the life of a prisoner of war was painful for the princess, who had lived a life of luxury. She demanded a lot of things and abused me.â
âI see⌠I understand.â
Hiro nodded and pulled the sword out of Puppchenâs right hand. Puppchen moaned as if in pain, but his expression was somewhat relieved. Hiro saw this with his icy eyes and stabbed the sword into his left hand with renewed vigor.
âAah â Hyiaaaaa!?â
âI can tell that youâre lying.â
âW-whereâs your proof? Iâm not lying!â
âLiz lives a life of luxury? You donât know what sheâs going through, so donât speak nonsense about her.â
Hiro released a chilling voice and twisted the handle to increase the pain.
âWhen she was chosen as the Flame Emperor, many people approached her to take advantage of her. But they soon abandoned her, and she was left with only two aides and a wolf.â
Being chosen as one of the wielders of the Five Emperors of the Spirit Sword has given her a checkered life. If the Flame Emperor had not chosen her, she would have lived a happy life as an imperial princess. She would have never had to train, go to war, or be taken prisoner.
âDo you think that those who work hard in secret do not get rewarded?â
She never ignored her own shortcomings, and even though she suffered many setbacks, she never ran away from her lonely suffering.
Liz was always looking forward. She never complained, never stopped smiling, and never stopped trying.
âDonât insult her like that.â
Hiro pulled the sword out of Puppchenâs hand again and pointed the tip of the sword at the back of his head.
âWhat have you done to Liz? If I find you lying, I will have your head smashed in immediately.â
âW-wa-wait!â
âHurry up. An army led by your brother is on its way here. We donât have enough strength left to deal with them. So, if you tell me the truth, I will not take your life. Iâll take you as a prisoner of war and hand you over after Iâve negotiated with Hunthaven-dono.â
âR-really?â
âOf course. Thatâs why I want you to answer honestly.â
In order to reassure him, Hiro smiled and gave Puppchen a gentle pat on the shoulder. Then Puppchen sighed deeply and started to talk about it.
âIn order to test the power of the Five Emperorsâ blessings, I had to try various things. I didnât know how far it would react, so I started by throwing small stones and then changing their size. Towards the end, as the power of the blessing weakened, her nailsââ.â
ââŚ..Enough.â
âBut I never laid a finger on her! Thatâs the truth! I swear it!â
âThatâs enough.â
âWaââ!?â
Hiro swung his sword down with powerful force. The tip of the sword stabbed into the ground, cutting Puppchenâs cheek slightly.
âHi-hi-hiyaaahâŚâ
âSince youâve been so honest with me, Iâll take you as my prisoner.â
Hiro stood up and backed away from Puppchenâs back.
âI-I appreciate it. Thank you so much!â
With tears and snot staining his face, Puppchen clung to Hiroâs legs.
âI donât need your flimsy thanks. Iâm going to have to restrain you for now.â
Okay? Puppchen nodded several times vigorously as he asked for consent. Then the soldiers, under Hiroâs orders, began to tie Puppchen up with rope.
Among them was Hugin. She was glaring at Puppchen without hiding her anger.
âItâs disgusting that someone like you is still alive.â
Hugin swore, and Puppchen lifted the edge of his mouth.
âCan you tie me up a little more gently? And treat me; Iâm festering.â
Hiro, who had been quietly watching the exchange between the two, told Munin, who was nearby, to get the swift dragon.
âOkay, Iâll go get it right away.â
As Munin disappeared into the crowd of soldiers, Ghada came to replace him.
âMost of the Dral army has fled. We donât need to pursue them, do we?â
âYes. Now that we know where Liz is, letâs head for Felzen.â
âAnd youâre going to let that man live?â
Ghada pointed to Puppchen, who was being treated for his wounds.
âI will. Iâm a man of my word.â
ââŚI see.â
Garda had been giving him an observant look, but finally, he looked convinced.
âSo weâll just stick to the plan then?â
âYes. I want all the wounded to go to General Bakish.â
âUnderstood. Iâll send instructions to the commanders.â
Ghada leaves.
After watching his back, Hiro approached Puppchen, who was bound by ropes.
âWe are going to the Felzen region. I would like you to follow me as my prisoner.â
âWhat? Then contact my brother at once. I will have him prepare a ransomââ.â
Before Puppchen could finish, Hiro motioned with his hand for him to shut up.
âWe canât afford to take too long. Itâs going to be a forced march.â
âHiro-sama, Iâve brought the swift dragon here.â
Munin returned to Hiroâs side.
As soon as the swift dragon next to him spotted Hiro, it rubbed its head against Hiroâs chest.
âAlso, Puppchen-dono, unfortunately, your horse is not ready.â
âT-then letâs negotiate furtherââ.â
After seeing the look on Hiroâs face as he stroked the dragonâs neck, Puppchen couldnât say another word.
âYes. After we returned from the Felzen region.â
Hiro smiled cheerfully and picked up a piece of rope that had fallen to the ground. The end of the rope connects to Puppchen. He tied the rope to the neck of the dragon.
âNow, run as fast as you can.â
âWa?â
He approached the stiffening Puppchen and lightly tapped him twice on the shoulder.
âIf youâre still alive, Iâll release you.â
Puppchenâs face turned blue with despair when he saw Hiro smiling cruelly at him.