In the chilly spring evening at the entrance to a small forest in the central nation, newly sprouted buds and blooming flowers were bathed in sunset light, turning them crimson. Looking up at the sky, the western horizon was red with thin clouds drifting across.
The entrance to this forest, where monsters rarely appeared, should have continued marking peaceful time quietly.
But that peace, which should have lasted forever, crumbled away in an instant, shattered by something black and humanoid.
"No! Give it back!"
The girl screamed through her tears. Her hands and feet were shaking with fear, but she couldn't help crying out.
The simple pale yellow dress she wore, one her mother had carefully maintained, was already covered in mud. Her hair, tied in two braids, was a mess with leaves tangled in it. Her scraped knees from falling hurt like hell.
"Hey kido, you've got some nerve standing up to us like that."
"Are you stupid? You're a hundred years too early to defy demons!"
Several humanoid figures sneered at her. Their black skin was completely different from humans, definitely not dark-skinned people. It was rough like shark skin, and their mad crimson eyes looked like blood. These were the traits of demons, a tribe of monsters.
The girl was surrounded by demons, and their leader held a lily as white as snow.
"Give me back the Angel Lily! My brother will die without it!"
They'd stolen her lily.
The lily the demon held was called an Angel Lily, well-known as an ingredient for various magical potions.
The girl had planned to use it to make a potion too. For her brother, who was sick and suffering every day, she'd asked merchants and traveling adventurers until she finally learned about the lily's existence.
It was too expensive to buy, but she could pick one growing wild. Lucky for her, she'd learned they grew in the forest near her village. But on her way home after entering the forest, she'd run into demons.
"You think there's some idiot who'd give it back just because you asked?"
The demon grinned, looking down at her. Getting bored of teasing her, the demons started casting spells at the girl, hurting her for fun.
"Kyaahh--- !"
Sharp pain shot through her body. Red liquid flowing from her body stained the fresh green grass black, and the metallic smell filled the air.
The girl let out a voiceless scream and desperately held it back.
Unable to use magic or even wield a dagger, the girl had no way to fight the demons. With little physical strength, it was obvious she couldn't hurt them even if she punched them. Whether from too much blood loss or because magic had hit her head, the girl's consciousness became hazy, making even that impossible.
"This is the end. Hell's Flames."
A mid-level fire attribute spell cast without chanting headed toward the girl. The demon's laughter echoed, certain it would hit.
Fire magic was one of the seven normal attributes, fire, water, lightning, earth, wind, light, and dark, general magical attributes. From what the girl remembered, it specialized in attacks.
A mid-level spell, ranked second out of five levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced, supreme, and divine, would definitely mean death if it hit.
She couldn't dodge it. No way to protect herself.
Fear took over the girl's heart.
She was going to die soon, with no way to fight back.
She still wanted to live. She didn't want to die here.
Strong emotions swirled in her heart.
But the girl had no strength left to avoid it or even scream. Unable to resist in any way, she resigned herself to ending her short life and quietly closed her eyes.
She thought she caught a whiff of something herbal along with the bloody smell.
The impact that should have come never arrived. Wondering if her sense of pain had gone completely numb, the girl heard a voice that was clearly different from the demons.
"You bastard!"
What happened? When she opened her heavy eyelids, something silver came into her blurry vision.
She could see the enraged demon trying to cast magic, and she thought she'd die without understanding anything. But then,
The demon's body that she could barely see through the haze seemed to fall apart. She thought she was finally seeing hallucinations, but apparently not.
The silver something was suddenly right in front of her. The smell of blood got stronger. All the demons in her peripheral vision collapsed.
"Divine Mercy."
The moment the silver figure spoke those words, the girl was wrapped in gentle, warm light.
The pain throughout her body vanished. Rapidly, too. Maybe an angel had come for my help? The girl thought she was about to die, no, maybe she was already dead.
But her vision gradually cleared, and what came into view was a person wearing a silver cloak. He\she was kneeling beside her, looking at her... probably.
She couldn't see his or her face because of the deep hood, so she could only say "probably." But despite this suspicious appearance, the girl realized who this person was.
The demons that should have been there had completely vanished, and her arm that should have been burned by demon magic was back to normal. In her hazy consciousness, she'd heard this person's voice, they hadn't been chanting. This person had healed those wounds using chantless casting, which was more difficult and consumed more mana than regular chanting.
Magic that could heal such severe burns without a trace had to be supreme-level magic. They say fewer than two hundred people in the country can use supreme-level magic, and that's just those who can use it. Those who can actually control it properly and activate its true effects? That's a fraction of that fraction.
Her dress was torn, but the dirt had completely disappeared. There was only one person she knew who could do all this in an instant while wearing a silver cloak. No doubt about it.
"Here, this is yours, right?"
When the Angel Lily, apparently retrieved at some point, was offered to her, the girl instinctively shrank back. She knew who this was. But the face hidden by the hood scared her somehow.
"...Sorry."
Without warning, the person pulled back his hood. The girl gasped at the stunning face that emerged.
Silver hair cascaded down their neck like silk. His eyes were gentle and almond-shaped, the color of a clear blue lake. His nose was perfectly proportioned—not too high, not too low—and his lips were just right, neither too full nor too thin. Every beautiful feature was placed exactly where it should be.
His face was so androgynous and beautiful that the girl couldn't tell if he was male or female. his low, sweet voice could easily belong to a woman.
But there was something youthful about his features. The contrast with his mature aura made him seem even more otherworldly and captivating.
"...Is it okay for you to take off your hood? You're the Grand Emperor, right...?"
The Grand Emperor. The person said to be the strongest in history. Known as the Silver Blade Wielder, he led the elite Zero Squad of the world's largest guild, Moonlight.
When the girl asked, he lowered corners of his eyebrows.
"I show my face to scared kids sometimes. ...Of course, I make sure they keep it quiet."
The famous and popular Grand Emperor. The village chief had told her he was never showed his face.
If people saw the Grand Emperor's face, they'd never be able to walk down the street again. It would definitely cause chaos—the whole town would go crazy.
"I-I'm fine. I won't tell anyone."
She had no intention of causing trouble for the Grand Emperor who'd saved her life.
"Thank you."
The Grand Emperor smiled softly. That incredibly beautiful smile made her face heat up.
But now that she wasn't distracted by his stunning looks, she realized the Grand Emperor looked way too young.
The Grand Emperor had first appeared in the war that happened a few years after she was born—almost ten years ago. How old had he been back then?
Had he joined the war when he was still just a kid? What kind of burden was he carrying on his shoulder?
Those blue eyes seemed filled with sadness.
"...Here."
She was handed the Angel Lily and quickly forced a smile. A young girl like her couldn't possibly understand what the Grand Emperor had been through.
The Grand Emperor smiled gently again and pulled his hood back up. She didn't find that hooded figure scary anymore.
"I'll walk you home. ...Where are you from?"
"Oh, thank you so much. A place called Abin Village."
He was offering to escort a girl he'd never met all the way home. The Grand Emperor turned out to be incredibly kind. She'd assumed from the village chief's words that he'd be intimidating—basically someone who'd scare her.
"Abin Village..."
The Grand Emperor let the words slip out, then cut himself off.
"...Teleport."
"Huh? Whoa!!!!"
A strange sensation ran through her feet, making her stumble. The Grand Emperor caught her before she could fall.
Suddenly, she was standing in familiar scenery. Right in front of her was the village she'd rushed out of that morning.
Teleportation was a magic most people would never experience unless they lived in a big city.
The spell that could instantly transport you anywhere was incredibly difficult—one of the hardest advanced spells with almost no one able to use it. She'd heard that big cities usually had teleportation circles set up for getting around town.
So this was teleportation magic. As she looked around, a voice called down from above her head.
"Sorry, I should have warned you I was going to teleport."
"N-no, it's fine."
She knew he'd helped her avoid falling, but being held this close while hearing that pleasant voice right in her ear was making her nervous.
"Good... I'm glad."
The Grand Emperor let go with what seemed like relief and started walking toward the village, gesturing for her to follow.
In the twilight, she breathed a sigh of relief at finally making it home and followed behind the Grand Emperor.
But then—
A villager who'd been outside glared hard at the Grand Emperor. When other villagers saw this, they glared too.
Looks like they were staring at an enemy.
"Where's your house?"
But the Grand Emperor didn't seem bothered by the stares. There was no way he hadn't noticed.
This could be treason. The Grand Emperor's rank was higher than even the king's. Seeing his face under the hood had made her less tense, though she still recognized he was someone important.
"...This way."
When she pointed toward her house, the Grand Emperor who seemed intent on walking her home started heading that direction slowly.
Right then—
"Get out, outsider! Get lost!"
One villager blocked their path. Other villagers quickly gathered around.
"Wait! this person—"
Were they trying to drive away the person who'd saved her? They probably didn't even realize this was the Grand Emperor.
One man roughly grabbed the Grand Emperor's shoulder, trying to drag him away. Another man grabbed his arm and started pulling. The women watching from a distance began throwing stones at the Grand Emperor.
The Grand Emperor said nothing. He didn't even resist. Just stood there like he'd given up.
"Seina!"
She heard a familiar voice and turned to see her mother running over. Her mother hugged her tightly, then glared hard at the Grand Emperor.
"You seduced my daughter! Don't tell me you did something awful to this child—"
"No! Nothing like that happened! That person—"
Nothing like that had happened. The Grand Emperor had just saved me. But when her mother looked at her, tears started flowing.
"Poor thing... He made you say that, didn't they? It's okay now."
That was impossible.
As the girl shook her head hard, trying to argue back, a quiet voice reached her ears. Even with all the villagers shouting, she could hear it clearly.
"...Don't worry about it. I know what happened in this village."
The Grand Emperor's words made her gasp.
Two years ago, bandits had attacked this village. By the time people realized the true nature of these criminals who'd disguised themselves as guild members, it was too late. The village was ransacked, several villagers were killed, several women were raped, and valuables were stolen. The Central Nation's army arrived and captured some of them, but only the ones who'd stayed in the village—most of the bandits had escaped.
Her father had been killed then, her mother had been badly injured and spent a month hovering between life and death, and she'd nearly been raped. That was probably why her mother was so on edge.
"I knew it! You're that bastard who ran away back then!!"
The man grabbed the Grand Emperor by the collar and raised his fist.
"Stop it! That man saved me—"
"It's okay now, sweetie. Let's go home with Mommy..."
No one bothered listening to the girl's words. The man's raised fist came swinging down with full force—
"Stop this!"
The village chief's furious shout brought everything to a halt. The Grand Emperor showed zero interest in the fist that had stopped just inches from his face. He simply bowed once and vanished.
He teleported. Without even chanting.
"What the..."
The man who'd been grabbing his collar stood there speechless. The other villagers' eyes went wide. This time, the girl really let them have it.
"That man is the Grand Emperor! He saved me from demons, and this is how you treat him!?"
"That's... that's impossible..."
The man who'd grabbed the Grand Emperor stammered in confusion.
"Of course it's a lie. Come on, let's get inside."
The girl shook off her mother's hand pushing at her back and glared at everyone.
"He wiped out six demons in an instant! He healed all my wounds in a second and cast teleportation magic without even chanting!?"
She understood her mother's worry, she really did. But why had they driven away the man who'd saved her life? She couldn't wrap her head around it.
"Anyone can do that if they have a magic circle—"
"Enough! Stop this nonsense!!"
The village chief cut off the man's protest with a booming voice.
"Seina, tell me everything that man did from the beginning."
The village chief walked slowly toward the girl, bent down, and met her eyes. He probably had his doubts about the Grand Emperor too. But at least he was willing to listen to her story.
"...He saved me when six demons had me surrounded. I was barely conscious at the time, so I couldn't really see what he did, but after he took out the demons in an instant, he healed my injuries."
"How badly were you hurt?"
"My arm was completely burned and charred. The pain was so bad I could barely think straight."
Someone's gulp echoed way too loud in the silence.
"And then the Grand Emperor went out of his way to bring me back to the village..."
After they'd treated him so horribly. How much had it hurt him under that hood?
"...If he'd assaulted Seina, he would've just left her there. Instead, he used teleportation magic to bring her all the way here. He wasn't approaching her to do any harm."
The man's face twisted. He couldn't argue with the village chief's logic.
"Then why'd he come into the village?"
Another villager asked the chief.
"Yeah, that's right! That guy was probably planning to wreck our village—"
"Will you cut it out! The reason he came into the village was because of the lily Seina's carrying..."
She looked down at the lily with a start. The pure white flower was stained red in the evening light.
"Angel Lily... Making that into a potion takes serious knowledge. Nobody in our village knows how to process it."
"That guy probably doesn't know how to process it either—"
"—Look over there. See that burlap sack?"
The girl's eyes went wide. There was a small burlap sack lying where the Grand Emperor had been standing. She broke free from her mother's grip and ran over to pick it up. When she opened the bag, inside was a small bottle filled with silver-white powder.
"This is..."
It had to be the magical potion the girl wanted for her little brother. She'd asked a traveling herbalist about it, so she knew exactly what it looked like.
"...That man really was the Grand Emperor."
The girl clutched the small bottle to her chest and started crying. Even after being treated like that, he'd left the magical potion for her.
"When did he... But how did he know about that illness..."
"The Grand Emperor would know about any epidemic spreading through this area. ...Look what you people did to the Grand Emperor."
The Grand Emperor who'd saved the girl and gotten back her lily. Even after the villagers treated him terribly, he'd left behind the magical potion she needed and disappeared.
" I'm…. sorry."
The girl's quiet whisper was swallowed up by the rustling sounds of twilight.