WIEDERGEBURT Act II: Chapter 44

 Feinrea felt distinctly uncomfortable as she wandered through the streets of Nevaria alongside her younger brother. It wasn’t the stares. Plenty of the alchemists she trained would stare at her chest, so she was used to that even if it annoyed her. If she had to say what it was that bothered her, she believed that she had just spent so much time cooped up in her office that she could no longer deal with crowds. The Spiritualist Grand Tournament had been the last time she’d gone out in months, but while that had certainly been a large event, it had felt much more organized and less chaotic than this one.

Right now she felt very claustrophobic.

The streets were lined with people and decorations. When she looked up, Feinrea spotted the numerous banners hanging across the street, from roof to roof and balcony to balcony, along with streamers, balloons, and other party decorations. Down below, thousands or maybe even tens of thousands of people were lining the sidewalk for kilometers. The noise from their chatter was giving Feinrea a headache.

“If you hate going out of your office so much, why did you even come here, Sis?” asked Castallian. Her younger brother was dressed in a pair of fine robes made from the silk of a Giant Silkworm, much like her own. However, while hers was purple and white, his was a dark purple that bordered on black. His was also tied much more tightly than her loosely flowing robes, which she kept that way because they made her chest feel tight otherwise.

“Because today is an important day,” Feinrea answered in a mild voice, even as she skirted the edge of the crowd. There was so much jostling going on that she didn’t want to get too close. She was liable to get crushed! “It is Kari Astralia’s seventeenth birthday, a momentous occasion for anyone, nevermind the princess of Nevaria. What’s more, Eryk Veiger is romantically involved with Princess Kari. As he is our greatest benefactor and the reason we are doing so well, I believe it is my duty as the Head of the Alchemist Association to join in celebrating the coming of adulthood to his betrothed.”

Castallian grunted as several people shoved into his shoulders. No one stopped to apologize, however, and even if they were willing to, the chances of them knowing who they bumped into was very slim.

“But… they aren’t engaged.”

“Not yet, you mean.” Feinrea gave her brother a mysterious smile.

Despite looking for a good place to station herself so she could watch the parade, Feinrea soon realized there were no places she could move to. The throng of humanity was packed into these streets like chickens in a coop. Numerous scents and sounds invaded her nose. Quite a few unwashed bodies were mixed into the crowd, causing her nose to curl.

I wonder where Stelys is…

One of the things she’d been hoping to do was find Stelys Valstine, her partner in trade and someone she actually rather appreciated because of his understanding nature. She had hoped to watch the parade with him. However, there was absolutely no way she’d be able to find him in this crowd. On that note, would a noble family even be located within the crowd like this? She was sure the nobles would have their own place to watch the parade from.

“I should have conferred with him,” Feinrea said with a sigh.

“What was that, Sis?”

“Nothing.”

A commotion soon went up several kilometers away, and Feinrea turned her head to try and see what everyone was cheering about, but the distance was too far. Also, because she was only of average height, she couldn’t see past several the heads and shoulders of several people taller than her.

“I wonder what’s going on,” she muttered. “Is the parade starting?”

“Who knows?” Castallian said with a shrug.

Feinrea sighed again.

She should have definitely stayed at the Alchemy Association today.

***

Stelys Valstine sat on a balcony located on Main North, the road in which the parade would be traveling down. With him were the elders of his house. Garth and Hagen sat on his left and right respectively. The others, Sindri, Om, Dag, and Igmar, were arranged in seats Garth’s and Hagen’s other sides.

This balcony was large, so his elders weren’t the only people present. While the Valstine Family consisted of around 56 members, including branch families and vassals, and was therefore too large to fit on this one balcony, some of the more renowned individuals of his family were present. The young but capable Sigile stood off to the side, one hand on the balustrade and the other on his hips as he looked down at the crowd. Dahlia, the granddaughter of Dag and an upcoming Spiritualist, was speaking with the fraternal twins, Valencia and Gala, who were both well-known Spiritualists that traveled into the Demon Beast Mountain Range on several expeditions.

“What an auspicious day this is,” Hagen said as he sipped on a glass of red wine. “To think there would come a time when we could purchase our own balcony and watch a moment such as this. Had it been even as far back as last year, our family would not be able to afford such a thing.”

“That is true.” Stelys agreed. Unlike Hagen, he was drinking a mug of ale. The frothy beverage sloshed inside of his wooden mug as he took a swig before continuing to speak. “Thanks to our partnership with the Alchemist Association, our family has become extremely prosperous. Many other noble families have begun coming to us with offers of an alliance and even marriage proposals.”

Garth nodded. “I have recently received several marriage proposals for my son from minor noble families and even a branch of the Kriger Family. I haven’t decided what to do yet, and in either event, my son is a bit too young to be thinking of marriage. I’d like to at least wait until he’s sixteen.”

“A good idea.” Stelys nodded several times.

“At least you only have your son to worry about,” Dag suddenly spoke up with an irritated grimace. “The number of marriage proposals I have received for my two granddaughters have become too many to count. It’s gotten to the point where I just burn any letter that even has the word ‘marriage’ in it.”

“I think all of you are lucky,” Sindri suddenly said. The look on her wizened face was annoyed as she took a long swig of ale from her mug. “I’m already in my sixties, and yet I’ve received no less than 70 marriage proposals in the last month. Do these people think an old crone like me is interested in getting hitched at this age?!”

Her words caused everyone present to laugh—everyone except Om, that is. The oldest among the elders sat in his chair, stone-faced as he gazed at the streets below.

“Is something wrong, Om?” asked Stelys.

“… No.” Om shook his head after a while. “Nothing is wrong. I am just thinking.”

“Oh?”

Stelys was about to ask what the man was thinking about, but in that moment, a loud commotion went up, causing everyone on the balcony to turn their heads. From their vantage point, it was easy to catch sight of what had caused the commotion. Traveling down the street were several dozen members of the Imperial Royal Guard.

The parade had started.

***

I had never been in a parade before. I mean, I’d seen them. Kari and I had taken Kayli to several parades in my previous life, but I had always been part of the crowd, not one of the people taking part in the parade itself. Now here I was, standing on a float that was moving through the streets, and waving at crowds of screaming people.

“I feel so awkward…”

The float that I was standing on was one of three, and it was also the one in front. It was shaped to look like a castle with four towers at the four points. The center where I stood with Kari looked like a balcony. Meanwhile, down below on the “ground” level was Fay and Lin. All four of us were waving at the crowd, and I’m pretty sure all of our smiles were fixed.

“It is a bit disconcerting to be stared at like this,” Kari admitted, speaking from the side of her mouth, even as she continued to wave. “I am used to having people stare at me when we walk through Nevaria, but even so, I cannot say I am enamored with the idea of being purposefully put on display.”

“Being a publicly recognized political figure is a truly horrendous thing,” I said with a nod. Despite my complaints, I still followed Kari’s example.

The parade consisted of only three floats. There was the castle one that Kari, Fay, Lin, and I were located on, followed by the second float, which had Earland, Geirolf, and Mikkel. That one was shaped like a Demon Beast. I recognized the large and scaley creature on four legs as an Uniguana, a type of reptile Demon Beast with a single, massive horn protruding from its head. It was a B-rank. Apparently, that was the first B-brank Demon Beast that those three had killed.

The last float was the one with Empress Hilda and her three husbands. It was not anything particularly special, that last float. Shaped like a circle, it consisted of an elevated platform with several steps, leading to a throne upon which the empress sat. Then again, with an imposing and charismatic figure like Empress Hilda, the float didn’t need much. Standing behind her was the ever silent Valence. Meanwhile, Dante was waving both hands at the crowd, while Rainer merely smiled and waved one hand in a refined manner.

All of the floats were being pulled by Mastodons, the gentle E-rank Demon Beasts that Nevaria had tamed alongside the Mares. Of course, the reason they weren’t being pulled by Mares was because of the size of these floats. They were simply too big and too heavy. It would take multiple Mares, around four or five, while it only took two Mastodons.

“How far is this parade going?” I asked suddenly. “I mean, where does it end?”

Kari’s neck twitched as though resisting the impulse to tilt her head. Her polite smile remained fixed on the crowd as she kept her hand raised and waved. She didn’t speak up at first, which gave me the chance to look down at Fay and Lin. The two seemed at complete odds with each other, with Fay appearing embarrassed as she waved at the crowd as though she was afraid of them, while Lin was basically copying Kari. I actually saw the Lamia girl looking up to see what her “Big Sister” was doing and then mimicking her.

It was actually pretty cute.

“The parade is set to travel down North Main, and then it will curve around a city block and head south. I believe the final destination is the Amphitheater on Artisan Street.”

“Isn’t that where we watched that play?” I asked.

“It is.” Kari nodded.

“So we’ll be standing here for awhile, then.”

“Yes.”

“Damn.”

I knew griping and complaining wouldn’t do me any good, but I really wasn’t sure I liked being a part of this. Granted, I understood it was because I simply wasn’t used to it. Even when I was the leader of a sect, I had never taken part in parades or festivities as anything other than an observer, a member of the crowd. I wasn’t like Erica or Tungsten, who both controlled two large sects and were considered public figures.

Still, I did my best to put up with it. I put on a smile and waved at the people below us. The screams of the crowd were so loud that my ears were ringing, but I tried to ignore that and instead occupied my mind by searching for people I recognized… though there were so many people in this sea of faces I didn’t think I’d find anyone.

“Look! Fay! Look! It’s your father!” Lin suddenly shouted.

I gazed down at the two girls below and saw that Lin was pointing out something closer to our level. I looked over and saw that, indeed, Stelys Valstine was sitting on a balcony alongside several members of his family, the elders and a few more prominent figures whom I didn’t recognize.

“Come on, Fay! Wave! Wave!” Lin said excitedly.

“I-I can’t believe Father is watching this! I’m so embarrassed!” Fay looked like she wanted to bury her face in her hands. I couldn’t see her face from where I stood, but her ears had turned a bright red and I thought I saw steam wafting off her hair, though that was probably my imagination. Maybe. I  hoped.

Kari giggled as Lin tried to cajole Fay into waving at her dad, who looked like he was smiling, though it was hard to tell because his beard was so thick. I imagine he was quite proud of his daughter.

“Poor Fay. For all the bravado she displays, she’s just too shy to deal with matters such as this,” Kari said as her lips twitched, shifting from a polite smile into an amused grin.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “It is rather cute, though. I like that side of her. She puts up such a confident front but gets embarrassed at even little things like hugs and kisses.”

“Should I act like that?” asked Kari. “Would you prefer it if I acted shy and embarrassed whenever you give me affection. I can, you know. I’m an awfully good actor.”

I shook my head and reached out to grab Kari’s free hand. Lacing our fingers together, I gazed into her sky blue eyes, which seemed so innocent and pure. I felt like I could get lost in those eyes. No, I was probably already lost.

“You are perfect just the way you are,” I said. “Please don’t ever change.”

Kari opened her mouth at my words, eyes widening in surprise, and then, as if she’d gone back to those days when she and I quietly talked in the library, her cheeks lit up in a blush and she looked down.

I hadn’t seen her act like this in a long time. Back when Kari and I first began speaking, she would blush like that, but it eventually stopped as she became more used to me. Once she completely stepped out of her comfort zone, the shy and easily embarrassed Kari transformed into a blossoming young woman who spoke her mind, did what she wanted, and gave me affection without reserve. Seeing this side of her again was refreshing.

“That… wasn’t fair,” she mumbled. Her hair shifted to the front, casting shadows that hid her face from view, but I could still see how red her cheeks were. “You’re not being fair. How am I supposed to respond to something like that? What am I supposed to say when you tell me something so sweet?”

“Who says you have to say anything?” I leaned over. “A kiss would do just fine.”

Kari looked back up, her eyes still wide, but then, like a flower blossoming at the first rays of the sun, she smiled at me. Leaning over, she closed her eyes and pressed her lips to mine.

The crowd went wild.

***

I really had no way of knowing how long the parade lasted, but it eventually stopped after we reached the amphitheater.

The amphitheater was a half-oval-shaped building with no roof. It contained a sloped, semicircular seating gallery. Down below, at the very bottom, was a stage where entertainers performed plays, played music, and held a variety of events. Empress Hilda also occasionally used it to make announcement.

Such was the case today.

Set up in advanced, the stage had several throne-like chairs placed upon it. The one in the center, the largest and most prominent of these thrones, contained Empress Hilda. Standing on either side of her were her three husbands. Seated beside her on the left was, in order, Kari, myself, Fay, and Lin. Our chairs were not as ostentatious as hers, but I thought this was a good thing. I would have been uncomfortable if I was sitting on something so gaudy. On the empress’ other side were her three sons.

Once the parade had ended, all of the people who’d come to watch it had moved to the amphitheater. I didn’t know how large this theater was. It wasn’t as big as the Colosseum, which was easily the most massive building in all of Nevaria, but it looked like the tiers of seats could easily fit 50,000 or more. Already those seats were being completely filled up. It had become so crowded that people were beginning to find places to stand on the staircase, and there were even some sitting on the grassy field located at the top of the theater.

As always, the noble families seemed to have their own space. I spotted the Valstine Family easily enough, and it looked like they were sitting close to the Kriger Family. I couldn’t recognize individual faces from here, but I thought I saw Catalyna and Marko Kriger among the group. If they were there, then I assumed that the Eieran Family, who made up one of the Three Heavenly Families—consequently, I believed should now be called the Two Heavenly Families—was the large group next to them.

Once it looked like most of the people were seated, Empress Hilda stood up, bringing about a profound silence that I couldn’t help but feel impressed by. She had silenced a crowd with just that single motion. I knew of no one else who could do that.

“I would like to thank everyone for gathering here today in honor of celebrating my daughter’s seventeenth birthday.” Empress Hilda didn’t waste any time in getting to the heart of this celebration. “Seventeen is the year when children officially become adults, when young men and women learn of the responsibilities of adulthood. It is an important year for anyone.”

As Empress Hilda spoke, I thought about my own circumstances. I had never celebrated any of my birthdays. To be honest, I didn’t even know when my birthday was. I told myself I was 17 years-old, but that was only because I had lived through 17 years. For all I knew, I could have been a little older… like, if I had been born at the beginning of the year, then wouldn’t that make me 18?

Empress Hilda continued speaking as these inane thoughts raced through my mind. “As of now, Kari Astralia is seventeen years of age, which means she will begin taking on the responsibilities of an adult. I hope that I can count on all of you to support her as she strives to do her best for you and all of Nevaria.”

Her words earned many cries of approval from the crowd. People clapped and cheered and screamed, and I could have sworn I heard people shouting things like, “We love you, Empress Hilda!”, “Of course we’ll support our princess!”, and even “Please let me marry your daughter!”, which I found wholly inappropriate. Did these people not understand what I was doing sitting beside Kari? If I discovered who was saying those things, I’d wallop them good!

Raising her hands, Empress Hilda gestured for silence, and silence she got. The crowd settled down almost immediately. She smiled.

“Seventeen is not just the year in which children become adults. It is also the year in which young men and women reach marriageable age.” A sense of tension hung in the air with her words. “My daughter is still attending the Spiritualist Academy, so I do not believe marriage right now is appropriate. However, I would like to announce the betrothal of my daughter, Kari Astralia, to Eryk Veiger, the winner of this year’s Spiritualist Grand Tournament. We have not yet chosen a date for the ceremony, but we do hope that all of you will attend once a date has been selected.”

Another rumble ran through the crowd as people turned to their neighbors and began whispering. My betrothal to Kari shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. She and I were seen together more often than not. In fact, we had become a common sight in Nevaria. By this point, I was pretty sure the fact that I was courting Kari had become widespread public knowledge. Still, knowing that I was courting Kari and having Empress Hilda announce our engagement were two different things.

I glanced at Kari out of the corner of my eye, which she must have sensed because she turned her head just slightly to look in my direction. A smile lit up her face when she saw me. I smiled back and returned to looking at the crowd.

“On top of marrying my daughter,” Empress Hilda continued with a slight smile. “Eryk Veiger is also marrying two other talented young women. Fay Valstine of the Valstine Family, who is my daughter’s best friend from childhood and a skilled Spiritualist who took part in the Spiritualist Grand Tournament, and Lin, a member of the Lamia Tribe who hails from the Endless Desert and the adopted sibling of my daughter. Both of them have fallen irrevocably in love with Eryk and become important members of my family, and so I am happy to announce their betrothal to Eryk Veiger as his second and third wives.”

Her words caused an even louder reaction than before. The amount of people who began speaking increased, to the point where the amphitheater was filled with voices all trying to talk over each other.

Polygamy was a widely accepted practice, which stemmed from what many considered the Dark Ages. Numerous families and entire civilizations had been wiped out during the Catastrophe. So many talented men and women had lost their lives, and to combat the lack of Spiritualists, selective polygamy became a large-scale practice.

It was a well-documented fact that two strong Spiritualists would produce an even stronger child. When a strong Spiritualist, be they man or woman, came about, it would not be unusual for that person to have as many as two, three, or even six spouses.

Empress Hilda Astralia was one such example. She was a powerful Spiritualist capable of defeating B-rank Demon Beasts by herself, a feat that was nearly unheard of in this day and age. Her three husbands, while not as strong as her, were all powerful in their own right, and they had produced four strong children who had the potential to surpass Empress Hilda.

While polygamy was accepted, I think people were surprised that Empress Hilda was announcing my marriage to all three women at the same time. It was probably considered unorthodox… I think. Having never actually married in my past life, I couldn’t say for sure.

Lin looked incredibly happy about the announcement. I glanced at her and Fay to find her tail thumping against the ground with excitement, while her golden eyes were sparkling and a wide smile spread across her face. Fay was also smiling. However, just as I had expected, it looked like someone had struck her in the face with a Spiritual Fire Technique.

As we waited for the crowd to settle down so Empress Hilda could continue speaking, a strange feeling washed over me, making the hairs on my arm prickle. I tried to ignore the feeling, but it continued to persist. Maybe my nerves were getting the better of me?

***

“This sucks. I wanted to see the parade too.”

Arnísl could do little more than groan and complain as he and his partner stood before the wide gate leading into the Demon Beast Mountain Range. His partner, a slightly older woman who wore the same leather armor as him but carried a spear instead of a sword, gave him an irritated glare.

“Would you stop complaining?” she asked. “It’s not like nobody here doesn’t understand how you feel, but protecting this gate is an important duty that must be done. Yes, it’s sad that you and I missed the opportunity to see Princess Kari’s parade, but it isn’t the end of the world.”

“You say that, but weren’t you able to attend the parade of Empress Hilda’s coronation?” asked Arnísl, crossing his arms. “I was too young to remember anything about it. This was my chance to see something amazing that I will probably never get to see again.”

“Just how old do you think I am?!” shouted his partner.

Arnísl had been partners with Mist for about one year now. Of course, by “partner” he meant that he and Mist guarded this gate during their shift. The two of them had grown comfortable enough with each other that he had no trouble griping in front of this woman, who was about two or three years his senior.

“You know what I’m really jealous of though?” Arnísl asked.

Mist sighed. “What?”

“Eryk Veiger.” The answer caused his partner to perk up. “I’ve never heard of him before, but then he bursts onto the scene at the Spiritualist Grand Tournament, creates a huge upset by winning the whole thing, and now he’s courting three gorgeous women. If anything is unfair, it’s definitely how that kid seems to have had life handed to him on a silver platter.”

“Well… I certainly cannot deny that Eryk Veiger is one lucky sonofabitch,” Mist admitted with a shrug. “However, men like that don’t just fall from trees. He might not have been well-known until the Spiritualist Grand Tournament, but I’m sure that’s because he’s one of those few peasants who had enoughs gumption to train hard and make something of himself. Actually, he reminds me a lot of Empress Hilda in that regard.”

Everyone knew the story of Empress Hilda, a young woman born from a peasant family who became a powerful Spiritualist. At 14 she had joined the Imperial Royal Guard. At 15 she had won the Spiritualist Grand Tournament. At 16 she had defeated a B-rank Demon Beast by herself. Then at 17 she had defeated the former emperor in single combat and became the empress. She was basically a living legend.

“You think he’ll become emperor?” asked Arnísl.

“I think the possibility is very likely,” Mist said.

Before Arnísl could respond to his partner’s words, the ground rumbled and shook, nearly throwing him off his feet. He bent his knees and looked around frantically. As he and his partner were wondering what had caused this intense shaking, the guards up in the two watchtowers on either side of the gate rang the alarm.

“This is… a Demon Beast attack?!” Arnísl squawked in surprise.

“Let’s find out!” Mist shouted as she raced toward the nearest staircase.

The wall that defended Nevaria from potential threat of Demon Beasts was about 40 meters across and 20 tall. It was a defensive rampart with enough space at the top to create a large walkway that people could move around in. It was made from large stones and heavily fortified to withstand Demon Beasts trying to break it down. Even if a horde of D and C-rank Demon Beasts came to attack, it should have been able to withstand such a fierce assault.

However, when Arnísl and Mist arrived at the top of the fortification and saw what looked like a massive sea of Demon Beasts charging through the mountain pass, they realized that no amount of fortifying would be able to halt this invasion.

“Holy… shit…” was all Arnísl could say.

Mist was only a little better. “We need someone to inform Empress Hilda of what’s happening. The alarm has already been sounded, but Arnísl, I want you to hurry up and go to Empress Hilda. Let her know that a massive horde of Demon Beasts numbering in the tens of thousands is attacking the mountain pass. Hurry!”

Arnísl didn’t argue as he raced down the stairs and began running through toward the gates of Nevaria. He ran as fast and hard as his legs could carry him. However, just as he was about halfway toward the north gate, several shadows passed by overhead. He looked up and felt his blood run cold as several Pteranodons flew past him and made for the city.

As the massive monsters with their gigantic wingspans flew over him, one of them spotted him and shrieked before it swooped down to attack. Arnísl managed to unsheathe his sword and jump back as the Demon Beast slammed into the ground in front of him. The creature, which was about two heads taller than him, unfurled its wings and unleashed a loud roar.

“D-damn it…” Arnísl’s legs were shaking as he was confronted by this C-rank Demon Beast. It wasn’t very powerful, but he’d never fought one before, and so his legs and arms shook as the beast stared him down with yellow reptilian eyes. “Damn it!”

Mustering his courage, Arnísl released a loud battlecry as he charged toward the Pteranodon. Unfortunately, he didn’t spot the shadow swooping down from behind him. His screams of anguish as a pair of powerful claws tore into his armor was drowned out by the triumphant cries of a Demon Beast catching its prey.