Slayers:Special Book 1 Chapter 1

“Could you possibly be a sorceress?” the man asked in the tiny village.

This was after he had asked for another helping of the missus’s “Dinner Special” in this tiny hut with only one room.

I looked at the man and nodded slightly. While I realize that this “nodding silently” thing is usually something a cool person does to make a statement, I only did this because my mouth was full and I didn’t want to talk.

I was clothed in a black robe, a bandana, a necklace, and a jeweled amulet around the short sword at my belt. If I wasn’t a sorceress, dressed like that I’d have to be either an entertainer or a lunatic.

The man stared at me critically, he was dressed as a priest, though he still looked like a young man – and handsome, to boot. After many years, he would certainly age into a handsome older man.

“What a relief…I’ve been searching for you. After all, we are a very small village. None of us is really able to fight…”

(p1)

“Able to fight?” While swallowing the remaining food in my mouth, I repeat his words. Apparently, I’m not just being hit on.

“If you’re willing, there is a job we would like your assistance with…”

“Well, go ahead. I’ll listen to your story,” I say in an overly calm and deep voice. It is not the sort of voice one would expect from a female, but I have had many requests taken away from me on the spot if I don’t show enough perceivable strength. The world is all about putting on a show.

“Then, please, come with me to the back table…”

“Before that…” I stop the man’s raised arms with my words. “Hey, Missus, I’ll take the rest of my dinner at the back table, please!”

…Before I realize it, the man has been staring at me suspiciously. This isn’t good.

“Well then, let’s go,” I said calmly, though panicking a little inside. Naturally, the man was still staring in suspicion.

(p2)

There was a customer already seated at the table.

Bearded and stocky, he was a strong looking man with a bastard sword at his back. If he had been a few inches shorter, he could have been a dwarf, but the way he was, no one would be surprised if he was the henchman of someone up to no good.

I was nervous.

Even though I can use magic, I am still just a pretty girl (yes, I’m referring to myself. I’m serious.) How could I take on a henchman like this in a place like this…

“I have been searching for you,” The man who brought me to the table greeted the henchman with a little bow.

“Hurrumph,” the henchman nodded simply.

A lady was in his presence, yet there was not even the slightest effort to rise from his chair. He’s a bandit. This guy has got to be a bandit.

Ever since the day I first took a request from their sort, I could pick out the type from a mile away.

“Anyway…have a seat.”

(p3)

The man indicated that I sit down across from the bandit. Not saying anything, I sat down. Naturally, I lack a little valiance.

“First, before we talk, I would like to show you my mark of who I am,” The bandit said while glaring at me with unearthly eyes.

“Please, don’t bother showing me your “mark”…”

Suddenly, he thrust a dagger into my face. But not the blade side, the handle side instead. It was gaudy, but not evil-looking. Inside the mark on the handle, a very familiar symbol was etched…

“Oh? This symbol looks like…”

“You’re correct,” I don’t know what he meant by me being correct, but the man who led me to the table said this with great pride. “This honorable man is the first royal successor of Saillune. He is Prince Philionel El Di Saillune."

RIP, RIP, RIP…

While hearing the sounds of my cloak ripping as it was trapped between my bottom and my chair, I slowly fell to the floor in a kneel.

(p4)

[PICTURE]

(p5)

For an instant, my eyes really did black out!

If you prompted someone to imagine a “prince”, most people would imagine a handsome man on a white steed, while the rest would probably scramble in their imaginations for something else dignified under the moonlight. In either case, the word “prince” brings the words “graceful,” “manly”, and definitely “handsome.” And in all honesty, that was the sort of image I had had in my mind all these years as to what a prince might look like.

I had definitely heard rumors that Prince Philionel el di Saillune was on a journey alone in disguise around these parts. And honestly, I had been embracing a little fantasy that we would cross paths on the way and that he would be entranced by my beauty and not afraid of my magic… In other words, the handsome prince would fall head over heels for me and propose to me then and there, bringing me the wealth and happiness every girl dreams of.

But that fantasy had just crumbled before my very eyes. Because there was no mistaking it, this man was the real thing.

No one would be foolish enough to try to deceive a sorceress into thinking he’s a prince. Besides, if anyone caught someone not of royal blood with the royal seal, he would be executed without trial.

(p6)

If the current king is in reign, a prince is a prince whether he be twelve or forty years old. And come to think of it, I’d never exactly heard about how old the Prince of Saillune was. In other words, I had jumped to many false conclusions about the Prince of Saillune, just by his title.

“Are you all right?”

“Of course I’m not all right,” talking back to the man who did not sound at all concerned about my wellbeing, I somehow managed to scramble back up onto my chair.

“I am currently in disguise at the moment, so please don’t be so formal around me.”

That’s NOT the issue here, Prince…

“Oh, and I am his priest, Randy. May we please have your name?”

“…Lina. Lina Inverse.”

It was just when I told them my name that…

“Ohh!” The pirate (I still just feel so weird calling him “prince”…it’s so wrong…) and Randy said in unison. Most certainly…

(p7)

I may not seem it, but I actually am pretty famous.

“So you are that magical girl everyone’s talking about!”

“Lina, the Bandit-killer!”

SLIP, SLIP, SLIP, SLIP….

Once again, I fell off my chair. This made my cloak beyond repair. What the hell are people saying about me behind my back!

“Hmm, we have heard many rumors of you.”

“We have heard that you have returned the stolen goods of thousands of bandits back to their rightful owners and made these bandits unable to ever pillage again.”

Lies! All lies!

I mean, the content is pretty accurate, but it was not quite that many bandits… But I didn’t want to correct them. After all, what Randy said was partly true. I never target anyone who isn’t a robber. I take no pride or joy in depriving the innocent of their wealth and freedom… Although I do enjoy the occasional brawl with the not-entirely- innocent.

(p8)

…A-hem.

And besides, being a sorceress, I need to stay ahead of my reputation. If you don’t believe me, take a good look at yourself, you lazy dweller of Saillune with a debt to pay, who still somehow manages to eat. Just try going into a magic shop and asking for a plateful of Plaudia fruit. Starting tomorrow, you’ll get a plate with just one piece of fruit on it and you will be lost.

There was even an annoying episode a while ago when I had just left my hometown and I had enough money to buy even a small castle with a handful of soldiers. When I went to buy some Bamun herbs, the shopkeep’s cat was playing nearby and accidentally knocked it over so I had to go overthrow about five bandit groups,

…Or maybe I’m wrong.

But anyway, I don’t think that people really know me by two completely contrasting names… I hope.

“What do you mean by “magic girl” and “bandit-killer”…?”

When I asked this, Randy quickly replied, “According to rumor, you call yourself by those names…”

(p9)

“I most certainly do not call myself that!”

“Well, it doesn’t matter,” the banditprince cut in.

It doesn’t matter?

“You may call me Phil. After all, I am in disguise at the moment and I’m sure Philionelis a bit of a mouthful for you to say,” he said with a little grin.

I supposed I was a bit thankful for that request. If he had demanded that I call him “My Prince” or some craziness, running away would have been my only choice.

“And now, let’s get down to business…Randy.”

“Aye.”

And the priest began to describe the job request. It was actually a rather ordinary matter. A monster had taken residence in a nearby cave and the crops have been disrupted, houses have been thieved, and the important healing orb belonging to this village’s only priest had also been stolen… It was the kind of tale that would bring a tear to the eye.

(p10)

And Phil-san just happened upon this tragic village during his travels. He got riled up, declaring, “I cannot let my subjects suffer like this!” and decided to get someone to exorcise the monster, even though the practice was considered a little archaic by today’s standards.

“And what’s more, it seems rather pitiful that Randy is the only man in this village who is able to fight. It is a tiny village with not even one soldier on a horse. I was worried that the villagers were losing their faith and hope…until I heard about you, “ Phil-san added, after Randy finished the story.

“Randy is the only one…won’t you fight?” I asked him without thinking

“Shh!” Randy tried to stop me.

….Oops, I get it. I had forgotten there for a moment, but Phil-san was the future King (though I still refuse to call him a “prince”). It’s just that rather than royally sitting on a throne, he looked like he was more suited to be out in the field waving his sword around…

(p11)

“Well… Ordinarily, it is not customary for the future king to take up arms and fight amongst his subjects for their wellbeing…” Phil-san said with a slightly perplexed face.

He seemed to just be a pass-for-noble (excuse me) man who wasn’t willing to get his hands dirty. At the very least.

“Or rather…I may not look it, but I am against violence…”

“You bloody liar!” – Before I realized it, I had screamed that out loud.

“Well, let’s overlook that for now,” Phil-san said with a sort of casual grace that no ordinary man would be able to have after an outburst like mine.

I suppose this was proof of his uniqueness. Though maybe it was merely proof of his stupidity.

“Naturally, it’s not as if I’m entrusting this task to just the two of you while I sit back and enjoy watching.”

(p12)

“I will accompany the both of you in some way. After all, unless the orb from the magic healer’s house is retrieved… many more sick people may emerge. So I ask you to help on their behalf. What do you say…”

It actually didn’t sound like a bad deal…And I had nothing better to do anyway. So I decided to accept his request.

“Good! So you’ll accept?!” Pushed by Phil-san’s power, even the meek mannered Randy piped up in a loud voice.

“Then let us make immediate preparations for the task at hand…”

“But before we do, you mentioned there were many sick people. Randy, if you’re a priest, you must know some sort of White Magic to cast on them. If you do know of such a spell, please give it to the villagers before we head out…”

“Well, I would, but…” Randy began, scratching his head with an uncomfortable face. “But my title of “priest” is more just a title… And while I can perform the White Magic spell Recovery, it doesn’t work too well…what about you?”

“Same here.”

Phil-san had a strange look on his face as we conversed.

(p13)

“Can’t ‘Recovery’ cure them?”

Hey, with that attitude, how can you call yourself the First Royal Successor to the Throne!... I was this close to screaming that out at him.

Saillune was also called the “White Magic Capital,” and this was merely because it coincidentally tended to have many White Magic practitioners. But not all White Magic users can use healing spells. I suppose in the end, this was another blind assumption I’d made.

All living beings do have the power within them to heal their own wounds and illnesses. The Recovery spell merely brought out the natural potential within the people for an instant so they can heal themselves.

If the sickness was so severe that the Recovery spell couldn’t cure them, that means that the illness has taken over the body itself. We sorcerers tend to refer to this colloquially as “bacteria”. If an unskilled Sorcerer were to attempt the Recovery spell, the potential of the bacteria itself would be intensified and it could mutate and multiply itself into an even more gruesome disease.

Before I departed on my quest, just when I had learned about Recovery, but not its full nature, I was itching to use it. Just then, a lady from my village caught a summer cold. So to show off, I confidently blessed her with Recovery and changed her simple cold into pneumonia – that was a funny story.

--Though after she got better, she beat the crap out of me—

(p14)

But I didn’t have the patience to tell that story and explain it all to the prince. Probably just my prejudice again, but I got the feeling that even if I did try to explain it to him, he wouldn’t understand.

“Well, that’s just how the world works,” I said.

“I see. That makes sense,” Phil-san said with surprising understanding.

We arrived on the scene very quickly. It wasn’t that far away from the village.

“…So this is the place,” Phil-san, with his torn armor, told Randy, in his torn cloak. Why were the two dressed like that? you may ask. I suppose it wasn’t a big deal. On our way there, I’d come across a huge waterfall so I wanted to stop and take a dip. I strongly dislike being sticky with sweat…Though I suppose there aren’t many people on this planet who actually LIKE being sticky with sweat…

Anyway, I thought I’d use a Fireball spell to turn it into an instant hot tub.

(p15)

But hearing the noise of my spell, they came running to me. And to thank them for my embarrassment, I cast a Mega-brand spell on them.

It wasn’t exactly an epic battle, but the fact that it happened along the way before we’d even reached our destination was a bit disheartening… But I healed their wounds, okay? So it’s fine!

And anyway, before our three pairs of eyes now stood a big, black entrance. Rather than an ordinary cave, it seemed more like an ancient dwelling…or catacombs.

“We’re going in!”

“All right!” I raised a cheerful voice. And the inconspicuous Randy merely nodded.

But only now that I think about it.

Inside, the cave was actually rather large. But it was only a temporary area.

(p16)

And that was because I could not use my indiscriminate large area attack spells like Fireball or Mega Brand or Dragon Slave – and those were the ones I was good at.

Since I don’t want to be misunderstood, I’ll clarify something right here: the notion that I like attack spells just as much as three meals a day is just wrong. I think that would be what is called “prejudice”…probably.

Anyway, if I tried to use such destructive spells in such an enclosed space, they’d either backfire onto me, or they’d crumble the cave and we’d be smashed under it.

So while it wouldn’t look too impressive, I figured I had to go with a simple spell.

I cast a Lighting spell on my short sword and held it as a torch as we walked inside. A smell much like rotten bread wafted through the walls.

“I strongly dislike places like this!” Philsan said. “It’s just so dark and gloomy! I just can’t forgive it! I don’t understand why a monster would choose to live in a place like this!”

Arrrrgh! Shut up!

(p17)

He was standing directly behind me. He was a couple heads taller than me as well. Having his annoying voice boom through the cave was a little too much to take.

“Shhh! Be quiet!” I whispered as I stopped walking. And it wasn’t because I could no longer deal with the annoyance of his cries. It was because I had caught the movement of something ahead of us in our path.

“Something’s out there!”

“Ohh!” For some reason, Phil-san sounded excited.

At our rear, Randy, who had steadily been losing a sense of presence throughout the journey, didn’t even say a word. I muttered a simple spell under my breath and threw the little ball of light in my left palm up to the ceiling.

The light ball illuminated the wall ahead of us. And right by it was a squad of ten orcs.

“Ahhh, how cute, how cute,” I said, taking a step forward. “If it’s just you I’m up against, a Flare Arrow spell ought to do the trick. Just leave it to me.”

(p18)

I suppose it needs no explanation, but a Flare Arrow spell does just what the name says. And at different levels, you can release many arrows at once – which I like to call a Flare Shower and I’m very good at it. Of course, this is just my opinion…

And I was also at the ideal distance for the spell at the moment. Ten or twenty orcs would be no problem at all.

“Not so fast!” Phil-san’s loud voice stopped me. “I will reason with them! I don’t like senseless killing!”

I unthinkingly lost my footing a little. Not noticing, Phil-san stepped in front of me to talk to the orcs.

“Listen well, you orcs!” Phil-san began his “reasoning.” In “human speech.”

“We have come here only to retrieve the mystic Orb! If you are the ones guarding it, then kindly hand it over! And if you have nothing to do with it, then please clear the path for us! I am a peace-loving king and I do not wish to see bloodshed! However, if you refuse to obey, then the malicious sorceress behind me would be more than happy to make you pay!”

(p19)

Who’re you callin’ “Malicious Sorceress”!

“Now! What is your answer?” Phil-san asked with a strong step forward. And from the impact of the step, the orcs shuffled back a few paces.

Even though they couldn’t understand human speech, from the powerful aura emitting from Phil-san’s body, the orcs could distinguish that they were being threatened.

“Answer!” Just when he took another step forward…

The orcs, realizing they were no match for us, turned around and fled.

“There, did you see anything like that before?!” Phil-san laughed while congratulating himself. “Even if the enemy does not speak your tongue, if you speak your case with a strong resolve and with as much empathy as possible, they will understand you! Wasn’t that a great example of that concept just now? Let peace and justice prevail!”

….I don’t think that’s quite entirely correct, Sire…

Randy’s presence was dropping even lower. Though I suppose that was unavoidable seeing as how the king had such a strong presence.

(p20)

And so, the three of us continued to walk on.

Our next encounter was with a large ogre. Not even Phil-san’s “diplomacy” would work against this guy.

“Looks like it’s my turn then,” I said, handing my short sword over to Phil-san. Chanting the spell, I placed both hands in front of me.

“Burst Rondo!”

A large ribbon of light emitted from my hands. I had the ability to control the speed and direction of this light-ribbon.

“Call me Queen!” While letting out my cheesy, nonsensical line, I demolished the ogre in one hit. Applause.

“Now it’s trolls this time!”

The regenerative power of trolls was out of the ordinary. If you hit them with a small blade, they would practically heal before your very eyes.

(p21)

“Dam Brass!”

My spell pulverized the head trolls into dust.

“Oh! And here we have Minotaurs!”

“Dig Volt!”

“It’s a Salamander!”

“Lybrim!”

“Vampi…”

“Assher Dist!”

“…Is it just me, or does there seem to be no end to this?” Phil-san asked in a rather dragging tone.

“Really?” I asked

(p22)

[PICTURE]

(p23)

We still hadn’t found the Orb. It was probably deeper into the cave.

“Anyway, let’s proceed forward.”

And we proceeded down the long, downward sloping path. We must have sunk pretty deep beneath the earth’s surface.

“Ahhh, how tiring…” I complained while batting at the spider web or thin rope that had tangled itself around my feet.

….Wait, thin ROPE?!

K-Klunk.

From far behind, I heard a very heavy sound.

Rumble, rumble…

It sounded like something was rolling. In fear and trepidation, I slowly turned my head.

…Ah, should have guessed.

An insanely huge boulder was rolling our way. It was a rather ordinary sort of dungeon trap and minstrels had sung of it often.

(p24)

…But now’s no time to be reminiscing about that!

“YARRRRRGH!” I took off running. Phil-san joined my side. The slope we ran down seemed like it would have no end. And the boulder was gaining in speed. It wasn’t exactly a very hopeful sort of situation.

“Can’t you do anything about it?! Use a spell!”

But if I used a spell powerful enough to break apart that boulder, I would also cause a quake to the surrounding cave walls. We would be buried alive.

I can’t do that! – while thinking that, I suddenly remembered something.

“Just leave it to me!” Giving him a wink and a thumb’s up, I started to chant. Though my breaths were a bit choppy between the words since I was running.

“Hah!” I whirled to face the boulder and let the spell fly. It was Flare Lance. It had the same precision as Flare Arrow,

(p25)

But also the same fire power as Fireball.

And my spell splendidly absorbed itself into the boulder.

“You fool!”

Chased by the boulder which had now been transformed into a lava block, Phil-san yelled at me, our shoulders nearly touching. The air surrounding us was insanely hot.

“’Just leave it to me!’ my foot! It might just be me, but I think our situation just got much worse!” I was already preparing for my next spell.

“The final blow!” whirling around, I faced the flaming boulder and unleashed an Icicle Lance. Yes, the spell that works well against a Fire Dragon.

“Yet another useless offer…” Phil-san’s grumbles cut off my moment of glory.

GLUMP!

(p26)

The clumsy sound of the dying boulder.

“…That’s how it’s done,” I said, smiling pleasantly.

“How did you do it?” he asked, puzzled.

“I simply took advantage of the coefficient of thermal expansion.”

“….”

Seeing Phil-san’s blank face, I amended my explanation slightly. “In other words, it’s like when you toss cold water into a hot clay pot and it cracks. Same thing.”

“Ohhhh, now I see!”

So he finally got it. But anyway, I’m glad we’re safe…

“Huh?!” That was the first time I noticed.

“What’s wrong?”

(p27)

“Randy is gone!”

“Oh, now that you mention it!”

It should have been an obvious observation. That the priest who had such a faint physical presence to begin with would finally up and leave us!

“…Well, never mind. We can just look for him on the way back,” Phil-san said, summing up our plight in a casual sentence.

“I guess you’re right,” I found myself agreeing with just as much ease.

Brace yourself for the big one!

A lone sorcerer had been waiting for us in a room deep within the dungeon’s caverns. And if he wasn’t “the big one,” what else was he?

“I have been expecting you, Prince Philionel.”

“Stop it!!” I yelped out unexpectedly at the sound of his voice.

(p28)

“?”

“Don’t you dare call this guy a prince!” I was still unable to cross over the gap between my ideals and reality. The reason I hadn’t burst out like that before must be that I was stuck in reality escape syndrome. Hearing him called “prince” was much more violent a shock to me than being hit by my own Fireball spell.

“…I don’t quite understand…” the black robed sorcerer puzzled, his rhythm thrown off by my outburst.

“Anyway, your journey ends here. Prepare to die.” How dare he say that. Does he know who the hell I am?

“Damn you! There is not a soul more warm and peaceloving than I!”

Who the hell’re you?

“I hired him to do this.” Along with this voice, a man popped out from the darkness.

“You bastard! Randy, why?!”

Yes. There was no mistaking it. It was Randy, the priest with very little presence.

(p29)

Phil-san raised his voice in shock….Well, his voice is usually raised anyway, so that wasn’t saying much. In contrast, I took a deep, cool breath, and rested my hands on my hips.

“I figured you were behind this.”

“Wh-what?!” the shocked eyes of all in the cave shot at me.

“You bitch, when did you notice?!” Randy (I don’t suppose I’ll ever end his name with a “-san” again) shook with nerve.

…Actually I was just winging it. I hadn’t really considered it until just now, but I’ve always wanted to say a cool line like that. So I just took advantage of this situation to say it…

“Well, never mind,” he said. “I am third in line for the throne, but your god-awful loud demeanor has always upstaged me!”

Now I get it. Those feelings…huh?!

(p30)

“Wait, you’re third in line for the throne?!” I gasped, glancing at Phil-san. They looked nothing alike. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” Phil-san nodded curtly.

Wait a minute! This is a perfect example of a family dispute!

“And what’s more, you don’t fit the image of a man suited to rule Saillune!”

I agree!

But trying to imagine Randy being king also made me tilt my head in confusion.

“I see…” Phil-san said in a troubled voice. “I had thought it rather strange that during the past year all the assassination attempts have been directed only at me… So it was all your doing…”

You should notice these things sooner, man.

“I suppose I was right in having my subordinate sorcerer set a trap beforehand.”

“…So you mean to say, the monster who lives here is…”

(p31)

Naturally, it’s something I planted here.”

“So I was just a dummy along for the ride, eh? Randy, you were just going to kill me and then blame it on Phil-san, weren’t you?”

“Exactly as you say.”

… He’s so unusual. But now I can faintly understand why he would lack such presence – being compared to Phil-san all the time.

“So, what will you do after you take over the kingdom?”

“Huh?”

When I butt in with that little question, Randy looked confused.

“What will I…do? Well…Have fun, I suppose!”

Oh my god! Someone like this actually exists!

People who want to become king with no real plans on mind, or people who want to take over the world just because! What a troubled world we live in.

“Damn you, you won’t get away with this!” Phil-san suddenly got angry.

“Nevertheless, this place will be your tomb. Kill them!”

(p32)

At Randy’s order, the sorcerer began to move. Limbs flailing without meaning, he let out a roaring voice.

…I suppose people like this actually exist too.

“Come forth, my friend, Brass Demon Garundia!”

The floor glowed from the symbol he drew with his staff. It was a little too dark to tell, but it was probably a Summoning Circle.

A giant shadow was born in the faint light. Brass Demon.

I said, “Your only friends are monsters…what a sad fellow.”

“Silence, fool!” The Sorcerer yelled, truly angry.

Brass Demons were not major mazoku, but they were known to be stronger than the lesser demons. Naturally, low level magic was no use against them. Naturally, I had plenty of magic points stocked to kill this one, but in a scene like this, a girl wants to really look cool when she settles things.

(p33)

Well then, how shall I handle this?

Just as I was thinking that, the demon started walking closer to me with a creepy gait.

And then—

“We will not hold back!” Phil-san snapped next to me.

He was pointing fiercely at the Brass Demon before us.

“Just to assassinate me, you made the villagers suffer so much and you befriended this foul beast?! As much as I am a peace-loving man, I cannot let this go unpunished! I will make you see reason, so stay right there!”

Then he started charging at him.

“Hey, hold it, man!” Just as I was trying to stop him—

“Pacifist Cruuuuuush!” While yelling out a silly excuse for a death cry, the man’s fist made sharp contact with the demon’s ribs.

You’ve gotta be kidding me!

“Kindness To All Creatures Kick!”

(p34)

The demon’s large body was hurled up again into the air, collided with Randy and his sorcerer, and slammed into the wall. Nobody moved.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

“Did you see that? The mighty powers of peace?!”

At the unbelievable scene, my eyes had reduced themselves to dots. Hey, man, there’s a time and a place for everything, but I don’t think your peace speeches are quite right for this place.

“Looks like we somehow got that cleaned up.”

We had successfully returned and given the Orb back to the village healer. Phil-san handed me more money than had been promised.

“I suppose I caused more trouble to you than I’d anticipated.”

You’re the trouble, man.

“And we will probably meet again someday.”

Not if I can help it.

“Well then, bye.”

Yeah, bye.

(p35)

He turned his back on me and left without looking back once. And I gazed after his disappearing figure for a long time.

And it wasn’t because I was trying to look cool. I honestly hadn’t recovered from my shock yet. And I didn’t suppose I would for a while.

--Peace-loving nature: a force to be feared!

And as I watched his body become a small dot and then disappear into the distance, I thought to myself…

This kingdom won’t last much longer…

(The Prince Of Saillune – fin)