Staring down the points of more than thirty weapons—halberds, spears, and longsword tips—Tiull Bugle spoke without a hint of panic.
"What is the meaning of this?"
"As I stated before, Viscount Boogle is currently under suspicion for the crime of sowing unrest. I must ask that you come with us."
"You cur! How dare you show such insolence to Lord Tiull!"
One of the knights behind Tiull Bugle shouted, but the Gatekeeper Knight spoke without appearing particularly concerned.
"This is a direct order from His Highness Cabajid. You lot in the back, don't move a muscle. I have no desire to shed the blood of fellow people of the empire, nor have our own blood spilled."
Tiull Bugle slightly knit his brows at the Knight, who spoke politely to him while keeping his expression almost unchanged, yet addressed the knights behind him in a way that urged them to stay calm.
(Did they predict we would storm the palace during the Fighting Tournament finals? Based on the information from Rhodos, they seem to have detected our movements, but they shouldn't have known exactly when. If that's the case, I suppose we have no choice but to start a commotion here to serve as a diversion.)
As Tiull Bugle muttered inwardly, he saw Vihera, who had just passed through, coming back toward them.
A smile played across her lips as she approached. It was a thoroughly captivating smile, which, combined with the see-through costume like that of a dancer or prostitute she wore, made her look entirely out of place in a palace.
Most of the knights, of course, were well aware of Vihera's nature. Even those who had joined the order after she had left the capital had heard from their superiors and colleagues exactly what kind of person she was.
That was precisely why, no matter how beautiful her smile was or how captivatingly charming she appeared, the knights did not relax their tension.
"I'm sorry, but Tiull and his men are here on my business. Surely there's no problem with them entering the palace?"
Those words were her final ultimatum. While halfway aware of that fact, the Knight representing the group shook his head.
"My apologies. As I said before, we have received direct orders from His Highness Cabajid regarding this matter. No matter if it is Her Highness Vihera herself, we cannot comply with that request."
"......I will ask one last time. You absolutely will not let us through?"
"Yes. Unfortunately. However, we have received no orders to do anything to Her Highness Vihera."
"......I see."
With the Knight's words, Vihera made up her mind. When she turned her gaze toward Tiull Bugle, she received a slight nod in return.
Seeing his nod, Vihera nonchalantly approached the knight aiming a spear at Tiull Bugle and gently reached out toward the torso part of the full plate mail.
The reason the knight showed no movement was likely because Vihera had not stepped in forcefully, nor had she extended claws from the magic items of her gauntlets. She touched the man's torso so lightly it was barely a graze.
"Hmph!"
With a sharp exhale, she sent magic power directly through the man's torso, delivering a shock. This was the technique Vihera had been training for some time. Though she herself was unaware of it, it was nearly identical to the one Noise used.
"......Eh?"
The knight man muttered briefly, and the moment he tasted the unprecedented sensation of shock arising from within the body, he lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.
The surrounding knights could not understand for a moment what had just happened. For Vihera, that single moment was more than enough to take her next action.
"Ha!"
She kicked off the ground, unleashing a blow that bared her well-toned white thighs. Whether the knight was momentarily captivated by the beauty of her legs due to his instincts as a man, or whether it was a form of escapism because he could not comprehend the situation, he was too slow to react.
The knight, sent flying as the torso part of his full plate mail was destroyed by Vihera's kick, lost consciousness while taking down a colleague behind him. Even for the man who was struck, he was one of the elites among the knights allowed to work in the castle. His body was well-trained, and combined with the weight of his armor, his mass exceeded 100kg. There was no way anyone crushed by such a weight could recover immediately... and by the time he began to struggle, the skirmish had already begun in earnest.
"Her Highness Vihera! What do you intend by this!?"
"I intend exactly this!"
She threw that response back at the knight who had shouted, stepped inside the range of his spear, and lightly touched his torso to unleash another strike. Just like the previous man, he lost consciousness due to the shock arising from within his own body.
The fact that she did not materialize her claws—which possessed the power to rend even full plate mail—was likely due to a lingering sense of national camaraderie. The strikes she unleashed were meant to reap consciousness or cause fractures, but they were by no means intended to take lives.
Even so, the fact remained that they had been labeled enemies, and sixty percent of the knights still standing pointed their weapon tips toward Vihera. This was despite the presence of Tiull Bugle and his ten knights. It was a testament to the fact that they understood Vihera's true strength.
"Her Highness Vihera, just what is the meaning of this? Even for a member of the Imperial Family, this will not end as a mere joke."
At the Knight's words, Vihera offered a radiant smile.
"My, since I've brought Tiull with me, surely you must have realized by now? So, what should you do? Argue with me? Or fulfill your own duties?"
"......The latter, then."
"Indeed. Thanks to that, I won't have to be disappointed in my own homeland. In that case, there are no more words to exchange. Come at me. I'm warning you... I am strong. If you're thinking of holding back to capture me uninjured, you'll end up regretting it on the pavement. If you don't want that... come at me with the intent to kill."
They were far too radical words for a princess to utter. It was obvious what would happen to anyone who killed a member of the Imperial Family. But even so, the knights were only shaken for a moment. Understanding that they were the last bastion defending the palace, the knights quickly pulled themselves together and launched their attack.
The spears thrust at her were clearly aiming for Vihera's torso; they were strikes that would be fatal if they pierced through. There was no hesitation on their faces. Having already judged her as an enemy, they would simply strike her down regardless of her status.
"Naive."
Befitting her attire, she evaded the spear movements as if dancing and channeled magic power into her gauntlets to produce claws. Her claws, swung with light footsteps, sliced off the spear tips as she moved. One after another, the spear tips flew through the air as if in a joke, drawing the knights' gazes for a split second.
"How soft."
By the time that murmur reached their ears, Vihera was already inside the range of their spears. She reached out just as she had to the others... and they succumbed to the shock arising from within the body.
The moment the other knights saw two of their comrades collapse and tried to swing their weapons at Vihera...
"Uwaaaaaaah!"
With that scream, one of the knights came crashing into the group facing Vihera. A large man wearing full plate mail was flying through the air. Since they would surely take heavy damage if hit directly, the knights hurriedly evaded.
"That decision was a mistake. If you didn't want to show me an opening, you should have struck him down instead of evading."
The knight tried to turn toward the voice he heard at his ear... and then he felt a heavy shock to his solar plexus and collapsed.
"Well, I suppose it can't be helped, since one doesn't usually expect an ally to come flying at them."
While watching the conscious knights trying to surround her, Vihera cast a glance toward Tiull Bugle. In her line of sight, Tiull Bugle and the knights under his command were locked in battle against the palace guards.
"That was quite the collateral damage."
Judging that someone among the knights had probably been punched and sent flying to cause the previous incident, Vihera turned her gaze toward the palace. There, she saw more knights approaching... and even the forms of mages among them.
Since they were causing such a commotion at the castle gate, it was natural that the knights inside would learn of it and send reinforcements.
"Lady Vihera, now that reinforcements have arrived, there is no more chance of victory. Please, surrender quietly..."
Vihera lightly shrugged her shoulders at the knight who told her that. As she did, her massive breasts swayed heavily, naturally drawing the knights' gazes. Toward the men who were captivated by her body, Vihera spoke teasingly.
"My, what's wrong? Weren't you going to restrain me? Or... are you satisfied just watching like this?"
At her seductive sidelong glance, the sound of someone gulping echoed through the air. But that, too, was only for a moment. They quickly returned to their senses and shouted toward the reinforcements coming from the palace.
"The opponents are Her Highness Vihera and Viscount Boogle!"
At those words, the reinforcing knights widened their eyes in astonishment. Setting Tiull Bugle aside, they were stunned by Vihera's presence, yet they immediately began to act.
"Her Highness Vihera, you will come quietly!"
The leader of the reinforcements shouted as he swung a longsword. However, the weapon remained in its scabbard; it was clear he had no intention of truly harming her.
"......How foolish. Your perception is far too naive."
She evaded the strike with dance-like footsteps and slipped into the knight's reach. What took place there was the same act that had been performed numerous times already. Feeling the shock generated within his body, the knight gave a single groan and fell to the ground.
One after another, she incapacitated the reinforcements with single strikes from her fists, palms, or feet. Tiull Bugle and his subordinates likewise added their attacks to the knights still standing, and before long, fewer than five people remained on their feet.
"Hi—Hiee!"
One of those still standing—not a knight, but a male mage in his late teens wearing a robe—felt a surge of terror at the carnage. Guided by that fear, he began to chant an incantation.
"O Fire, by thy power, grant hot judgment upon mine enemy; that power shall be that which burns all to nothingness."
Along with the incantation, a flame of about 30cm radius appeared at the tip of his staff. To Vihera, who was used to the flame magic Rei used, it was not a particularly impressive spell. Furthermore, the mage was clearly panicking. The released flame ball headed not for Tiull Bugle or his knights... and not for Vihera either, but for some reason, toward the castle gate.
"What!?"
The ones most surprised by this were the mage's fellow knights. Near the castle gate, several of their own comrades lay unconscious. If an explosion caused by magic occurred in such a place, the consequences would be dire. Even if they weren't hurt by the magic itself, they could be struck by flying fragments of stone or iron.
The castle gate itself was a type of magic item that had been specially processed by an alchemist to provide high magic resistance. The same applied to the palace walls. Even so, if the ground was blown up, soil and stone would fly everywhere.
The misfortune here was that the mage was a rookie. He had been in the middle of being guided through the palace as a recent noble introduction to the state when the commotion broke out. He had been swept along by the knights and ended up facing Vihera—an opponent as beautiful as she was terrifying. The faint-hearted mage had been overwhelmed, leading to a near-rampage of magic.
The released magic flew straight toward the castle gate... and triggered an explosion with a thundering roar.