This story is told from the perspective of the Magic Swordsman who was appointed leader of the Four Heavenly Kings Subjugation Party.
My name is Wolfgang. I’m a Magic Swordsman and a former member of the Hero’s party. Recently, I was chosen to lead the party tasked with subjugating the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King's Army.
A few days passed as I prepared for the journey. I could have saved money by staying at my family home during this time, but since I’m technically a runaway, I opted for an inn instead. Finally, on the day before our scheduled departure, I received a summons. A white bird—a dove—flew to my window, a letter tied to its leg.
"I’d be thrilled if this were an invitation for a secret rendezvous," I muttered.
As I was reading the letter, I heard the heavy thumping of someone rushing out of the room next door.
"Dog-eared Leader, look! Look! The dove has a letter!"
The person who burst into my room clutching the bird was the Granddaughter of the Great Sage. She calls herself a Genius Beautiful Girl Swordsman, but despite the title, she is a genuine companion in my party. Staying in the room right next to mine, she had apparently received the same letter I had.
"It’s likely a summons from the Saint of Yellow Wings," I said. "I got one, too."
I didn't have a good feeling about this. If it were up to me, I wouldn't go, but I couldn't exactly ignore it. I really didn't want any more trouble.
As we headed toward the meeting place, the Granddaughter of the Great Sage looked up at me. "Dog-eared Leader, you have a strange look on your face. Do you really hate meeting the Saint that much?"
"Idiot! How many times do I have to tell you that calling me 'dog-ears' in public is forbidden? Besides, these aren't dog ears—they’re wolf ears."
I had no intention of being honest and telling her I had a bad feeling about being summoned out of the blue, so I decided to deflect. "You saw that white messenger dove. It brought back a bad memory."
"What kind of memory?"
"Around last summer, a white bird stole every cent I had."
"What?! How?" she asked, bursting into laughter.
"It’s not a laughing matter. I helped a bird that looked weak, and for some reason, it snatched the pouch containing my money in its beak and flew off."
I’d been left penniless in an instant. It was a miserable experience.
While we chatted, we arrived at the rendezvous point: an arbor in a garden located in an annex of the Royal Palace. The Saint of Yellow Wings was already waiting. When she saw us, she motioned for us to take a seat.
"I appreciate you coming on such short notice," she said. "Since time is short, I’ll get straight to the point."
"Where are the other two?" I asked. Our party was supposed to have five members.
"That is exactly why I only called the two of you today. Unlike the others, you weren't chosen for political reasons, which makes this conversation much easier."
"What’s that supposed to mean?"
"One member, the Son of the Kingdom's Knight Commander, is tied to the First Prince’s faction. The other, the mercenary, was hired by the Second Prince—the Hero—and his wife, the Saint. It seems that even when the Four Heavenly Kings need subjugating, the struggle for the throne takes priority. It's quite a farce."
Rumors of the succession struggle between the First and Second Princes had been swirling for a while. Once the Second Prince became the Hero and got engaged to a Saint from a prominent ducal family, his ascension seemed like a foregone conclusion. However, when that Saint defected to the Demon King's Army and died, the race for the throne was reset to a blank slate.
"It seems the Hero’s consort, the current Saint, is the one truly obsessed with the crown," I noted. That girl, the Apprentice Saint who had been Iris's junior, had clearly been hiding her ambition behind a quiet facade. "So, what’s the secret you don't want them to hear?"
"It appears there is a mole for the Four Heavenly Kings within the subjugation party."
"...Is that true?"
"I can't reveal my source, but the information is highly reliable. I need you to keep a close eye on the other two during our journey."
"And you don't think one of us is the mole?"
"Master Wolfgang, you weren't even in the Royal Capital for years. In fact, you normally wouldn't have been summoned for this party at all, so it’s unlikely to be you." She then turned to the girl. "As for the Granddaughter of the Great Sage, she is Otfried’s own kin. She lived in a rural village and has had no contact with capital politics or the Demon King's Army. I’ve judged that neither of you is the traitor."
That left two suspects. However, there was someone else I had to check first.
"Saint of Yellow Wings, do you have any proof that you aren't the mole?"
"Unfortunately, I have nothing to prove my innocence. I can only ask you to believe that I am your ally."
"Don't worry," I said. "I’ve looked into you. I can’t believe that someone who spends their time helping the poor is a villain."
"You knew about that?"
"I know you opened a dining hall for the poor in the capital, providing cheap meals for those in need. I also know you sell luxury ingredients to the wealthy to fund it. That profit keeps the dining hall running, doesn't it?"
"It does. A merchant I know assists me, but we are only just managing to keep the doors open."
"It’s still admirable. While the other Saint is busy playing power games in the castle, I’m glad there’s at least one Saint who actually gives a damn about the people."
As I praised her, the Saint of Yellow Wings suddenly gasped and clutched her chest. She looked as though she might collapse right there.
"Are you all right?!"
"I’m... I’m fine... It’s just my chronic condition flaring up." She reached into her robes and pulled out a black water bottle. With trembling hands, she took a long drink. "I’m sorry for alarming you. I suffer from an illness that requires this medicine to keep me alive."
"Is that... an aftereffect of that battle?"
"Yes. My body was broken during the previous war."
The Saint of Yellow Wings had once driven back one of the Four Heavenly Kings to save a city. That feat had earned her the title of Saint. Now, she was a sickly woman, sacrificing her own health to serve the kingdom. Meanwhile, the other Saint had forgotten the people entirely, hungering only for the power of a queen.
Because of this succession struggle, the nobility was split down the middle. In the chaos, corrupt lords were rotting the country from the inside out. I wondered what Iris would have said if she were here as the third Saint. If she had lived and stayed loyal, maybe this country would be on a better path.
Why did she betray us? If I ever see her again, that’s the first thing I’ll ask. And I wondered—when that Saint who once put the country first finally died after betraying everything she knew, did she regret it? What were her final thoughts as she left this world?
After the secret meeting, I walked through the capital alone. Despite it being the heart of the kingdom, the streets were flooded with the poor—likely refugees driven from their homes by the Demon King's Army. According to the Saint of Yellow Wings, the Four Heavenly Kings had already wiped the western territories off the map. Only places like the Tower City remained.
The country was exhausted, yet the crown thought they could solve everything by sending just five people to kill the Four Heavenly Kings. It was madness. Between the power-hungry elite in the capital and the corrupt nobles obsessed with wealth, the kingdom was falling ill. To save it, someone had to unify it. Ideally, the Hero who married Iris should have been that person.
As I ruminated, a carriage emerging from the estate of Iris’s family suddenly stopped in front of me. A woman with pale red hair and extravagant jewelry peered out, looking down at me. It was an old acquaintance. She had been a member of the Hero’s party back then—Iris’s junior, the Apprentice Saint. Now, she was the Hero’s wife.
I believe they call her this now. "Saint of Lamplight. It has been a long time."
Though we were once comrades, she had married into royalty; our social standing was worlds apart. I knelt, and she looked at me as if I were some amusing curiosity.
"I heard the news, Wolfgang. You've been made the leader of the Four Heavenly Kings Subjugation Party. Do your best for the kingdom's sake."
With that dismissive remark, she signaled the coachman to move on. I didn't know when I’d get another chance to speak to her, so I spoke up before the wheels could turn.
"Iris... what did she say at the very end?"
"Let me see..." The Saint of Lamplight looked up at the sky, pondering. Then, a smirk crossed her face. "I believe she blew herself up while shouting curses at the Kingdom of Gardenia and its people."
The carriage began to roll away. The Saint pulled her head back inside, but tossed one last comment over her shoulder.
"Oh, and come to think of it, it seemed she was trying to kill you as well, Master Wolfgang."
Iris wanted to kill me?
The words hit me like a physical blow. Why had Iris—once hailed as the treasure of the nation—fallen so deep into the shadows? I couldn't wrap my head around it. But perhaps she had seen something in this country that I hadn't.
To find the truth, my first priority had to be the subjugation mission.
The next day, the Four Heavenly Kings Subjugation Party departed from the Royal Capital, heading for the western lands. I went without knowing that someone with Iris’s exact face was waiting there.
This chapter was told from the perspective of the Magic Swordsman from the former Hero’s party. The junior Apprentice Saint made her first appearance since Episode 1.
Next time: Assault of the Four Heavenly Kings, Part 2.