To the Land of Tranquility
And so, it was decided that the Yamata no Orochi would be shipped out.
Of course, that didn’t mean it was just a matter of quickly heading over there and handing the thing off.
The Land of Tranquility had a condition: since I was coming, they wanted me to check whether the seal could be reinforced first. They didn’t want to take the risk of “waking a sleeping child,” as they put it.
For some reason, the Arland side completely agreed with that sentiment. Everyone even nodded in unison while looking straight at me. I have no idea why. Weird, huh.
“Anyway, let’s send the doggos to the Imperial Capital to set up a teleportation circle.”
“You really do hate the Empire, don’t you? Were you actually planning to dump the problem on them if things went south...?”
Big Brother sighed deeply.
“Now’s the perfect time to let the ‘largest nation on the continent (hah)’ show off its strength.”
See, I’m sure when we went to war, they weren’t fighting at full strength. They probably had that ‘I’ll start taking this seriously tomorrow’ kind of mindset. That’s how ridiculously weak they were.
I mean, come on—they lost to me, a girl they couldn’t even locate properly, who moved too fast to track, whose forces would self-destruct when cornered, and who bombed the entire Empire from the sky. Obviously, they’ve got some hidden, true power, right?
Oh, right, the Empire still has those “magic battleships” that don’t even have magic furnaces, huh? I actually left one of those untouched on purpose. They should totally “restore” it. I’d laugh myself breathless.
Still, it’s useful for the Kingdom Alliance to see the Empire’s real strength. We shouldn’t underestimate them. We need to assess their capabilities properly.
So, I sent the Woofers Squad and a few of my clones to the Empire.
The dispatched clones secretly set up teleportation circles throughout the Imperial territory. Now, even if the monster proves too much for me to handle, I’ll have a contingency plan ready. Great news, Empire! You’ll finally get to show your true power!
After that, my brother, five hundred knights, and I departed for the Land of Tranquility.
The trip itself was easy—we’ve got a teleportation device installed at our embassy there.
Still, for safety reasons, only five people can transfer at a time, and the device on the Tranquility side is only activated when needed due to the mana cost.
That limit serves as a guarantee that no one can use it for an invasion. Both the sending and receiving devices have to be active for the teleport to work, and the mana requirement is enormous.
Normally, we charge up some decent-sized mana crystals at the Arland embassy to power the teleport device over there. Thanks to our magic reactor system, the embassy here has a steady mana supply, like electricity, so the cost’s low.
Anyway, the knights went first for security. Naturally, the Tranquility ambassador went ahead before them—can’t have foreign troops showing up first thing.
It took about three hours to finish the transfers, but oh well. Personally, I would’ve preferred to fly over in a bomber, cross the Empire, and maybe drop a few bombs on the way, but everyone vetoed that. Unacceptable.
“Welcome, and thank you for coming. I am Yoshiyoki Tokoyo, the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Land of Tranquility. We are honored by your visit.”
When I arrived, there was an unfamiliar middle-aged man waiting. The foreign minister, apparently. I think I’ve seen him before, maybe?
Sensing that I didn’t remember, my brother stepped forward.
“Our ally is in crisis. We cannot hand over our citizens, but we’ll do everything we can to help.”
He said it with a polite smile and a firm handshake—neatly refusing to hand over Alicia and her family in the same breath.
Minister Yoshiyoki’s eyebrows twitched slightly, but he didn’t look offended—more like, “Ah, as expected.” So he hadn’t quite given up yet. He really should soon, or else I might accidentally turn his capital into a ruin.
Technically, we didn’t even need to visit the capital. The Yamata no Orochi isn’t sealed there—it’s on a distant island. Honestly, building your capital near a magic nuke you sealed away would be the height of stupidity.
We came here for one reason: the Bureau of Sealing was opposed to slaying it.
The Bureau, separate from the family that originally performed the sealing, consists of the Tranquility magicians who study reinforcement and countermeasures in case the Orochi revives. Magic here isn’t the same as ours—they use ofuda, talisman slips inscribed with magic arrays.
But they seem to think that if the Yamata no Orochi is as powerful as legend says, I won’t be able to defeat it.
It’s not like they’re underestimating me, though. My brother said they’re just… broken. Their spirits shattered after facing the thing for so long.
They’ve done their best. Ever since the sealing family died out, they’ve been maintaining the seal themselves. But it’s reaching its limit. They believe the safest method is to use Alicia’s family as sacrifices to strengthen the seal—just like it’s always been done.
Honestly, that’s idiotic. The bloodline’s down to just Alicia and her father. What do they think happens after they sacrifice her? Another hundred years, tops?
So, I’ve got to persuade them. They’re the ones who know the seal best, after all.
“Then please, allow me to guide you to the Bureau of Sealing.”
“Lead the way.”
After a short exchange, we headed to what looked like a shrine at the edge of Miyako, the capital of Tranquility.
And let me tell you, the walk there was quite a spectacle. The city looked like something out of ancient Kyoto—laid out in a perfect grid.
Most houses were wooden, with no bricks or stone, apparently because of earthquakes. Wood was safer, they said.
And the streets were packed with curious onlookers, watching us pass.
This country really does feel like a mix between Japan and Southeast Asia—the architecture, the clothes, the atmosphere, everything.
Anyway, when we arrived at the Bureau, the crowd couldn’t follow us in, so the noise faded and a calm stillness settled around the place.
“This is the Bureau of Sealing, the core of our nation’s magic. I’ll summon the Director, please wait a moment.”
Apparently, he wasn’t here because every single talismanist was busy maintaining the seal right now. Talk about a waste of national strength. They should just ship the thing out already and be done with it.
“Normally, if you can’t deal with something, you seal it away. Are they seriously treating this thing like livestock?”
“If the Yamata no Orochi is the same one I know, I can win.”
If it’s the same one recorded in the Spirit King’s knowledge, I can absolutely win. There’s no way I’d lose—with Takuto here, especially.
Well, assuming it’s still the same creature. I thought it had been scrapped ages ago.
The Ancient Magic Dynasty made it to destroy the Spirit King—but the control core was a failed prototype, uncontrollable, and far weaker than the original. The Spirit King could’ve wiped it out in one hit.
Then again, I’m basically a knockoff Spirit King myself, so maybe destroying it won’t be that easy. I’ve got a few methods in mind, though.
For example, Takuto’s Psychic Sword. He’s only using half its potential right now.
If we can fully awaken it, maybe he can slice open dimensions and send the Orochi straight to Teto. She’d probably love it. Maybe even keep it as a pet.
Anyway, there are only a few ways to kill an immortal monster—either seal it so perfectly it can never be freed, or obliterate it completely. Unfortunately, this one might be hard to erase entirely. Even the Spirit King just knew of it, not much more.
The real problem is that sealing magic isn’t my specialty.
Oh, I’ve studied it before! Back when I pretended to be a proper princess, I was secretly researching how to seal Madame.
And I actually developed a spell that could theoretically seal her for a thousand years!
But of course, it never got used.
Every time I tried to catch her off guard and activate it, my instincts screamed, “Do you really think this’ll hold her?”
It should’ve worked. The calculations were flawless. I triple-checked them.
But all I could see in my mind was Madame breaking the seal through brute force, resurrecting, and my poor butt paying the ultimate price. So humiliating.
In the end, I had to act like a model princess, trick Madame into thinking my “training” was complete, and exile her to a rural region by sacrificing some troublemaking noble girl in my place.
Didn’t expect that girl to reform so fast and send Madame right back, though! Come on, at least resist for twenty years! Don’t give up instantly!
Anyway, I haven’t improved my sealing spells since then. I could probably seal the Orochi for a hundred years, but I don’t plan to.
Alicia will still be alive a hundred years from now—she’s got long-lived parents, and she probably inherited that trait from both sides.
I might not be around then. So, I’ll slay it now and remove the threat once and for all.
“I see. Just don’t overdo it, all right? You always push yourself too far.”
“I’ll be fine! I’m the strongest mage there is. I’m a Sage, remember?”
“... You’re getting cocky again…”
Heh, if I’m the Sage, even Madame wouldn’t stand a chance. I’d one-shot her! Well, if I could actually reach her. My arms are still too short. Give me a few years to grow taller and she’ll be no threat at all. Can’t wait!
Anyway, first step: convince the Bureau’s talismanists. Then, inspect the seal itself. There’s maybe, like, a micro chance we can reinforce it somehow.
Not that I’m holding my breath—anything that still uses human sacrifice is already obsolete.
If that fails, we go straight to extermination.
Air support’ll be tricky with the location, but I’ve already ordered one armed airship to head this way. Should arrive in about a week—with permission from Tranquility, of course.
Time to check our forces.
We’ve got about 300 new-model Manaloids—still ramping up production.
Roughly 90,000 Soldier Golems and heavy-assault types combined.
That might be enough… maybe. Oh, right—the Paper Legion’s still around! Thirty thousand left! Weak as hell—they even struggled against Ostland soldiers—but cheap and disposable.
They’re made from paper and ink. Expensive materials, sure, but way cheaper than metal golems.
And thanks to our new inkjet printers, we can mass-produce them as long as we’ve got supplies.
Yeah. We’ve got this.
I think I’ll go take a bath.
What do you think about this chapter?
