"Do well not to touch anything." Anyachi says as she and Miura walk down a long hallway.
"Shut up! I'm not a kid." Miura snaps.
"But you are." Anyachi whispers to herself.
"I heard that." Miura replies.
Anyachi lets out a cheeky laugh.
As they continue walking, Miura passes a wall filled with portraits. He suddenly stops, staring at one in particular—a blond-haired knight holding Estalcia.
He feels strangely drawn to it and begins reaching out to touch the painting.
"Are your ears blocked? I thought I told you not to touch anything." Anyachi says, tapping his fingers with the base of her sword.
"Ow. I'm sorry, I just… I just felt drawn to it." Miura says, still staring at the portrait.
"Majestic, isn't he?" Anyachi says after noticing Miura didn't yell at her for hitting his fingers.
"Who is he?" Miura asks without taking his eyes off the painting.
"He's the 14th Hero of Estalcia… the one before you." Anyachi replies.
"For real? He looks so majestic. I don't even know how to put it into words… he just looks inspiring." Miura says.
"Yeah. From what I've heard, he had that effect on people." Anyachi says with a small smile.
"From what you've heard? You're talking like he's prehistoric or something." Miura remarks.
"Not prehistoric per se… but he's not from recent times." Anyachi replies.
"How far back was the last hero?" Miura asks.
"Two hundred and six years ago." Anyachi answers.
"Eh?! That's a long time ago. Why so long before me?" Miura asks.
"Finally accepting your title, huh? Don't get ahead of yourself yet—you haven't even bonded with the sword." Anyachi chuckles.
"Shut it." Miura mutters.
"The Five Seated, both old and new, have been trying to find the descendants of the 14th hero, because they're the only ones who can wield Estalcia. That proved difficult since the 14th hero vanished from Estalcia." Anyachi explains.
"Vanished?" Miura asks.
"After failing to slay the Homonculus, he was never seen again. The sword was found here in the summoning hall, but there was no trace of him anywhere. That's why the people of Estalcia are divided on his legacy. Some see him as the great hero who mortally wounded the Homonculus… but others see him as a traitor for abandoning Estalcia." Anyachi says while looking at the portrait.
"But you'll change that." she adds, turning to Miura.
"What do you mean?" Miura asks.
"Remember when I said only the descendants could wield the sword?" Anyachi says.
"Wait… you mean—"
Miura's eyes widen.
"His name was Sir Vante Redborne… your ancestor." Anyachi tells him.
"That's crazy! You're saying my lineage traces back here?" Miura says in disbelief.
"It's true. It proved to the Five Elders that the theory about Sir Vante fleeing to Earth after abandoning Estalcia was correct. We don't know why he did it, but he did. And his bloodline eventually led to you." Anyachi explains.
"So that's what Crest meant when he said I'm the one who's going to save the nation… because I'm a descendant of heroes." Miura says, still stunned.
"Yeah… but you're pretty peculiar." Anyachi adds.
"In what way?" Miura asks.
"When a hero is pierced, he meets the Supreme Goddess Estalcia and forms a bond with her. But you didn't… and you still got healed. That has never happened before." Anyachi explains.
"Seriously, I did meet the dwarf in the sword." Miura says while scratching his head.
"How dare you call the Supreme Goddess of Estalcia a dwarf!" Anyachi shouts, hitting him on the head with the end of her sword.
"What?! She's short! I'm being serious!" Miura protests.
"There's a one-in-a-billion chance an Estalician would ever be graced with her presence, and you dare call her a dwarf." Anyachi says, giving him the side-eye.
"Fine, fine. Sorry. She's the founder of your nation, so I guess it's warranted… but still, you didn't have to hit me that hard." Miura says while rubbing the back of his head.
"Good. At least you apologized. Now come, let me show you your room." Anyachi says.
As they leave the portrait hallway, Miura looks back at Vante's portrait one last time before following her.
---
"Here we are." Anyachi says as she opens the door.
Miura steps inside and freezes.
The room is a luxurious royal suite.
"Is this real?!" Miura shouts as he jumps onto the massive bed.
"It is!!" he yells while rolling around excitedly.
"You really are a child, aren't you?" Anyachi says with a smile.
"Shut up!" Miura shouts, throwing a pillow at her face.
"You've done it now!" Anyachi says.
She drops her sword and Estalcia onto a chair beside the bed before jumping onto it, tackling Miura in a playful fight.
"Erm… excuse me. I was told to come and serve fo—"
A maid enters the room but freezes when she sees them in a very awkward position.
"Eh."
"Eh."
Miura and Anyachi say at the same time.
"I'm sorry for interrupting!" the maid blurts out quickly with a flustered face. "I'll drop the food on the table and leave as fast as I can!"
She hurriedly places the food down and runs out.
"Wait! It's not what it looks like!" Miura and Anyachi shout while reaching out toward her.
"Estalcia… I didn't expect that." Anyachi mutters as she gets off the bed and picks up the two swords.
"Me too." Miura says with a straight face.
Then both of them burst into laughter.
"I'm going to place Estalcia somewhere safe until tomorrow. Do well to rest up. You're well protected—my battalion will be here at any moment." Anyachi says before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.
Miura turns onto his side on the bed.
"Today's been all kinds of insane. First I was shot, died, came back, got pierced in the chest, almost died again, came back again… and now I find out my lineage traces back to another world. That's a lot to process." he murmurs.
"I just pray you're okay, Eunice. I'm sorry for leaving." Miura whispers as tears begin rolling down his face.
Outside the door, the maid stands quietly, holding a jug of water.
---
Anyachi places Estalcia inside its chamber before exiting the summoning hall.
Her entire battalion is already waiting outside.
"Oii, Captain!" a female knight shouts while sitting on top of a chariot before jumping down.
"Why can't you sit inside the chariot like a normal person, Selene?" Anyachi says with an exhausted expression.
"Morning to you too, Captain." Selene replies with a smile.
"He's inside, right?" she asks.
"Yeah. And our job is to protect him. Hear that, all of you!" Anyachi shouts.
"YES!" the entire battalion responds.
"Now mount your positions around the building." Anyachi orders.
The soldiers quickly spread out around the hall while Anyachi and Selene head inside to stay closer to Miura.
---
"It's Anyachi… the Fourth Battalion Leader of the Divine Knights. She's trouble." one of the horned figures says.
"Fear not. Eroica and I will deal with her personally." another replies.
"Focus on eliminating the soldiers around the hall, Vicoe. I don't want any distractions."
The leader looks toward the distant building.
"Now let's go. It's time to prove our worth to him. Failure is not an option."
"Yes, Slayde." the other two reply.
From a distant mountaintop, the three horned figures watch the hall below in silence.