Editing The Unexplored Summon Blood Sign:Volume8 Chapter4 (section)

===Part 2===

The Missing Princess was still back in Japan.

Due to the time difference, lunchtime was close to finishing there.

“Phew.”

Sinceria Highland, Queen of Kingdom F, used a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her brow while her oddly long ears twitched.

There was only one reason why a vessel like her would have returned from her Material form.

“…Well, that should about do it.”

The Chain had ended.

After defeating more and more and more enemy summoners, she found several hours had passed. That was an extraordinarily long battle since the Artificial Sacred Ground could only last 10 minutes at the most, but all Sinceria did was use that handkerchief. Her cool-colored dress still looked like snow or ice, glass or crystal.

Her stamina as a vessel was abnormal.

The battle had begun on the side deck, but it had gradually drifted, leaving her on the casino floor now. The Illegal summoners and vessels were strewn about in the defeated state, some passed out on a broken roulette table and some convulsing with their head crashed into a slot machine. Stuffing a vessel head-first into the air conditioning vent designed to look like a fireplace may have been a mistake. The casino area was not being properly cooled.

The glasses knight named Rachel Wormwood tapped her shoulder with her Blood-Sign which had the silver rod and J-shaped end of a battle hook.

“These were no more than foreign threats and insults to our kingdom who were so obsessed with gathering the Awards before their eyes that they lost sight of their true purpose as a summoner and even failed to collect the very Awards they sought. They never stood a chance against us.”

“Rachel.”

“Yes?”

Sinceria clasped her hands in front of her large chest and gently smiled.

The unbelievably beautiful head of state in a cool blue dress cut to the heart of the issue.

“Was this unofficial investigation merely an excuse to distance me from the war?”

“…”

Rachel fell silent for a moment and then shook her head.

She seemed to resign herself to something as she opened her mouth once more.

“The foundation of Kingdom F will be established where our queen is located. As long as you are safe, we can rebuild the kingdom as many times as it takes. It was also fortunate that the nobody took the princess away.”

“That is a shocking thing to hear as Kingdom F’s last line of defense…”

“Real war is not fought solely through the Summoning Ceremony. In fact, a large army firing common bullets is more frightening. When you get down to it, war is supported by the three pillars of population, technology, and resources. Was that never explained to you during your close relationship with that nobody?”

Once she got that far, Rachel faced the head of state once more.

She kneeled before Sinceria and bowed her head.

She got down on one knee and kept her tall and athletically-fit body as low as she could.

But she did not hesitate to speak.

“I will offer up my treacherous head once Kingdom F has been rebuilt. There is no need for the likes of me in the coming age. Please expunge my name from the court records and place my head in the guillotine, my queen. There is only a common criminal before you. The knight named Rachel Wormwood never existed.”

“''Don’t be ridiculous''…”

Sinceria’s tone slowly changed.

This was likely a voice she could never use in front of her daughter.

“I’m sure this was a group decision by all of the knights. No, there was probably a petition from the people before that. So why must you pass it off as your independent decision and take the full blame yourself?”

Rachel’s shoulder’s jumped.

She fidgeted with her head still lowered.

“No, that is…not what happened. This was a foolish act planned only by the traitor before you…!!”

“You are a terrible liar and that is one of your virtues. Finding no words to speak is nothing to be ashamed of.”

Sinceria than added a “however”.

“What is good and what is evil? Who should be punished and who should be forgiven? As the sovereign ruler of the kingdom, we hold the right to pardon criminals. Lady Rachel Wormwood. It is true we have given you some authority as a knight, but I have a question for you here. ''When did you gain the right to disrespect the entire divine right of kings''?”

“…”

Rachel clenched her teeth.

But she did not raise her head.

She clenched her teeth, clenched her teeth, clenched her teeth, and spoke in a vanishingly quiet voice.

“But if you were to graciously pardon me, it would mean I survived by sharing the special seat reserved for you. If I do not offer up my head, I will be setting a poor example for the others who allowed you to escape at great risk to their own li-…”

“Enough.”

She was rejected.

A regional knight’s pride could not bend the orders of a kingdom’s queen.

“You…no, the knights as a whole only prioritized my life because you heard the people’s pleas. If you still wish to be punished for your crime, then live on in disgrace, Lady Rachel Wormwood. Make up for not protecting the people, for abandoning the people, and for giving up on the people by ensuring this ends very differently from the result you imagine is coming. That is the punishment I will give to my trusted partner. Learn from your mistake and aim to be an even stronger strongest. We will use all of our authority as Kingdom F Queen Sinceria Highland to prevent you from shirking responsibility and accepting an easy death like a coward. Take this to heart, ignorant and proud knight. We will never listen to the likes of you and let you order us around.”

Silence followed.

What was burning in the trembling knight’s soul: the intense humiliation of losing her place to die, or appreciation for being saved from execution?

Rachel would snap at Shiroyama Kyousuke more than necessary whenever they met and she showed an intense revulsion to Sinceria’s idea that they were both summoners who protected the same royal family, but that may have been a sign of her jealousy. Kyousuke had looked far too bright as he fought head-on with nothing hidden and had that work in favor of Kingdom F’s royal family.

But that was none of Sinceria’s concern. She would look right past the #2 or #3 as she always sought the #1 summoner. If Rachel lived up to her queen’s expectations through ceaseless effort, Sinceria would have to do her very best to protect her subordinate.

There was no right answer in war, but you still had to make a decision.

If Sinceria had chosen to remain in Kingdom F and fight the foreign threat to the end, Rachel would have gone down in history as a fool who had stood by Sinceria’s side yet failed to get the head of state out of the country before they were surrounded. That knight had been stuck between a rock and a hard place from the beginning. And in the very, very end, she had chosen to listen to the will of the people, preserve the honor of the knights, save Sinceria’s life, and offer up her head and her head alone.

Sinceria smiled at that knight who had been raised to be honest to a fault and had thus ''become perfect''.

If she were to rid herself of someone like this out of fear of damaging her own reputation, then Kingdom F would truly be done for. The monarchy would have to be dismantled.

“Worry not, Rachel. This will not end the way you fear it will. There was never any need to feel that regret burning within you. So relax and raise your head.”

“?”

“Have you forgotten? We are not the only ones working to resolve this.”

Sinceria had declared this issue over when she told Rachel to live on in disgrace.

So now it was time to encourage her #1 subordinate who was still trembling like a fawn.

“After all, my adorable daughter and the hero who saved our kingdom have teamed up. With Olivia and Kyousuke working together, how can this have anything but a happy ending?”

She raised her index finger.

And she made a definite statement with a gentle smile on her lips.

“Just you watch, Rachel. Kyousuke will undoubtedly save the entirety of Kingdom F, including you.”