Published: September 10, 2025
April 4, 2016 – Typo corrections made.
This is Satou. Fortunately, I’ve never had to face the choice of abandoning my country or not. But when it comes to school or work, I think they’re things you should be willing to give up before weighing them against your own life.
◇
“We demand passage through the checkpoint!”
“Do not tolerate the tyranny of the demi-humans!”
“Open the checkpoint gates at once!”
As we landed at the wyvern landing platform atop the checkpoint’s tower, such angry shouts reached our ears.
It sounded like the slogans from those old student protest movies I’ve seen.
Somehow, it deflated my motivation.
I was starting to feel like leaving it be and going back, but with Sera beside me, that was out of the question.
From the sky, I had glimpsed mothers holding babies and small children.
“That’s awful.”
Sera’s voice was filled with reproach as she scanned the scene.
We saw lizardmen and soldiers of the orange Scale Tribe shooting arrows to chase away the refugees who had stepped into the wetlands trying to cross the border wall.
Seeing them laugh as the refugees fled, I could understand their reaction, but the truth was somewhat different.
According to my eavesdropping skill teacher—
“Don’t hit them, okay?”
“Obviously, we’re just warning them not to step into the bottomless swamp. If we actually hit them, it defeats the purpose.”
“Hah, using such educated words. Hey, same on that side too.”
“Again...? Maybe if one of them got swallowed by the swamp and died, they’d quiet down.”
“Don’t joke about that. It gives me nightmares.”
“Right?”
—Such conversations were taking place.
I relayed this to Sera, who blushed in embarrassment over her earlier harsh words, but I reassured her that if she hadn’t heard this, misunderstanding was understandable.
◇
“Your Highness! And the young lord of the Dragon Horn family as well!”
The checkpoint’s supervisor rushed out of the building to greet the princes.
Though it looked like a low-ranking official fawning over nobles, his sparkling eyes suggested he was genuinely a fan of the two.
I recall this country values warriors.
“Captain! Trouble! They’re coming!”
A lookout soldier called out from atop the checkpoint’s walls.
The pastoral mood from moments ago was gone.
Muscular warriors dashed after the supervisor, so Sera and I followed.
The spiral staircase leading to the tower connected to the wall smelled of mold, stained with moss and mud.
“Listen up, frog-eaters!”
A group of human men drew their swords on the bridge linking the checkpoint to the border.
Included were former soldiers of the Makiwa Kingdom, members of the criminal guild, and unidentified high-level warriors. All of them seemed to be in an “excited” state.
There wasn’t a single spy among them.
The spies remained scattered, blending in with the refugees.
I called them spies because their affiliation was listed as “Cannibalistic Serpent,” a mysterious group.
I hadn’t heard of them during my travels, and no known countries had such a group.
Their skill lineup resembled that of professional spies too closely for a criminal guild. They were probably illegal operatives from some country.
If the men shouting slogans earlier were like student protestors, these were the real terrorists.
All were charged with murder; some high-level warriors even bore the title “Killer Maniac.”
At the tips of their swords sat three lizardmen tied up with ropes.
According to AR display, all three seemed to be commoners from the Silga Kingdom—fishermen from a small southern village.
“If you value their lives, open the checkpoint. Each time this hourglass empties, one of them will lose an arm or a leg.”
The leader’s merciless words made the lizardmen scream.
“Silence.”
At the leader’s signal, a high-level warrior cut off one lizardman’s tail with a single strike.
As the tail writhed, the bridge stained red.
“Unforgivable—”
A muscular warrior who witnessed this brutal act leapt out from the tower.