The world of Esdinas of Heaven includes various nations.
It is one vast continent, but the size of the continent is comparable to Europe or Africa, so its vast territory is governed by numerous diverse countries.
Among these nations, there are four that require the most attention.
The Empire, the Kingdom, the Church, and the Alliance.
There are two reasons for this.
One, many companions hail from these four places.
Another is that individuals from these four nations were the very founders of the Academy, revered as the [Four Saints].
Even the Empire is no exception.
The Emperor at the time showed great self-sacrifice by voluntarily giving up the throne and closing the gates to the Demon World for the sake of the continent.
Question.
Is the name of that empire the ‘Ercy Empire’?
No.
“Are you saying it’s not the princess of the [Amerkia] Empire, but the Ercy Empire?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Ludvecia answered my question very calmly.
“That’s only natural, right? In Amerkia, there’s an heir, the Crown Prince, who is of age to enroll in the Academy, but… he refused to enroll.”
“…”
It might sound like a strange statement, but from Ludvecia’s point of view, it could be a valid one.
-You know, we’re aware of the original story, right?
The Ercy Empire.
-What would you do if something entirely new appeared, something that wasn’t in the original work?
Asking ‘where is that?’ might be considered impolite or lead to confusion because certain things are common knowledge in this world.
“Phoenix, do you like people from the Amerkia Empire?”
Ludvecia asked, her eyes gleaming.
“No. I don’t really favor any particular country. I just thought that if it were an empire, they might create a fake princess and send her as a special admission student.”
“Hmm, that’s true. But they didn’t do that. Maybe they were ashamed that the Crown Prince displayed such disgraceful behavior.”
Ludvecia smirked as she twisted her lips.
“He probably isn’t foolish enough to be unaware that he’d draw suspicion, but he’s too afraid to attend the Academy.”
“Hmm….”
“Even the Crown Prince is a man, and particularly of royal blood, right? Their bloodline has carried the legacy of the [Dragon Emperor] for generations.”
Dragon Emperor.
One of the Four Saints, a half-dragon.
“Since they’ve inherited the blood of dragons, even after hundreds of years, the mana flowing through their bodies retains its essence. Even without the Mana Drain, if the successor of the Dragon Emperor were to attend, many women would surely aim for him….”
“But he’s a coward who gave up on enrolling himself.”
Instructor Esta shook her head in disapproval.
“Not only the Crown Prince, but all other young men around the age of 18 have done the same. The Sword Master’s grandson, the successor of the Blue Magic Tower, all of them refused to enroll. Even under special admission.”
“…”
Every time Esta spoke, memories resurfaced.
Esdinas of Heaven.
Although based on a visual novel game, oddly enough, you could recruit male sub-characters as well.
– [Sausage Party!!!] Achievement unlocked.
…One of the achievements involved clearing the final battle with the protagonist and all male companions.
Because of this, Esdinas of Heaven was originally a male-oriented visual novel RPG, but there were even a few female players who joined just to see the male characters.
Of course, they didn’t openly reveal themselves in the community, but on platforms like Twitter or anonymous forums, they created all sorts of fan content involving the male characters.
The strange thing is that there wasn’t much fighting between fandoms.
-Can you unlock an achievement by clearing it with the Sword Master’s grandson?
-Yeah, take him and the Blue Magic Tower master to a certain boss dungeon. The achievement will unlock, but you’ll get a lot of roses too.
-Ah….
Although I received various tips to unlock achievements I hadn’t even been aware of, the male characters were somewhat polarizing.
Even so, it’s true that these male characters were definitely helpful as ‘support companions’.
Though they rank below angel candidates, they were still remarkable individuals.
Yet now, none of them are here. Except for those who have already enrolled.
‘I think even among those who’ve enrolled, there are more who weren’t in the original story.’
The Mana Drain incident.
It seems like this is affecting things more than I initially thought.
Especially.
“Does that mean the Ercy Empire has no Crown Prince? I would think they’d have at least one hidden somewhere.” “Oh my. That would cause quite the uproar, wouldn’t it? Right, Instructor Esta?”
“…The Ercy Empress is also a unicorn rider, Phoenix. The current princess is actually her adopted niece, whom she took in while establishing the empire.”
“I see.”
‘Establishing’ the Empire.
I paused to recall my memories as Red Sol Phoenix.
‘Back then, there was no such thing as the Ercy Empire.’
Di Ercy.
Di Ercy.
“…?”
Wait a minute. Could it be…?
“…Understood. So where is this princess of the new empire now?”
I cautiously added the word ‘new’, but suppressed the mana that was bubbling up inside me as I observed their reactions.
“She’s expected to arrive soon. She mentioned she’d be coming directly by train….”
No unusual reactions.
In other words, it really is a ‘new’ empire.
‘An empire has been established in just ten years?’
You could call that absurd, but considering the slight malevolence associated with the name [Di Ercy], it might not be so impossible after all.
Even if I cleared 100% of the original story, it doesn’t mean I know everything about this world.
They say even mountains can change in ten years, so why wouldn’t this world change too?
This world might not even reflect the original world I know exactly.
In short.
-Even if an unknown variable arises, there’s only one thing we need to consider.
If an unforeseen variable has emerged.
-Adapting to the situation.
As a gamer and someone who has discussed strategies with Changyeom, the Archduke of Hell, I respond promptly based on the current situation.
“Seems the train has arrived while we were talking. Shall we go meet her?”
“Let’s do that.”
Standing up with the two of them, I made my way toward the lobby of the South Terminal to greet the new variable, Princess Evangeline of this newly founded empire.
* * *
[At that same moment, Esdinas Academy, Old School Building Training Grounds, Shooting Range.]
“The last one is a princess of the Ercy Empire.”
“…Who is that?”
While practicing with her magical engineering bow, Yunia lowered her bow at Ludmila’s words.
“Have you heard of the Ercy Empire?”
“Uh, no?”
“That’s not surprising. The empire has existed for less than five years.”
“…”
Yunia flushed slightly, casting a wary glance at Ludmila.
“Miss Yunia, since Phoenix isn’t here, I’ll tell you this.”
Ludmila placed her hand on her chest and bowed her head.
“I know quite a bit of information, so you can rest easy.”
“That…”
“There’s no need to be so guarded. One of my secret duties is to protect Miss Yunia.”
“…So you’re not a true classmate, huh.”
Yunia gave a bitter smile and bowed her head, but Ludmila simply closed her eyes for a moment.
“Unless you’re in a place where external information is restricted, it’s impossible not to know about the Ercy Empire. The area that was once the Ercy Kingdom unified three other kingdoms in a mere five-year war to form the empire.”
“…”
“Ten years ago, a massive incident occurred in the Habsderk Demonic Land.”
Ludmila lifted her bow and spoke slowly.
“An S+-rank demonic beast perished due to a mysterious event, and as Habsderk was reorganized under the leadership of the current Marquisate of Ludvecia, the monsters in the Demonic Land began to go berserk.”
“Oh, I know that. The monsters began attacking Esdinas Academy, right?”
“Yes. But part of them also spread elsewhere….”
Twang.
“And that severely affected the three now-destroyed kingdoms. The current ruler of those lands is the Ercy Empire.”
“So, the princess of that empire will be on our team.”
“Yes. Me, Miss Yunia, Phoenix, and the princess. The four of us.”
Ludmila seriously held up four fingers.
“If nothing major happens, we’ll likely stay as a team for at least one semester… or maybe even a year.”
“One year.”
“Yes. After that, who knows? The Princess of the Ercy Empire…will come to the Academy for the most ‘ordinary reason’ and try to find someone.”
“Ordinary reason?”
“Yes.”
After Ludmila shot her bow and lowered it, she lightly tapped her abdomen.
“Most of the women who come to the Academy are probably looking for a suitable husband, don’t you think?”
“Uh, wait… surely, not?”
“…Well, there’s always a possibility.”
Ludmila nodded with a look that seemed to say she was ‘acknowledging’ something.
“There aren’t many ‘healthy’ men among this year’s entrants.”
“…”
Yunia’s face began to harden with growing unease and worry.
* * *
As the door to the waiting room opened,
“Hmm.”
A girl in a pink frilled dress appeared.
“Greetings, Marchioness Ludvecia. And the White Sword Saint, Instructor Esta.”
The girl, holding a similarly frilled parasol, had pink hair even darker than her dress.
“And you must be, hehe, the only male special admission student?”
“…Greetings, Princess Evangeline.”
I greeted Evangeline, who had now become part of our team.
“…”
I looked down at her, and she looked right back up at me.
“You’re big.”
From a very low angle, her deep green eyes sparkling.
“Huge.”
“…”
Princess Evangeline was, indeed, doll-like in size.
She was certainly fit enough to attend Esdinas Academy, but…
She was very small.
Soft and plump.
Impressively, overwhelmingly so…
