The heart of the Urzak Federation.
In the imperial capital Urzak──
The land that had been the devil’s nest for decades under Dark Empress Vanessa was dyed in the colors of sunrise.
The rubble around the capital had been removed, and the deteriorating buildings were being repaired.
It was returning to a human capital.
“……I wonder if I would be moved if these weren’t the circumstances.”
The imperial capital was dyed in crimson.
Jeanne muttered to herself as she watched the architects and mercenaries of the Humanity Rebellion Resistance gathering at dawn.
“Before we left for the Io Federation, this place was still filled with rubble. It’s so clean now, and even the roads have been repaired so that cars can pass through.”
“Mmm……I have to disagree.”
“Ah, why?”
“The ground is completely covered with concrete. No plants can grow here.”
The elf wearing a kimono folded her arms in frustration.
Elf shrine maiden Reirin.
If she was to be compared to a human, she would look fifteen or sixteen years old. Her hair, stretched to the ground, was a vivid graduation of blue, and her skin was as white and translucent as white porcelain.
“Jeanne. Is it the human way to cover the mineral-filled ground and kill nature?”
“That's a misunderstanding. The green is lacking because it was burned in the fires of war. This place was originally famous for its common green boardwalks.”
“Hmm?”
“The new imperial capital will be reborn as a place overflowing with greenery. That is what I, the commander, promise. Of course, it won’t be like the Elf Forest, but it should be much better than now.”
“Is that so. If that’s the case, then it’s fine.”
The elf easily got into a good mood.
She should be hundreds of years old, but this change in attitude was like a young child’s.
“Now that you know that, let’s head to the headquarters of the Humanity Rebellion Resistance……By the way, Rinne? What about your wings?”
“…………No, it’s no good at all.”
The voice came from close by.
From behind Kai watching the exchange between Jeanne and Reirin, in the shadow of a still dark building, the blonde girl, Rinne, was constantly worried with a troubled expression about her back.
“Hey Kai, it seems to be no good after all.”
“Can’t hide them?”
“Yeah……”
Rinne, who had mixed blood from all races, had wings on her back.
The base of the feathers were jet black like a crow’s, and as one looked from there to the edge of the wings, the dyed gradation became white like snow.
They were wings that could be called a “tenma’s,” an angel’s and a devil’s wings in one.
……Normally, they should be able to be smaller.
……In order to avoid being noticed by other humans when entering human cities.
But she couldn’t.
She noticed her wings couldn’t be hidden right after being transferred to the imperial capital.
“Hmーm. Hey Kai, why don’t my wings become small?” (TL: Here “hmm” is said in frustration)
“What about your injuries? The wounds from the bullets shot by the steel machine haven’t healed yet, have they?”
“No, it doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Rinne stroked her wings.
The wounds on her wings were made only a few hours ago. In the Devil’s Graveyard before we were transferred here, there was a steel monster that suddenly attacked us.
──Steel machine race.
It did not exist in the canonical history.
If the exact words of the cryptid hero Rath=IE were correct, this was the sixth race born as a result of the progress in the alteration of the world reincarnation. I wondered if the wings couldn’t move because of the wounds caused by the wounds made in the battle with the steel machine, but apparently it wasn’t because of those.
“I’ll have to wait and see for a while……but I’m weak. Even though the destination is already in front of my eyes.”
The others and I were forcibly transferred from the Western Federation.
The Urza Humanity Rebellion Resistance under the command of Jeanne and Commander Balmung were left behind in the Schultz Federation.
“It can’t be helped. I’ll lend you one layer of my magic robe, so you can keep your wing covered. You can hide your wings, right?”
Reluctantly, Reirin shrugged her shoulders.
She took off one of the seven layers of her robe and hung it on Rinne’s shoulder. It was the petite Reirin’s garment, but the fabric was so long that the sleeves touched the ground, so the wings could be completely hidden.
“Wow, is that fine?”
“Mhm. But it is the greatest treasure of the elves, so do not be rough with it. Do not do things like pulling or soiling the cloth──”
“Amazーing! Kai, this cloth is really strong. You can pull on it, and it’ll be completely okay.”
“Stop───?!”
“…………All right all right you two, that’s enough noise.”
Jeanne clapped her hands and ordered.
The human commander interceded with the girls of other races as if it was normal. Kai was used to it, but when he thought about it, it was a strange sight.
“We’re heading to the headquarters of the Urza Humanity Rebellion Resistance. It’s close by, so be careful Reirin.”
“I’m used to it. Humans have a poor sense of smell, so as long as I cover my ears, they won’t notice.”
“It’s when they start to let their guard down that they become the most dangerous. Anyways, stand at attention. If it’s discovered that you’re a sidhe, my position as a commander will be in danger. If that happens, everything will be for nothing, okay?”
Jeanne started walking away.
The rubble had been removed, but the pavement was peeling and cracking everywhere.
We crossed the ruins of the abandoned building and proceeded endlessly, basking in the morning sun.
“All the buildings look the same. Kai, which one is the base of the Urza Humanity Rebellion Resistance?”
“Those twin towers. You can see what looks like two towers merging into one.”
“Two towers?”
Reirin stared at the building Kai pointed straight at.
“There isn’t such a thing, is there?”
“……My phrasing was bad. That’s the building. One of the two tower-like buildings was destroyed when the demons occupied this place.”
The Urza Government Palace.
A steel building, dyed with the color of the morning glow, towered over the surroundings. The four soldiers standing at the entrance widened their eyes as soon as they saw them.
“Wha?!”
“Jeanne-sama?!……Er……rr, what is the meaning of this? Wh, why are you in the Urza Federation?! You should have been in the Western Federation fighting the cryptids!”
It was only natural that suspicion was stronger than happiness.
There was no way he could calmly accept the fact that his commander, who was supposed to be in the Western Federation, had returned to the imperial capital without any notice.
“Captain Adolf, Dennis, Utz, Senior Soldier Dominic.”
As the Knight of Holy Light──
The commander Jeanne, basked in sunlight, called out to the four people there. He took out the commander’s communicator from his breast pocket.
“It’s me, without a doubt. This should be enough for identity verification.”
“Ah!”
“Everyone, thank you for your concern.”
He raised his voice to the Urza Government Palace. It took less than a minute for more than a hundred soldiers to run breathlessly from the entrance.
“Jeanne-sama?!”
“The commander of Schultz’s Humanity Rebellion Resistance, Min, had informed me that the whereabouts of several people, including Jeanne, had been lost...I’m glad that you’re safe!”
The commander and top brass saluted in unison.
“Please tell us about the situation.”
“Among the cryptid tribe, there were some who manipulated transfer magic. We were torn away from the main force of the Schultz Human Rebellion Resistance. Did you hear something from Western Schultz?”
“Yes! That was last night.”
“I want to send a message to Western Schultz as soon as possible. I will speak to Commander Min and Balmung.”
“Right away!”
The mercenaries ran back with vigour that caused the earth to shake.
“Jeanne-sama, who is this?”
“This is Reirin-dono, a scholar of the Io Federation. She is well-versed in the ecology of sidhes. She’s accompanied me from the time I left Eastern Io for Southern Yurun, and as you can see, she was dragged into the enemy’s magic just as I was. “
The elf shrine maiden just silently nodded.
It wasn’t that she wanted to look suspicious, but Kai guessed from her curt expression that she simply didn’t want to talk to the unfamiliar enemy race of humans.
“Rinne, why don’t you go ahead and get a room and some rest? I’m going with Jeanne to the communications room.”
“No, I’m fine. I don’t think these wings will be found out.”
Rinne shook her head courageously.
“This cloth is amazing. It doesn’t tear when I pull on it.”
“Like I said, don’t pull on it!”
Following the commander Jeanne who was led by his men, Kai walked to the government palace.
TL: Hi everyone, as you might have noticed I'm back to my original site. I've been pretty unmotivated to translate lately due to some frustrations I had before as well as being burned out from work and preparing for school. Hopefully that all clears up a bit. I'll be trying my best to get a somewhat consistent schedule during the school year, but there will again be no guarantees for the next month or so on how much I can get done.
I also have some regret on how I've allocated the past month or so to manga translating when I feel like that effort was wasted. I could've made a lot of progress on LN instead if I knew someone in my staff was going to ghost me for a deadline, but whatever. Back to working on Naze LN only now, and I'll see if I can find another typesetter for the manga when I get some more time. Also do note that I am starting to release in parts again for longer chapters because I will simply not have the time to release complete chapters in the span of 1-2 weeks like before. Lastly, here's the new Discord for my personal translations if you're interested in updates.