The Mythical Hero's Otherworld Chronicles: Volume 3 by Tatematsuri

Author:Tatematsuri [TATEMATSURI]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: J-Novel Club
Published: 2023-05-04T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 4: Like Embers, Huddled in the Blizzard

The tenth day of the tenth month of Imperial Year 1023

The day of the celebration was bitterly cold. Clouds obscured the sun’s rise in the eastern sky, impeding its light from spreading across the land. A fierce wind wailed like a howling beast as it beat at the walls of buildings and whipped freshly fallen snow into flurries. Typically, the high street would be bustling with shoppers and lined with stalls, but now it was empty and the shops were shuttered. The commonfolk were all holed up in their homes, hands over their hearths and prayers on their lips, waiting for the snowstorm to pass.

The Amethyst Hall could not have been more different. Its interior was bathed in warmth. Light scattered throughout the great hall, illuminating faces flushed with cheer. A vast selection of dishes adorned twenty long tables, perhaps more, while silver goblets caught the light of the chandelier to trace mesmerizing patterns on the walls. Nobles sat around the tables, conversing merrily with wine glasses in hand.

“A blizzard on a day like today? A blasted shame is what it is.”

“Is it so lamentable? Who’s to say it isn’t a sign of the heavens’ favor?”

“Quite. Do they not say that a great cataclysm split the land on the day we zlosta were born?”

“True enough. It may very well be a good omen.”

“It must be, for today we celebrate Princess Claudia’s sixteenth birthday!”

No sooner was the princess’s name spoken than all eyes converged on where she sat beside the king.

“I daresay her beauty could rival that of the empire’s sixth princess.”

“Is that so? And have you seen the Valditte to compare?”

“Oh my, no. But the rumors paint a very pretty picture.”

Holding his plate amidst the nobles and their gossip, Hiro surveyed the room.

Things seem peaceful...for now.

Above his head, an orchestra played an elegant melody on an open balcony. Along the fringes of the room, royal guards stood in bulky armor, weapons on full display as if to assure the attendants that all was secure.

“Lord Hiro,” came a voice. “You seem rather unenthusiastic.”

“Not at all,” he replied.

The man who had spoken was one of the officials who had accompanied him from the empire. Hiro forced a smile to fend him off and downed his glass of water. In a room where everybody was indulging in drink, it felt awkward to be the only one refraining.

“Lord Hiro,” another voice called out. “You are enjoying yourself, I hope?”

This speaker was a slender, foppish man: Flaus van Lebering. With an extravagant cloak draped over his shoulders, he projected a stately air. His features had the hard lines of maturity, but his build could have been that of a boy.

Hiro gave a nod of acknowledgment. “Prince Flaus. I’m having a wonderful time, I assure you.”

“Are you certain? From where I stood, you seemed awfully bored.” Flaus’s tone was jovial. He drained his wine glass, then strode over to the table and returned with the bottle. “Come, let us drink.

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