Flying to America (1)

The night is falling and the air is chilly in the king's tent on the battlefield.

"——"

Even on the battlefield, King Lionheart must attend to his royal duties.

He has to deal with broken roads and tax revenues, dispatching troops for various disturbances, and squabbling among his multinational allies.

The sound of a nib scratching the texture of the paper is unusually loud.

"——"

Blue eyes, just like his own, stare at the figure of the Lionheart King.

Except for her hair, which is ebony black against the brilliant gold, the stiffness of her posture and the prominence of her features suggest that the two are related.

"What's going on, Archduke of Dragonia?"

"A request for supplies from the Imperial Army, Your Majesty."

Their titles are formal but it's not just their personalities that make them address each other with honorifics in a setting like this.

They've lost a person, and there's no one to mediate between them.

"I'll be off then."

The daughter rose to leave her father's tent, as if she had no business to attend to other than official matters but her father's voice stopped her.

"Karina."

Leon's voice was softer, careful as if he were handling a piece of porcelain that was hanging precariously, as if it might break at any moment.

"Won't you join me tomorrow morning, at least for a meal?"

As a man who had spent his life fighting orcs and demons, he had only had children when he was the age of an old man.

Though he was well past a hundred years old, he was as young as any father could be, and he was as cautious as ever with his daughter.

"My military duties keep me busy."

"Indeed——"

Grand Duchess Karina Dragonia cut off her father's attempt with a stiff tone.

Their relationship between father and daughter was cold and stiff.

"Yes, I'm sure you're busy, go back inside and get some rest."

"Take care of yourself, Your Majesty."

Inside the tent, the man who remained flipped through the pages of the paper.

[Do as you will, Archduke of Dragonia! I don't like the sight of you! Disappear before this king's eyes!]

———

——

—

"——"

"Your Majesty, are you all right?"

A soft voice rings out next to him in concern as a girl with red hair and golden eyes comes into view.

"What were you trying to do?"

"Uhm— You were breaking out in a cold sweat, so I was going to wipe it off for you."

"Hmph, you're quite the handmaiden."

Leon accepted Ha-ri's attention and saw another approaching.

-Your Majesty, a low-temperature fluid discharge. Appears to be apnea due to nervousness.

"His Majesty is nervous?"

Ha-ri asked, surprised by Yappy's diagnosis while Leon drank the water in front of him. It was warm, just the right temperature.

"Are you all right?"

"It's nothing, I just had a bad dream."

Ha-ri gave Leon a worried look. There had only been one other time in her experience that Leon had looked like this.

In Lionheart's Last War, the first time she'd seen his sad eyes.

"Do you want me to bring you the queen, so you can have a good dream?"

"Not exactly nightmares. Rather–I wish I had them more often."

Leon stroked Ha-ri's hair at her thoughtfulness, then turned his gaze to the window.

The sky was blanketed in pure white clouds since they were flying through the sky.

"How long until we reach the United States?"

"Oh, yeah, now that we're–now that we're past L.A., I think we'll be in Washington, D.C., in about four hours."

"That's a long time."

"Well, that's thanks to the U.S. military charter."

-Need to build a private plane? Incheon to Washington in an hour.

Yappy's futuristic cyberpunk charter plane already had blueprints on Infinite Storage. Though in this day and age, we might consider a maglev ocean train or intercontinental orbital transportation.

-Accepted.

"You're trying to build something weird again——"

Despite witnessing scientific advances that would mark the history of modern civilization, Ha-ri stuck out her tongue and wished he was building something more human.

* * * *

The list of people the president of the United States might personally greet is narrow.

Only the head of state of a major ally, or the Queen of England, would be greeted by the President of the United States in white-tie formality with a waiting military honor guard.

If Anthony Hobson, the 49th President of the United States, were to have his tie fixed by himself, and the person waiting for him was not the head of state, but a guildmaster of a private guild, it would have been criticized by the opposition and the entire nation.

The title of President of the United States of America, the world's most powerful and richest nation, should carry a weight that not even he himself should take lightly.

At the very least, no one wants to see their president kowtow to the head of a private organization.

But in the case of this one man, surprisingly little was said.

[The Lion King is coming from South Korea!]

[Four non-standard grades! The strongest guild in history, with the world's largest S-class power, will land on the American continent!]

[Experts focus on the arrival of the Flaming Sword Knights!]

[Leon Dragonia Lionheart, the fastest-growing agent of Religious Manhattan, how will the American Christian faithful receive him].

Otherworldly survivors have always been a hot topic in Hunter news, but lately they've cooled off.

While their numbers have grown to the point where they're now commonplace, they're not particularly exceptional compared to the Hunters of Earth.

Enter Leon Dragonia Lionheart, King of the Lionheart.

Beatrice Alighieri Spero, Magician Queen of the Kingdom of Spero.

Yakt Spinner, the killing machine of the Millennium City.

Likewise, Vulcanus, the Holy Knight of War and Flame of Lionheart.

One by one, these superpowers are dominating international headlines and shaking up the world of Hunters.

Their visit was important enough to attract not only the President of the United States, but also a number of ministers who are key members of the administration's cabinet.

Of course, this was not without the advice of America's longtime goddess.

[King Leon is quite old-fashioned by your standards, not that he's unreasonable, he's just convinced he has the power and authority he deserves.]

Since the opening of the Gate, the United States has been in active contact with the survivors of the other worlds.

They've been studying their culture and behavior, which is different from Earth's, and they've been studying Leon very closely.

What he eats, what he thinks, what his hobbies are.

"Sir, we will be arriving shortly."

"Whoa, I'm nervous."

President Hobson straightened his tie and remained nervous.

His opponent was an absolute monarch of the medieval world, with the authority of actual gods. To deal with such a man, all of his key secretaries and bureaucrats were trained in royal etiquette.

"Who will come? Surely those two will come?"

In this case, they were Leon and Beatrice.

The administrations of the countries were virtually predisposed to favor Beatrice as Leon's First Lady. The authoritarian Leon's distinction between commoners and nobles was clear, and Beatrice was the only member of the royal family who spoke to him as an equal.

Add to that the fact that they were both present at every event, and it's hard not to think of Beatrice as the First Lady.

"The trouble is, Sir Vulcanus and Sir Yakt Spinner, with all the power they showed in Taiwan, are nothing compared to the Magician Queen."

The Battle of Taiwan was an event that shocked the world.

There were three Archdemons, all believed to be just below Skazakari, the Archdemon of Shanghai, who was credited with virtually ending China.

Vulcanus slayed two of them, and Yakt Spinner managed to take down one.

It was an impressive feat, but Beatrice's newfound power is said to have made her stronger than ever.

The crystallization of a great weapon, wielding a mist of death at her touch, she was said to be better than several Archmages of the Tower Lord class.

"The cadre is important, but so are the knights beneath them. I'd like at least twenty, if not all, of the Knights of the Burning Sword to come."

"Even the Knights of the First Order are powerful, especially Han Ha-ri and Chun So-yeon, who are now ranked as top S-class Hunters."

President Hobson read the material as well.

The Association's new recruits and Academy cadets, who had been Class A and B Hunters only earlier this year, had risen to the ranks of Class S Hunters in less than half a year.

The Knights under his command alone were a modest S-class raiding party and it's hard to believe that they were only students not long ago.

'At least three officers and some members of the Burning Sword Knights.'

I think it's a little hard to hope for a jackpot. Korea wouldn't want to see their greatest power slip away.

'Goddess Meriel said she'd done something about it, but I'd be happy with a modest settlement.'

The large transport skidded to a halt on the tarmac and stood in front of the red-carpeted ceremony.

The doors opened and the first to emerge were two girls, a redhead and a dark-haired Oriental along with the two knight boys from the dossier.

"Okay, so if those four are here, that means the entire Order is here."

The four smiled awkwardly at the national-sized welcoming crowd and descended, followed by a group of former Academy cadets.

All of them are Knights of the First Order of the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods in the database, and all of them are Holy Law users starting at Class A Hunters.

Their combat prowess had made for impressive footage during the destruction of Archduke Akasha's estate.

The next to descend the stairs was a spider-mech that leaped from the stairs and landed on Ha-ri's head.

"This is Lord Yakt Spinner, and his arrival means that the courtesy recruits can be mobilized at this gate."

"Okay, okay, I'll take a look at that super-robot."

The next to dismount were red knights in medieval full plate armor. Some of them had their helmets off, and the Hunter Management Agency official recognized them instantly.

"Sir Laihar Dever, Third Sword of the Knights of the Burning Sword!"

"Sir Galatan and Sir Tarhan are there as well, top tier powerhouses with video footage of them attacking Gates alone!"

As the names of the Knights of the Burning Sword appeared one after another, the agents of the Hunter Management Bureau cheered.

Does their arrival mean that some of the Burning Sword Knights will be participating in this assault?

"I wonder if all of them have come──

A hopeful observation was made, but everyone's eyes widened at the next figure that appeared.

-Lord Vulcanus!

-It's Vulcanus the Butcher!

-That Vulcanus has come to America!

A Holy Knight and the leader of the Flaming Sword Knights, a powerhouse of super strength that even the greatest demons can't match. Vulcanus, the Holy Knight of War and Flame, has arrived.

"They're all here."

President Anthony Hobson couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from twitching.

The arrival of the First Order had been enough to get his hopes up, but the arrival of Vulcanus was like getting an early Christmas present.

The arrival of the trusty Knights of TTG Temple seemed to take the edge off the stress of the Black Gate's arrival in Washington, D.C., the worst scourge of mankind.

This should quickly stabilize the volatile NASDAQ index. There's a reason why there's information control whenever a black gate opens, because stock prices and surrounding land values crash.

Humanity has always feared the horrors of the Black Gate.

"Leon Dragonia Lionheart is here!"

Soon, Leon the Lionheart King and Beatrice the Magician Queen descended the stairs together.

Perhaps they were the most famous people in the world.

Shining golden hair, blue walls–and at the transcendent age of 300, still as handsome as a young man in his prime, he has an almost absolute following on the Internet.

And the veiled woman who follows him always keeps her face covered, so her exact features are not known, but when he occasionally reveals a part of her face, it is an eyewitness testimony that she is a beauty who attracts a lot of 'seconds'.

It was safe to say that their popularity was world-class, as they were both good men and good women with world-class martial power.

"Welcome to the United States of America. We welcome the visit of your Majesties and their knights."

President Hobson held out his hand as a gesture of goodwill and Leon smiled as he gladly shook the President's hand.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, President Anthony Hobson. I am Leon Dragonia Lionheart, the 15th Lionheart King of the Lionheart Kingdom."

Leon didn't consider the people's elected head of state to be royalty on par with himself, but he treated him as such.

He grasped President Hobson's hand tightly and refused to let go.

"——Your Majesty?"

"I need to check on one thing."

"What is it——?"

"──The evil species".

The complexions of President Hobson and his cabinet stiffened.