Amber Sword

The Princess fell silent for a moment. She had long known that Ben possessed many secrets that Ordinary people could never touch. Yet no one knew how he had come by this knowledge, as if he had been born knowing, omniscient and omnipotent.

She thought for a while, then asked, "Mr. Ben... no, the descendant of the Sword Saint. You say you know nothing of your Grandfather’s exploits, yet your own experience, in our eyes, is like a Legendary epic. You have overcome hardships and perils beyond Ordinary imagination just to reach where you stand today. We all know your future is boundless; if you wished it, status and power, even... women, would be at your fingertips. So why have you chosen to help me?"

There was one unspoken line she did not voice: looking back from today, it is not hard to see that every move Ben has made since leaving Ridenburg has been in preparation for this very day. He has shown, without the slightest attempt to hide it, his favor toward her—toward the faction of Erune’s Princess—and he lent his aid unconditionally at the most difficult hour of the Kerkova Royal Family.

If Ben had come in fulfillment of the legacy of Sword Saint Darius, she might not have found it strange. But he had not. Ben’s Legend is an epic belonging to him alone; he did not even know that his own Grandfather was that famed Sword Saint recorded in Erune’s history.

Princess Griffine had never believed that there was such a thing in this World as love without cause—just as there could be no hatred without cause.

So in the end, she had asked this question. Ben scratched his head. It was not that he had never thought about it; in truth, the question was also difficult for him to answer. He could hardly say that the love and hate of a previous life had been carried over onto this soul, refusing to fade away, could he?

"Uh... perhaps it’s because some people are Innately worth helping. Besides, when Her Highness the Princess is so beautiful, is she not worth helping?"

"Mr. Ben intends to fob everyone off with that answer? I imagine that even your own subordinates would need a reason, would they not?" Griffine asked coolly.

That did, in fact, strike squarely at Ben’s weak point. He turned and noticed that Caglis and Antitina were both quietly watching what was happening here. It was true: in the past, his deeds were enough that those gathered around him would not ask why—because they believed he could lead them to create miracles.

But saving a senescent Kingdom requires more than miracles alone; one day, they would need a goal for which they could struggle together.

"...In truth, I don’t really understand it myself, Your Highness. But I think the Kingdom has known revival before, only for it to vanish in a flash—one or two mighty figures still could not alter history in the end. What the Kingdom needs, perhaps, is not merely great Strength, but to know for what purpose such Strength exists and serves."

"Whether it is devoted to eradicating all that is wrong in this Kingdom, or merely to preserving its rotten rule. Your Highness, is there not already an answer in your heart? And your answer is my answer." Ben replied slowly.

He closed his eyes. Others thought he was speaking of the Kingdom’s second renaissance; but what Ben truly spoke of was Erune’s final revival. That was the last great drama of this Kingdom, yet its curtain fell in bitter regret.

Princess Griffine stared blankly at Ben, fists clenched tight. In her heart she had already guessed this answer. She closed her eyes, forcing herself not to let tears fall from excitement.

She wanted to maintain this Kingdom’s rule.

Not because the Kerkova Royal Family must endure for all ages.

But to inherit the ideals of the Ancestor King and of herself, to reawaken that most radiant era in Erune’s history. Yet that Radiance was not to belong to the nobles, but to the entire Kingdom, to all its people. Even if the Kerkova Royal Family no longer held power, she would see to it that the Glory of Holy White did not fade.

From then on, Erune would shine upon the history of Vaun as a country, rather than as the appendage and stage of the nobles. Just as Former King Ai Ke once swore upon this ground—the vow to which the Lion Heart Sword bore witness was not that rule over this land would last forever, but that Glory would belong to the Eruein.

Only when that moment arrived would this ancient realm grow strong from within, bursting forth with new life and vigor.

Ben watched this frail young girl in silence—in history she had never had a true companion—and save for a handful of players, no one knew the Princess’s true ideal. Not even the nobles who supported her understood what it was she insisted upon.

To win the backing of the Royalist faction, to win the support of Duke Anlek, she had been forced to compromise again and again. There were even players who slandered her as a political whore—but she had no choice but to preserve the rule of the nobles, in order to safeguard the most basic prerequisite for realizing that ultimate goal.