Ceres is a silver-haired, long-legged beauty with a perfectly toned, glamorous body. She looks like the ideal swordswoman. In fact, she has the power of a hundred ordinary adventurers. Her swordplay is the best in the kingdom. She can use magic. She's smart too. But she has one fatal flaw: she has terrible luck.
One day, Ceres challenges the S-rank dungeon 'Valhalla's Grave.' The moment she grabs the legendary magic sword in the deepest chamber, she falls into a pit. And that pit happens to be
Crisis After Crisis - The Silver Sword Princess Stands in the Grand Arena ~The Silver Flash of Reversal, and the Stirring of a New Calamity~
The morning light bathed the royal capital of Astoria, enclosed by white stone walls. The sky was clear and blue, and the wind still carried a chill. But the air in the city held a strange heat. The great avenue leading to the Grand Colosseum to the south—a massive circular arena seating thirty thousand—had been packed with a ceaseless stream of people since before dawn.
"Did you hear? They're holding a public trial for the Silver Sword Princess."
"That Ceres Varnacros, a thief? Hard to believe."
"An S-rank adventurer stealing a noble's heirloom? Come on."
"But they say the evidence is solid. They found the Star-Reading Necklace and magic stone powder on her."
The murmuring filled the city like waves.
Beneath the Grand Colosseum. Behind iron bars, Ceres Varnacros had her eyes closed. Her silver hair, reaching down to her waist, was carefully brushed and tied up high. Long eyelashes cast shadows, hiding her clear blue eyes. Iron chains were wrapped over her white prisoner's garb, binding both wrists behind her back. The weight of the chains bit into her shoulders.
(Today, it ends.)
She quietly steadied her breathing. Against her chest, beneath her clothes, a silver crescent-moon pendant pulsed faintly—so faintly that no one could notice.
"Time's up."
The iron bars opened with a heavy sound.
—The Grand Colosseum.
Thirty thousand spectators packed the stands. The stone tiered seating was filled to the uppermost rows. The noble seats were lined with colorful dresses and formal attire, while the commoner seats radiated such heat that people stood in the aisles. In the center of the arena—the sandy plaza normally used for gladiatorial combat—a tall platform had been erected. The judge's seat, the witness stand, and the defendant's box.
The moment Ceres appeared from the underground passage, the entire colosseum stirred.
"There she is."
"The Silver Sword Princess..."
"She doesn't look as worn down as I expected."
"She's just putting on a brave face."
Still bound by iron chains, Ceres walked across the sand. She was barefoot. The sand bit roughly into the soles of her exposed feet. She held her back straight and looked directly ahead. In those blue eyes, there was no fear.
She stood in the defendant's box. The chains were fastened to a post on the platform. A heavy clank echoed through the colosseum.
"This court is now in session for the theft case involving Ceres Varnacros."
The judge was an old man with white hair. His deeply wrinkled face showed no emotion. Beside him sat a blonde noblewoman wearing a perfect smile. Lilina Faunberg. Her curled blonde hair was perfectly styled, and her jewel-like emerald eyes looked down at Ceres coldly. On the ring finger of her left hand, a large ruby ring—the family heirloom—glinted ominously in the morning sun.
"Defendant, Ceres Varnacros. You are charged with the theft of the Faunberg Marquis family's heirloom, the 'Star-Reading Necklace.'"
"...I didn't steal it."
Ceres's voice was low and quiet. But it reached every corner of the colosseum clearly.
In the front row of the gallery, Finn Alvenheit leaned forward. His light brown short hair bounced along with his cowlick. His right leg was wrapped in bandages, and he gripped a crutch. The wounds from the underground prison collapse had not yet healed.
"Ceres didn't do it! I'm a witness! That night, Ceres was—"
"Silence!"
Guards pinned Finn's arms down. His crutch clattered to the stone floor.
"Let go of me! I'm telling the truth—"
"Spectators will remain silent. Otherwise, you will be removed."
Finn bit his lip. His large amber eyes welled with frustration. Even so, he never took his eyes off Ceres.
Ceres gave Finn a single small nod.
(It's all right.)
She told him with her eyes.
"Witness, Gareth Hawkeye. Step forward."
The man who took the witness stand was large, with short hair slicked back—a mix of silver and black. His right eye was closed by an old wound, and the scar running across the right half of his face stood out sharply in the colosseum's light. Guild Master of the adventurer's guild "Silver Wing Oath," Gareth Hawkeye. A former S-rank adventurer, and the benefactor who had raised Ceres from orphanhood.
"As guild master, let me give my testimony."
Gareth's voice carried a weight that resonated from the depths of his gut.
"I've known this woman—Ceres Varnacros—for fifteen years. She's not the kind of person who would steal. No, she doesn't even need to steal. She's an S-rank adventurer. Her annual income is over five hundred gold coins. If she wanted a noble's heirloom, she could just buy it herself."
A small ripple of laughter leaked from the spectator seats.
"But, Lord Gareth."
Lilina cut in with a voice like a rolling bell.
"Theft is not necessarily motivated by money. ...Certain kinds of people derive pleasure from taking what others hold dear—from the act itself."
Lilina's emerald eyes pierced through Ceres. Her lips smiled. But her eyes were cold as ice.
"...You. What did you just say?"
Gareth's voice dropped a register. His clenched fist made the wood of the witness stand creak.
"Oh my, I merely stated a fact. Or is there something inconvenient about it?"
"Why, you little—"
"Gareth."
Ceres's voice, quiet but sharp, restrained him.
Gareth ground his teeth. His shoulders trembled, but he stepped back.
"...Please continue, Your Honor."
Ceres looked straight at Lilina. In those blue eyes, there was anger—but no wavering.
The judge cleared his throat.
"Then the prosecution will present its evidence."
An assistant clerk placed a small box on the platform. When the lid was opened, a silver necklace appeared from within. The pendant top, shaped like a star, was studded with seven small gems. The Star-Reading Necklace. The Faunberg family's heirloom, passed down for generations.
"This necklace was discovered in the defendant's room at the inn 'Silver Moon Pavilion,' where she was staying. Furthermore—"
Another clerk presented a small glass vial. Inside was a pale blue powder.
"Magic stone powder was detected from the defendant's subspace storage. This is evidence that she hid the necklace in her subspace storage."
The spectator seats stirred.
"So she did steal it after all."
"That powder is decisive."
"Even an S-rank couldn't resist greed."
Ceres remained silent. Subspace storage—while she had been unconscious at that banquet, Lilina's henchman had planted that powder. She knew. She understood everything.
(But for now, not yet.)
In her heart, she quietly waited for the right moment.
"Defendant, do you have a final statement?"
Ceres raised her face.
"...Just one thing. Let me ask. Lilina Faunberg. What did you do with my pendant?"
The colosseum fell silent for a moment.
Lilina's smile stiffened, just slightly.
"...Pendant? Whatever do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb. That night, you tore it from my neck."
"Oh my, are you suggesting a thief was robbed? How absurd. As if I would want your cheap little trinket."
Thorns mixed into Lilina's voice.
"...I see."
Ceres closed her eyes.
—That was when it happened.
Beside the ruby ring on Lilina's left hand, something pulsed. Beneath her sleeve, wrapped around her wrist—a silver chain—and on it, a crescent-moon pendant glowed pale blue.
"Eh...?"
Lilina looked at her own wrist.
The next instant, the pendant slipped smoothly from Lilina's wrist.
"What—"
The pendant slid across the sand as if it had a will of its own. Straight toward Ceres.
"What is this...?! Someone, stop it!"
Guards rushed forward. But the pendant wove between their legs and arrived at Ceres's bare feet.
Silver light enveloped Ceres's entire body.
"—This is the answer."
Ceres opened her eyes. Her blue eyes reflected the silver light, shining in a color no one in the colosseum had ever seen.
The iron chains binding her shattered into pieces.
CLANG!!
Fragments of iron scattered across the sand. Ceres slowly extended her freed hands forward.
"...Come."
The pendant flew up as if drawn into her palm. And then—silver light overflowed from her hand, taking the form of a sword.
A sword of light. Shining silver, without physical substance—a blade that severs causality.
The colosseum erupted into chaos.
"What is that light?!"
"Magic?!"
"It's a sword... a sword of light!"
The judge fell backward off his chair.
"W-what are you doing?! You're a death-row prisoner! Behave—"
Lilina touched her ring with a trembling hand. The ruby glowed ominously.
"Take this! 'Gravity Binding Bracelet'!"
Black chains shot from Lilina's ring. A magic tool meant to bind Ceres's feet to the ground. A loathsome device Lilina had once used to trap Ceres during a dragon subjugation.
But.
Ceres gave the sword of light a light swing.
One flash.
The black chains vanished without a sound the moment they touched the blade of light.
"...Your magic tools don't work on me anymore."
"I-impossible...! My finest magic tool...!"
Ceres raised the sword.
Silver light spread across the entire colosseum. Over thirty thousand spectators, the silver light washed like a wave.
"Everyone, look."
Ceres's voice echoed to every corner of the colosseum.
"This is the truth."
—Images appeared in the air.
A screen of light. What it showed was a room in a lavish mansion.
Lilina Faunberg was opening the door to a vault. Taking out the Star-Reading Necklace with her own hands. Then handing it to a subordinate and whispering something.
"Put this in that woman's room at the inn. And put magic stone powder in her subspace storage. Understood?"
Lilina's own voice echoed through the colosseum.
The spectator seats began to stir.
"What is that...?"
"Lady Lilina did it herself..."
The image switched.
Now it was the banquet hall. Lilina was handing something to a servant. The servant poured white powder into Ceres's wine glass.
"It's a sleeping drug. With this, that woman will sleep. After that, everything is ours."
Lilina's voice.
"Stop! Stop it! That footage is fake! Made with magic—"
Lilina shrieked.
But the images continued.
The underground prison. Lilina looking down at Finn, chained in a cell.
"Dispose of that rookie too. Every one of Ceres's allies—eliminate them all."
Lilina's voice. Cold, mechanical, and yet unmistakably clear.
The colosseum fell silent.
Thirty thousand spectators held their breath, staring at the images in the air.
"N-no... I... a genius like me... this, this—"
Lilina collapsed on the spot beside the defendant's box. Her perfectly curled blonde hair fell into disarray. Tears spilled from her jewel-like emerald eyes.
"What you did to me. What you did to Finn. What you did to Gareth."
Ceres's voice echoed low through the colosseum.
"I've seen it all. Your ugly jealousy. Your shallow traps. All of it—this pendant showed me everything."
"No... no... I was only doing what was right... That woman is the one at fault... She takes everything..."
Lilina's voice was no longer that of a lady. It was the pathetic wailing of a child throwing a tantrum.
"What exactly did I take?"
"Everything! Talent! Honor! Everyone's attention! I was the genius! I was supposed to be first! Ever since you appeared, everything changed! If you weren't here... if only you didn't exist—"
Lilina broke down sobbing on the sand.
From the spectator seats, angry shouts erupted.
"Lilina! You framed the Silver Sword Princess?!"
"Lying noble!"
"Apologize to Lady Ceres!"
The fury of thirty thousand shook the colosseum.
—That was when it happened.
From the highest tier of the spectator seats, black shadows leaped down all at once.
One, two, three—countless. Twenty assassins in black garb landed on the sand of the colosseum. Stelle Noir. The elite of the assassin's guild, whom Lilina had hired as her final trump card.
"Kyaaaaa!!"
The spectator seats erupted in screams.
"Kill her! Kill that woman! All of you, attack!"
Lilina screamed, her face a mess of tears.
The twenty assassins lunged
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