Prologue

The Lavos adventurers’ guild was located in the southwest of the Lordship of Lumel, a region of the great Holy Empire of Novalis. The town of Lavos was at the outskirts of the region’s capital city, though it was nothing more than a rural backwater. In this backwater guild, a young, black-haired man wearing a guild uniform was sitting in a cramped corner of a storehouse, reading the news.

“Hmm.”

The young man’s face could have been mistaken for a beautiful young lady’s. His presence was faint, almost as if he could fade away into the darkness of the storehouse if he stood completely still.

A blonde young lady came to stand in front of the young man.

“Tenes, I knew I’d find you here.”

“Oh, Miss Felicia. Hey there.”

The young man, named Tenes, looked up at the bubbly Felicia. The newspaper he was reading was spread across the desk before him, and Felicia glanced down at it.

“Any interesting articles today?” she asked.

“I’m just checking what the other lordships are up to,” Tenes answered.

“The war between House Balzac and House Exlord ended, right? That’s great news.”

“It is. But you could also say that they’re back to a stalemate. I was wondering what they’re gonna do next. I think the successor to House Lumel is about to make a move too.”

“How do you figure that?” Felicia wondered. Tenes was just a handyman, after all.

“Just a hunch. Let’s just say I’ve had long years of experience dealing with them.”

Felicia was astounded. Tenes occasionally said things that left her head scratching, and this time was no different.

Changing the topic, she remarked, “I noticed lately that you’re always in this storehouse.”

“This place is pretty comfortable,” he replied.

“Isn’t it dark and cramped in here?”

“That’s the best part,” Tenes replied with a grin.

“R-Really?”

Felicia looked confused as she glanced around the storehouse. This strange young man had been hired by the Lumel Guild’s headquarters as something of an odd-jobber, but Felicia had heard that he used to be a shut-in.

“W-Well, I have gotten kind of used to this place.”

Out of curiosity, Felicia had started tagging along with her first ever junior. Since then, she had been enjoying lunch with him in this storehouse, and had begun to understand what he meant. Despite the storehouse being cramped, that only seemed to add to its comfort level.

Tenes stopped flipping through the newspaper. “So, Miss Felicia, did you need anything from me?”

“O-Oh, yes! I was worried that the guild’s monthly accounting might’ve been too much work for you, so as your senior, I came here to help out.” Felicia looked quite proud of herself.

“Oh, that? I finished everything this morning.”

“Right? I knew you’d say that! When I was new, I took my work home and had to stay up over several nights— Wait, what?!”

Felicia couldn’t help but let out a yelp of surprise. It had happened again. The new handyman had finished his work with incredible speed and impeccable accuracy. She could still scarcely believe that he had managed to memorize the entirety of the guild’s thick Adventurer Code in one day, but at this rate she might have to take his word for it.

Felicia cleared her throat. “W-Well, u-um, i-it was a piece of cake, of course!”

“Didn’t you say you stayed up over several ni—”

“I-I was kidding, of course! Just a joke!”

“Oh, yes, of course! Work like that shouldn’t take a whole evening to finish, right?” Tenes laughed.

“Aha ha! Ha ha... Sniff...”

“Miss Felicia? Why are you tearing up?”

“I-I’m not crying! Sniff...”

“Hey, hey, hey! No foolin’ around in dark and cramped spaces, you two!” Humid, their coworker, entered the storehouse with alarm written all over his face.

Tenes looked confused. “Is there some rule that says we’re not allowed to hang out here?”

“Y-Yeah! Look it up in the employee code of conduct!”

“Strange. I don’t remember any rule like that.”

“I-I know! I just came up with it. C’mon, Felicia, get back to work.”

Humid pushed Felicia out of the storehouse and back to her office. Once there, she let out a sigh.

“Felicia, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing... It’s just that Tenes is so competent that it makes me feel inadequate as his senior!”

“Th-That’s not true! I can tell you’re working really hard and giving it your all!”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really!”

Felicia sat at her desk and stared out into space. “But you know... Tenes kinda looks cool with his unbothered expression while he works on those papers. I also wanna go like, ‘Oh, I’m done with my work already. You?’” Felicia squealed in excitement.

“Grr...” Humid looked like he’d just swallowed a bitter pill. “H-Hey, Felicia, are you—”

“Hm? Am I what?”

“N-Nothing!” Humid grumbled while clasping his fist atop his own desk. “Y-Y’know, Felicia, I don’t think you should be puttin’ that guy on a pedestal.”

“Why not?” Felicia asked.

“H-He’s a scoundrel!”

“No way!”

“I’m tellin’ ya! Don’tcha think it’s weird that even the guildmaster doesn’t know why the guy’s workin’ here?”

“I heard he’s an ex-noble and that guild headquarters appointed him to this branch,” Felicia recalled.

“Then why’s he in a backwater guild like this one?”

“Well, umm... Maybe they sent him here to learn more about the world? I heard he used to hole himself up in their house all the time. He’d stick out like a sore thumb in the capital, so somewhere in the middle of nowhere like this is perfect for him.”

“Nah, no way. He’s gotta be some kinda troublemaker. That’s why they kicked him out and sent him to the sticks.”

“You think so?”

Humid inched closer and lowered his tone. “I know so. An unassuming baby-faced guy like him has gotta be hidin’ some huge stink. He’s gotta be a huge scoundrel! S-So you should stay away from him!”

Felicia giggled. “You’re talking like Tenes is pulling the strings behind some kind of underground organization! I mean, the guy’s so fragile and meek, and he’s a shut-in!”

Felicia tried to laugh off Humid’s concerns, but his face looked completely serious. Really? Tenes? Of all people? Felicia gulped and nodded gravely. Tenes did say some strange things from time to time.

“Okay,” she finally conceded, “I understand.”

“R-Really?”

“As a guild employee and his senior, I’ll make sure to stay close to him and watch his every move.”

“Why did it backfire?!” Humid yelped.

“What backfired?”

“N-Nothing!” While Humid’s mood seemed to tank, Felicia looked even more fired up than usual.

“Okay! Let’s get started!” Felicia exclaimed.

Chapter 1: Fiona’s Offer

The sun’s rays fell on the castle’s elegant, chalk-white walls, reminiscent of the swans drifting atop the nearby lake. However, in contrast to its gorgeous appearance, the events taking place inside were nothing so pleasant.

“Is it true that House Balzac’s aggression has ceased?”

“I cannot believe that the Balzac successor has sat down at the negotiating table!”

“Perhaps this is some sort of trap.”

The lords of the Ten Noble Dynasties—ten elite noble families who ruled the four corners of the Holy Empire. The vassals and ministers of the House of Lumel—ranked ninth among the ten dynasties—were gathered solemnly in Castle Lumel’s council room.

“Ignis Balzac has indeed accepted my offer for negotiations.”

A young lady seated at the head of the table spoke out with a clear, commanding voice. She was Fiona Lumel, the golden-haired, emerald-eyed Saint and successor to House Lumel.

“Therefore, he has returned the Jewel of House Exlord.”

The Jewel was an artifact bestowed upon the first Holy Emperor by God—a special artifact whose ownership could only be transferred with the owner’s consent, and the proof of being one of the Noble Dynasties’ lords. Ignis Balzac, successor to House Balzac, had invaded House Exlord and stolen their Jewel, but he indeed had accepted Fiona’s offer of negotiations, returned House Exlord’s Jewel, and withdrawn his army from their territory.

“W-Well, yes, but—”

The nobles and elites gathered in the hall didn’t seem convinced. Even Fiona herself shared their anxiety.

Why did Ignis pull back?

The Holy Emperor was the absolute ruler of the Holy Empire of Novalis, but there was a greater power that moved even the Emperor behind the scenes. That was the Oracle, a monolithic tablet provided by God from the heavens.

The founder of the Empire had discovered the tablet in an ancient ruin, displaying revelations from God. The founder had then followed God’s words and established a great empire that spanned the entire continent. Since then, all Holy Emperors had become keepers of the Oracle’s revelations. Now that the current Holy Emperor was bedridden, the Oracle spoke—

The next Holy Emperor shall be the most worthy among the heirs of the Ten Noble Dynasties.

That was the revelation that sparked the Succession War for the Holy Emperor’s throne. The first to make a move was House Balzac, eighth in rank among the dynasties. Ignis Balzac swiftly invaded and conquered House Exlord’s territory, and it was then, before he could continue onto the other houses, that Fiona offered to negotiate.

Still, Ignis Balzac held the Job of Flame Emperor, and had the personality to match. He had always been a fiery young man. Fiona herself was doubtful that he would accept her offer, but when she arrived at the agreed meeting place, a great battle appeared to have unfolded. The ground had been scorched black, and Ignis was lying down alone in front of the fort. Fiona had healed his injuries with her light magic, but Ignis himself could not remember anything that had happened to him.

Regardless, Ignis had replied to her offer favorably.

“Though the immediate threat has passed, we cannot be complacent.”

“Indeed. The other lords may strike at any time.”

“We are merely ninth in rank among the dynasties. Our army yet lacks experience.”

House Lumel’s ministers expressed their concern to Fiona, who looked behind her. Her gaze was trained at the highest seat in the chamber. There Douglas Lumel, the current head of House Lumel, was seated, staring at nothing in particular without so much as a word thus far.

“Father, what are your thoughts?”

Fiona asked for her father’s advice, but his expression remained unchanged.

“You are the successor to House Lumel, Fiona. Your words are mine as well.”

Fiona’s father never intervened in the matters involving the Succession War. The Oracle had decreed that the Succession War would decide between the “most worthy” among the heirs of each House to become the next Holy Emperor. The criteria were unknown, but even if Fiona were to follow her father’s direction, God might not acknowledge her as “the most worthy.” Her father seemed to think that she herself must show qualities befitting of becoming the next Holy Emperor.

“Lady Fiona, please grant us your guidance.”

The participants in the meeting looked to Fiona. However, their gazes had no hint of respect, awe, or expectation. They were observing—or perhaps challenging her to make her move. They were trying to measure the capabilities of this sixteen-year-old girl.

Fiona stood up and addressed everyone present. “It is as you all say. House Lumel is merely ninth in rank among the Ten Noble Dynasties. Our army and resources are far behind that of the other houses. We will not stand a chance if any of the high-ranking houses invade us with their full strength.”

The suffocating silence said it all. Everyone in the room already knew as much. But Fiona paid it no mind and slowly paced around the room.

“So, what do we do, then?”

Fiona paused for a moment, then continued. “I propose an alliance.”

Concerned murmurs filled the meeting room.

“An alliance?”

“With whom?”

One of the ministers spoke up amid the commotion. “I see. You propose an alliance with one of the high-ranking houses, then? Allying with the house with the best chance of producing the next Holy Emperor will put our house in a better position after the war.”

“I see. Then, which of the houses shall we ally with?”

“We will not be allying with any of the high-ranking houses,” Fiona proclaimed as she walked toward one of the bookshelves against the wall. “They have no reason to side with us. Negotiating with them is futile.”

House Lumel’s precarious situation was clear to everyone. They would crumble before a full-scale assault by one of the high-ranking houses. Becoming a protectorate of a high-ranking house was an option, but if their guarantor could not win the Succession War, House Lumel would certainly be crushed along with them. It was too risky. Moreover, Fiona desired an alliance between equals.

“Then—”

Fiona stopped in front of a bookshelf and declared, “Instead, we shall ally with the lower-ranked houses.”

Some ministers stood up in shock. “Do you mean to ally with House Balzac?!”

“They might have responded favorably to your offer, but we cannot trust a house that would invade another!”

“Indeed! We have no guarantee that they would not go back on their word.”

Fiona let the ministers say their piece as she took out two thin manuscripts from the shelf and placed them on the table.

“Did I say that I was only speaking of House Balzac?”

“Huh?”

Fiona took out a third manuscript and placed it on top of the other two.

“House Balzac, eighth in rank; House Lumel, ninth in rank; and House Exlord, tenth in rank. I propose that we form an alliance between these three houses.”

“A three-way alliance?”

The ministers exchanged glances. Fiona retrieved a thick volume from the shelf and placed it beside the stack of three manuscripts. The three manuscripts stacked together were now as thick as the other tome.

“We may be the three lowest-ranked houses, but together, we can hold out against one of the middle-ranked houses. Even the higher-ranked ones would not be able to bring us down easily,” Fiona explained.

Geographically and politically, the three lowest-ranked houses were also neighbors, which made it easier to coordinate political decisions. And with an alliance between the three of them, if one decided to turn traitor, the other two could take up arms against them. This was the guarantee against House Balzac turning against the alliance.

“Any objections?” Fiona asked. The ministers remained silent. She could now sense something beyond passive observation from some of them. Whether that was admiration or hostility was something she needed to discern for herself eventually.

With this in mind, Fiona looked around the entire room. “Send emissaries to House Balzac and House Exlord at once. We shall have a conference between the three houses.”

The biggest problem at hand was whether there was bad blood between House Exlord and House Balzac after the invasion. If there was, it would be House Lumel’s job to mediate.

“Good work, milady.”

“Thank you.”

The meeting among House Lumel’s ministers had ended, and Fiona was now standing on the castle balcony, drinking a cup of herbal tea brought by one of her senior attendants.

“I have to make this work,” Fiona muttered.

The triple alliance was the first step to Fiona’s goal. She wanted to expand this alliance slowly across the continent until all ten of the Noble Dynasties were part of it.

Then, the next Holy Emperor would be elected through diplomacy between the dynasties. The next ruler of their nation would not be selected by God, but by the people.

This, of course, could be taken as an act of rebellion against God. That was why she had to take care not to disclose her plans until the stage was set.

The one picked as the Holy Emperor’s successor would gain the right to an audience with God and be granted one wish.

If she were to be picked as the next Holy Emperor—

“Milady, is something wrong?”

“No, I’m fine.” Fiona shook her head and turned her gaze toward the mountains in the west. Across the mountains and to the south was a rural town called Lavos. The adventurers’ guild there was her half brother’s workplace.

Unlike Fiona, who was Douglas Lumel’s child with his legal wife, her brother was the result of a tryst between her father and a poor maid. Since birth, he was treated as a stain on the family and ignored, jailed in a room that was nothing more than a prison cell.

“Tenes...”

In this nation, once someone turned sixteen, they were granted a Job by the Oracle. Fiona had planned to take Tenes out of his prison if she’d received a high-ranking Job. And indeed, she received the Job of Saint, the highest Job one could receive as a wielder of light magic.

However, the Oracle did not grant Tenes a Job. He, like one of their ancestors, was now a Hermit—abandoned by God. It was an ill omen for a house that was about to join the Succession War, and for someone like Tenes who was standing on thin ice, he would someday be eliminated and forgotten. And so she expelled Tenes from House Lumel and rescinded his noble privileges. She was prepared for him to harbor hatred and resentment toward her for her decision. But all she wanted was for Tenes to live a peaceful life away from conflict, surrounded by kind, gentle people.

“I hope Master Tenes is doing well for himself,” Fiona’s attendant remarked.

“I know he is,” Fiona nodded in reply.

Despite appearances, Tenes was a kind, reliable young man who cared deeply for his sister. He was surely doing well out there.

“Then again, he’s frail, a shut-in, a misanthrope, and a cynic.” Fiona felt a tinge of anxiety as she stared at the mountains to the west. “I really hope his new life is going well.”

***

No strange movements yet.

Back in the town of Lavos, Felicia the guild employee was staring intently at the storehouse. Humid had planted the odd idea of Tenes secretly being a scoundrel in her head, so she had decided to observe her junior more carefully. Tenes had a desk assigned to him in the guild’s office space, but he rarely used it. His work largely involved going around and taking care of miscellaneous chores.

Felicia realized that Tenes seemed to frequent the guild’s storehouse. Sometimes he would be working with reference materials and documents. Other times, he would drink tea as he elegantly flipped through the newspaper. And sometimes, he would just sit there basking in the dark, cramped space the storehouse provided.

“Now, what’s he up to...?”

Tenes didn’t appear to be doing anything at all. He was seated at his work table by the wall, staring at nothing as if lost in thought. He was completely still, and for a moment Felicia doubted whether he was even breathing. In fact, she worried that if she so much as blinked he would simply vanish.

“Miss Felicia?”

“Hweh?!” The sudden mention of her name made Felicia yelp and turn around. “H-How did you find out that I was watching—”

“Your head was sticking out of the door, and you were staring so intently at me. Of course I would notice.”

“O-Oh... Okay.” Felicia stepped into the storehouse. “I’m... Um... I was just wondering what you were doing here.”

“I’m just killing time.” Tenes went back to staring at the wall.

“Killing time?”

“Yeah. Life isn’t all about hustle and bustle. Sometimes you just have to do nothing and wait for something important to happen. I think that’s important when it comes to living.”

“Tenes...”

Tenes was really rather young, yet sometimes he would say the strangest or most cryptic things. This time, Felicia thought it was the latter.

Soon, Tenes smiled and stood up. “Anyway, it’s time for me to clock out! See you around!”

“That’s what you meant by ‘something important’?!” Felicia realized that he had actually been staring at the clock on the wall. Tenes headed for the adventurers’ guild premises at his usual leisurely pace.

Felicia sighed. “Why’d I ever think that Tenes could be heading some evil organization?”

Felicia caught up and walked with her junior to the exit, then watched as he left. She’d nearly taken Humid’s warning seriously since he’d spoken with such a grim expression, but Tenes was his usual self—polite, unassuming, quiet, and speaking with reservation. He’d finished all the work assigned to him in a flash, and left work the moment his shift ended.

“Lassie, better watch where yer standin’!”

Felicia heard a voice call out, and when she turned around, she saw a cart carrying large quantities of produce slowly approaching her.

“O-Oh, sorry!” she shouted back. Before she realized it, Felicia had been standing right in the middle of the road. She rushed back to the sidewalk. When the cart was about to pass her by, the driver suddenly yelled.

“Oh, crap!”

“Huh?”

Felicia turned back to the cart, which seemed to have rolled over a pebble on the road, and its cargo began to wobble until it all came flying out. The avalanche of produce was headed right for Felicia.

“No—!”

Everything happened too quickly. She couldn’t react in time. The tower of vegetables appeared to fall in slow motion as it covered her field of vision.

She was going to die.

The collapse kicked up a huge cloud of dust and scattered produce all over the road.

Felicia heard a voice call to her. “Are you all right?”

“Huh?”

She opened her eyes and saw the handsome face of a young man right in front of her. The guild handyman was carrying her in his arms.

“T-Tenes?!”

“I’m glad you’re okay. That cargo would’ve done some real damage.”

“U-Um, I—”

“Sorry, my arm’s starting to hurt. Can I put you down?”

“Huh? O-Oh, yes, of course!”

Tenes set Felicia down, stood upright, and said, “Well then, I’ll be off.” Then he turned around and went on his way.

After hearing the commotion outside, Felicia’s coworkers at the guild came rushing out.

“Hey, what happened here?!”

“Felicia, you all right?!”

“I’m okay!” she replied. Felicia still felt shaken, and the cart driver’s apologies didn’t even register in her mind.

But...I could’ve sworn—

Felicia watched Tenes as he walked off. She’d been pretty sure that he had already gotten much farther down the road, but he’d somehow managed to come to her rescue before the avalanche of produce crushed her. Had she misjudged how far he was, and he’d actually been much closer to her than she’d thought?

“How strange...”

***

Dense forests lined the mountains to the north of Lavos. Dangerous fellbeasts roamed deep within this secluded territory, and it was forbidden for anyone to enter. Not only that—an ancient magic barrier had been set in the area to keep trespassers out.

A cave carved a hole into the face of one of the mountains in this area, and deep inside was an old graveyard. And underneath one of the gravestones was a hidden staircase that led deep underground. At the end of this staircase was an enormous labyrinth akin to an ant’s nest.

“Um... What exactly is going on here?”

I, Tenes Lumel, was sitting on a chair covered with a black sheet in one of the great halls of this intricate underground space, dimly illuminated by torches on the walls. This chair was set on top of a platform that rose above the rest of the hall, and three women and one beast were standing around on the floor beneath.

“Boss, we’re ready.”

“Anytime, boss.”

“A throne indeed befits my husband and our boss.”

“Woof!”

“Are you all really sticking with that title for me?”

Why am I being called boss anyway?

I was sitting on the so-called throne, barely comfortable. I stared down at the three women and one beast beneath the platform.

At the rightmost edge of the hall, a blue-haired, ponytailed young lady wearing a maid outfit spoke up. “Milord, Millie was the one who proposed this decor for the hall.”

This one, who spoke with a cool and calm tone, was Richelotte. Her former master was my ancestor, a fellow Hermit abandoned by God, and she was an automaton he’d created. Using my abilities as a Hermit, I had released her from her century-long contract that ordered her to eliminate all intruders attempting to enter this labyrinth. Since then, she had taken it upon herself to take care of miscellaneous tasks. Her maid uniform belied that her processors contained knowledge of martial arts from all over the world. A century ago, she was known as the Sword Maiden, a legendary warrior who was said to have crushed a thousand soldiers on her own.

“We just got our official name, right? Just thought we should celebrate havin’ our flag planted into the ground.”

The bronze-haired woman with animal ears standing right next to Richelotte spoke next while wagging her tail. She was Millie Loulou, a beastkin. Born in the slums, she’d managed to become a legendary Rank Ten Thief, then made her name as the legendary noble thief, the Bandit King. She’d questioned the absolute authority of the Oracle on deciding important matters for the entire continent and attempted to shatter the monolithic tablet in the inner chambers of the capital’s Grand Temple. For that crime, she’d been thrown into the impregnable Alba Los Prison and been scheduled for execution. I’d rescued her, and since then, she’d been cooperating with me as her “best bud.”

“The whole world belongs to my husband, including my body and soul,” declared the third woman ominously.

She was an elf with tanned skin and silky-smooth silver hair. She was Aizel the dark elf, a legendary creature in possession of enormous amounts of mana even compared to her elven peers. These rare and unusual traits had led her to become an object of worship. This was anathema to the Holy Emperor, who’d ordered her to be hunted down by adventurers, no different from a mere fellbeast. After being captured by humans she’d once trusted, a seal had been branded onto her by the continent’s most powerful mage. Since then, she’d spent a century hiding from humans. I’d used my abilities as a Hermit to erase this seal. She now acted as my ally, occasionally calling me “dear,” “master,” or “husband.”

Finally, the dog standing by in the leftmost corner let out an enthusiastic bark.

This adorable gray-furred friend of ours was Prill. The small horns growing on its head were a clear sign that it was a Black Fenrir pup, and would grow into a legendary fellbeast. It was said that a mature Black Fenrir could destroy a whole city with its black flames in a single night. Surely Prill of all creatures wouldn’t be capable of such a thing. Right?

These were the members of my underground organization, the Black Curtain. My goal was to support my kind and gentle sister Fiona from the shadows after she had been reluctantly thrown into the Succession War.

“Celebrate?” I echoed Millie. “It’s not that big of a deal, really.”

My comrades remained resolute.

“You’re aimin’ to manipulate the Succession War from the shadows, ain’tcha? Sounds like a pretty big deal to me, boss!”

“Milord, I trust in your capability to rule the whole world from the shadows.”

“As your loyal wife, I shall gladly lay down your path of conquest.”

“Woof!”

How vexing. I was just a mere shut-in, but my four comrades kept on exaggerating my ambitions. Still, I did think that some celebrations were in order. “All right, I got it,” I conceded to them.

Our organization had a second name and a grand objective. I stood up and addressed my allies. “For the sake of our people and the world—well, mostly for the sake of my dear sister and my own ambitions, really—we shall live in the shadows. We don the curtain of night and darkness. I declare that our true name is God Eater!”

“As you wish, milord.” Richelotte knelt.

“Whew! Now we’re talkin’!” Millie wagged her tail enthusiastically.

“I love you...” Aizel brought both hands together onto her chest.

“Woof!” Prill bounced and zoomed around the place.

God Eater.

My sister Fiona had been thrown into the fires of the Succession War by the unjust Oracle. The Oracle bound the lives of the people on this continent to their Jobs. My ancestor and I had been branded as Hermits, abandoned by God and exiled by our families. Millie had been thrown into prison, and Aizel had been treated as no better than a fellbeast to be hunted down by adventurers.

If Fiona were to become the next Holy Emperor, her relatives would be granted audience with God, or so it was said. With the power of the Hermit to erase my presence, I would sneak into the audience chamber and kill God. Without this absolute existence meddling in the lives of people, I would finally be able to live as a shut-in in peace. This was my true, grand objective.

“All right then. Boss, I got some juicy info for ya.” Millie, ever adept at gathering intel, broke into a grin.

“Uh, can we do something about that ‘boss’ title?” I complained.

“Don’tcha think it sets the mood? I’m gonna keep usin’ it, ’kay?”

“Fine...” Everyone seemed to enjoy saying it, so I relented. I only wanted to support my sister from the shadows, but now I was on my way to becoming the head honcho of an underground organization.

“So what’s this intel you have for me?” I asked Millie.

“I went digging in Castle Lumel while you were at work. We got somethin’ brewin’ in the Succession War.”

I sat on my throne in silence. Castle Lumel was the home I had spent most of my life in before getting expelled. I knew my way around it like the back of my hand, and a former Rank Ten Thief like Millie would have found it trivial to sneak inside.

“A three-way alliance? I see.” I listened to Millie’s report and nodded along. With the three neighboring houses banding together, this would prevent any further losses between the lowest-ranked houses while making it more difficult for the others to mount an offensive. By speaking as a single entity, it would also amplify their voices. I had anticipated that Fiona would make a move soon, and this certainly killed not just two, but three birds with one stone.

“Tenes, what do you think?” Millie asked.

“It’s a good plan,” I replied. “The less blood spilled, the better. Of course, that’s if the other houses would agree to it.”

“Therein lies the rub, eh?”

House Balzac and House Exlord had recently been in direct conflict. Moreover, Ignis Balzac, the head of House Balzac, was in many ways a difficult man to deal with.

“When are the three houses going to have their negotiations?”

“At noon on Thormsday next week. They’ll be at the fort between Lumel and Balzac.”

“Thormsday...” I grinned. “Sounds perfect.”

Riche tilted her head. “Milord, why are you smiling?”

I stood up from my throne and confidently met her gaze. “It’s the weekend, so I won’t have to use any PTO.”

***

Year 826 of the Holy Calendar. It was the thirtieth day of the fifth month.

The Holy Empire of Novalis was divided into ten lordships ruled over by the lords of the Ten Noble Dynasties, with the imperial capital serving as the Empire’s core. Between each of the lordships, there were several areas that served as neutral buffer zones. One such area was between the lordships of Lumel and Balzac.

The three lowest-ranked houses were gathered in a mountain fort in this buffer zone: House Lumel, ninth in rank; House Balzac, eighth in rank; and House Exlord, tenth in rank. The mountain fort was one that had been established even before the Holy Emperor had unified the continent. It was ancient and rather worn down, but its secluded location made it ideal for clandestine and confidential meetings.

“Ignis, I’m glad to see you made it,” Fiona greeted.

“Ya better have a damn good reason to be callin’ me all the way out here.”

A man with fiery red hair entered the conference room. He was Ignis Balzac, successor to House Balzac and granted the Job of Flame Emperor by God. The moment he stepped inside, the temperature seemed to rise a few degrees, and his temperament was a perfect match for his appearance and abilities.

Moments later, the third key person entered—a slender young man with pale blue hair. “Fiona, what is this conference about?”

“Ordis, thank you for coming all the way here.” Fiona smiled as she greeted the young man.

The third key attendee was Ordis Exlord, the heir to House Exlord. All three successors were acquainted with one another from past gatherings with the lords of the Ten Noble Dynasties. The three of them were indispensable to the success of the alliance, but in contrast to the belligerent and hotheaded Ignis, Ordis appeared to be weak, flimsy, and unreliable.

“What’re you lookin’ at?” Ignis growled.

“N-Nothing!” Ordis averted his gaze. He had been staring at Ignis, who was sitting with his arms crossed.

House Exlord had recently been invaded by House Balzac. Evacuations were made quickly as the invasion proceeded, so casualties were few. Still, it was only natural for Ordis to feel an aversion toward the instigator of the invasion.

Fiona sighed and took a seat. She looked at the other two successors and got straight to the point. “I gathered all of us here for one reason. Will you agree to an alliance between the three of our houses?”

Fiona had sent letters to both of them about a conference to discuss the Succession War, but she didn’t mention anything about an alliance. Divulging any details would have invited unwanted scrutiny from third parties and dragged out the negotiations. She figured that gathering the decision makers in one place would expedite the process.

“An alliance?” Ignis sneered.

Ordis’s eyes went wide in shock.

Fiona continued by recapping the current situation of the war, and discussed the merits of the alliance with the two. The proposal caught the other two successors off guard, so they remained quiet until Fiona finished talking.

Fiona turned her attention to the heir of House Exlord. “Ordis, what do you think?”

Ordis shuddered at the sudden mention of his name. His gaze flitted about as he answered. “U-Uh... I-I’ll have to go and consult father about this—”

“I want to hear your opinion as the successor to House Exlord.”

Ordis went silent and cast his gaze downward. “I— I think it’s...a good idea. I’d prefer it if no more blood would be spilled. B-But I don’t know what father would say about it...”

Fiona stared at Ordis’s downcast face. “I’m glad to know how you feel about this.”

Having just suffered under an invasion, House Exlord’s priority was to avoid war. It was valuable to Fiona to have confirmation of their goals.

Next, Fiona turned to the other key person at the negotiating table.

“Ignis, what about you?”

“I ain’t havin’ it.”

Fiona narrowed her emerald-green eyes at Ignis’s instantaneous reply. “And why is that?”

“I’m a dumbass, y’know, but I get the idea, Fiona. We were gonna go out and crush the rest of the Ten Noble Dynasties, but one guy outta nowhere crushed me and our army. There’s some crazy folks out there, yeah?”

Indeed. Just two weeks prior, the Flame Emperor and his army had been completely obliterated by some unknown force. However, nobody involved in the skirmish could clearly remember their opponent, and the identity of the aggressor remained a complete mystery. Was it one of the other Noble Dynasties? Or perhaps one of the so-called black guilds—near mythical syndicates said to control events from behind the scenes?

Whatever the case, it would seem that his defeat had led Ignis to understand Fiona’s cause.

“Then why won’t you join the alliance?”

“I got a problem with who we’re allying with.” Ignis leaned back and crossed his legs on top of the table. “An alliance needs to be built with an ally you can trust, right?”

“Correct.” Fiona nodded, and Ignis continued.

“Two weeks ago, you invited us to this fort to talk. We brought our entire army, while you went on your own. I gotta say, you got some real balls.”

Ignis was referring to Fiona inviting him for a discussion. Next, he turned his gaze to the other successor at the negotiating table.

“But I ain’t formin’ no alliance with that Exlord loser.”

Ordis flinched, his gaze still cast downward.

“When we invaded their territory, he had his citizens abandon their homes and immediately handed over his Jewel to me. I ain’t got no business with a coward like him. And more than that—” Ignis then paused to glare at Ordis. “Tell her what your Job is.”

“I-I-I—” All color drained from Ordis’s face. He was clearly rattled.

Fiona intervened. “Ignis. I believe that an alliance between the three of our houses would be a fruitful one. We cannot have an alliance with just two. It’s very likely that other houses would aim for the third and use them as a foothold.”

“You tryin’ to voice an objection?”

Scarlet flames started to emanate from Ignis’s whole body, but Fiona remained undaunted.

“I am. I’m trying to build an alliance of equals, after all.”

Light emanated from Fiona’s body—a product of the Saint’s light magic. The mana from the two successors met midair. Then, Ignis sighed and shrugged.

“Okay, okay. You healed my injuries that one time, so I’m gonna give ya one chance.” Ignis turned his attention to Ordis. “Exlord, if you want us to ally with you, show me that you can be trusted.”

“H-H-How?”

Ignis pushed his hands against the table and stood up. “I’m a dumbass, ya get me? You gotta talk to me with your fists. Fight me.”

“F-Fight you?!”

“Come back here in a month. Show me what you can do.”

Barely any time after the words left his mouth, Ignis left the fort. Only the two other successors remained.

“Wh-Wh-What should I do?!”

Fiona sighed. “We don’t have a choice. Giving us a condition was already Ignis’s way of compromising.”

“B-But... It won’t even be a fight! My Job is just too—”

“Hey, Ordis?” Fiona interrupted Ordis’s self-deprecation. “Ignis said that you’re a coward, but I don’t think so.”

“Fiona...”

“When Balzac invaded your territory, you had your citizens evacuate their homes and handed over your Jewel. That’s because you didn’t want them to be swept up into a war, right? That showed incredible kindness.”

The next Holy Emperor shall be the most worthy among the heirs of the Ten Noble Dynasties. That was the great Oracle’s revelation. Even actions deemed cowardly by most could require great courage to perform.

Fiona looked straight into the slender young heir’s eyes. “Besides, didn’t everyone tell you that you were a prodigy as a kid? You were really cool back then, you know.”

“That was a long time ago. I know what the real world is like now,” Ordis muttered.

“But you still agree that we need this alliance, right?” Fiona asked.

“Y-Y-Yes...”

“If you can still say that even in the face of Ignis challenging you to a duel, then you’re no coward. I know you’re thinking about your citizens even now.”

“Y-You’re praising me too much! I have no confidence in my swordplay or magic. How am I supposed to fight?!”

“Can’t you have someone teach you?”

“We don’t have anyone like that in House Exlord...”

House Exlord’s citizens were pacifistic. What small army they had was nearly obliterated by the battle with House Balzac’s army. They had no manpower to spare for such a task.

“What about an experienced adventurer?”

“N-No way! You already know what kind of reputation I have because of my Job.”

Fiona tapped her head with her index finger and started thinking. “Okay then. I’ll look for someone from House Lumel and send them over to Exlord.”

“Wh-What?! No no no, you don’t have to do that!” Ordis protested.

“It’s very important that this alliance gets pushed through. I will do anything I need to make that happen.”

“O-O-Okay...” Ordis nodded weakly. With that, the conference between the three houses came to an end.

***

“Milord, are you sure about this?”

“I am. Riche, please, go on.”

The next day, I was in the underground base facing off against Riche in her maid outfit. The room was huge, with space to spare—apparently designed to be used as training grounds. This underground labyrinth created by the previous Hermit truly had everything: a library, bedrooms, a kitchen, a bath, farmland, a research facility, and these training grounds. This was truly a paradise for shut-ins.

“Well then, please pardon me.”

Riche lowered her stance. In her right hand, she held a pitch-black weapon, akin to darkness itself condensed into a blade.

The next moment, I felt the air split apart. In one swift motion, a razor-sharp shock wave passed by my side right as I stepped out of the way. The slash carved a deep gash into the stone floor. I’d known the attack was coming, but I was already sweating just getting out of the way.

“En garde!” Riche cried as she kicked and launched herself off the floor. In the blink of an eye, I used the sword in my hand to parry her black blade coming from my right. Sparks flew and illuminated the training grounds for a moment. I did my best to disperse the force of her strike, but I saw numerous hairline cracks form on my blade’s surface.

“Whew. That’s not a good sign,” I said.

I distanced myself from Riche and used one of my Hermit abilities: Enshroud. By simply holding my breath, I could conceal my presence and disappear from sight. Then I crept up behind Riche and attempted to pierce her with my sword. However, she managed to block my attack with her black blade.

“Incredible. You shouldn’t even be able to see me.”

“The moment you lunged with your sword, you had to take a breath to focus your strength into the attack. I could sense you in that instant.”

Riche retaliated by slashing at the air right beside me. I used lightning magic to enhance my muscles and leaped back.

“You may have to take advantage of your opponent’s expectations. Once you erase your presence, your opponent will expect an attack to come from their blind spot.”

“I see. That’s a really helpful tip.”

Pew!

Suddenly, a faint ball of light whizzed past me and straight at the warrior wearing a maid outfit. Riche silently sliced it in half and narrowed her eyes.

“Aizel, what is the meaning of this?” Riche called out as the bisected ball of light slammed into the floor and made a deafening noise.

Behind me, Aizel the dark elf was standing menacingly.

“That is my line, Richelotte! How dare you raise your blade against my husband!”

“Aizel, wait, we’re just—”

I couldn’t even finish my explanation before Aizel launched several more balls of light at Riche. She was casting spells without incantations, one after the other.

Pure mana was unstable in nature. Normally, an attribute had to be applied to mana in order for it to stabilize, but Aizel the dark elf could wield massive volumes of raw mana and lob it at her enemies. This ability to use nonelemental magic was a blessing granted to those with a near unlimited stock of mana.

“I had thought that elves were a more discerning race.”

“Unharmed? I see.”

When the smoke cleared, Riche was standing unfazed and unmoved. Her maid outfit remained spotless. She truly lived up to her legend as the Sword Maiden, effortlessly defeating a thousand enemies by herself.

Aizel’s expression remained unchanging as she slowly rotated her neck. “I held back out of respect as a fellow member of the Black Curtain, but perhaps that was too lenient of me.”

“I wouldn’t mind it if you go all out.”

“How brave of you to challenge me, the legal wife.”

“Taking care of milord is my job.”

Riche vanished into thin air. Then, a deafening bang echoed throughout the underground labyrinth. Her slash ripped apart the air, and the huge shock waves rippled through the atmosphere. The lights flickered, and a hot gust of wind blew all over the training grounds.

“Hey, uh—”

“Whew, it’s lookin’ like a heated match. How fun!”

Before I realized it, Millie the Bandit King was standing right next to me.

“The Sword Maiden against a dark elf. You don’t get to see legends like these two duke it out very often. We gotta get some booze and snacks goin’ in here!”

“Millie, this isn’t the time to be enjoying this fight,” I said. If we left them alone, they could destroy not just this base, but the whole lordship. Explosions erupted here and there. The ground began shaking, almost as if a great earthquake was taking place. At this rate, the base was going to collapse.

“Both of you, enough.”

I raised my voice, and in an instant, the two women exchanging blows and explosions stopped fighting.

Aizel appeared to be dissatisfied. “Master, that maid raised her blade against you—”

“Aizel, listen to me. I asked her to do that.”

“You did?”

“The legendary Sword Maiden is right here with us, so I thought I should ask her to teach me some swordsmanship. I never got actual training, you see.”

“I have also not received new inputs of new combat styles in the last hundred years since my master had vanished. Milord’s swordplay is a very helpful reference.”

A perplexed expression appeared on Aizel’s face after hearing Riche’s sincere answer. “I-Is that so?”

“Aizel, you need to work on paying attention to what others are saying,” Riche chided the dark elf while fixing her hair. Despite the intense clash between the two, they were both completely unscathed.

Millie scratched her head and looked unamused. “It’s fun to watch ’em duke it out, but am I the only one thinkin’ that I’m in danger when these two are around?”

“Ha ha, Millie, you’re quite the monster yourself, you know.”

Millie had under her command a network of informants that she’d created during her stints as an adventurer and bandit. Thanks to her, I could obtain fresh info unavailable by normal means even while I wasn’t in the underground base. She was an incredible asset to have around.

Millie shrugged. “I’d really prefer staying a normal person.”

Aizel crossed her arms and sighed. “Richelotte, I apologize. Even though I was holding back, your strength was impressive.”

“I was also quite far from my maximum output, but your power commands respect.”

“Heh.”

“Heh heh.”

“Hey, Tenes, are we gonna be okay having these two monsters gettin’ all friendly like this?”

“I sure hope so.”

A massive clash had unfolded before my eyes, but it would seem that the results were overall positive... Or at least I hoped.

“So Tenes, whatcha gonna do about that triple alliance thing?” Millie asked as she placed both her hands on my head.

I had used my Hermit abilities while Millie used her stealth skills from her Rank Ten Thief days to sneak into the fort and eavesdrop on the conference between the three houses. Though Ordis, the successor of House Exlord, seemed weak and unreliable, he was receptive to the alliance offer. However, it didn’t go as smoothly with the Flame Emperor Ignis. His condition was for Ordis to prove himself in a duel against him in one month. Fiona then offered to send a trainer to prepare the cowardly Ordis for the upcoming showdown.

“No matter how I look at it, I ain’t seein’ that flimsy Exlord boy winning against the Flame Emperor,” Millie opined while spinning her tail around. “Maybe we should sneak in during their duel and help out the Exlord side?”

“Mmm... I don’t think the Flame Emperor will be happy about that,” I argued. “Besides, it’s very likely that we’ll get noticed if we intervene during.”

“Yeah, you’re right about that.”

“Still, I’ve got a few ideas. I’ve got a hunch on whom House Lumel will send over to House Exlord.”

“Oh? Now that’s our boss.”

“Of course. He’s our boss, after all.”

“This boss you are referring to is my husband, correct? I do like the sound of that.”

Riche and Aizel joined in on the conversation. It was almost as if they hadn’t been dueling to the death just a few moments ago.

“I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to that title,” I said.

I’m just a mere shut-in, after all.

“In any case, I’ll need to know more about that heir of House Exlord, Ordis, character.”

The main thing I had been curious about was the Job granted to him by God. After all, it seemed to be one of the reasons the Flame Emperor rejected the alliance offer. Ordis himself didn’t seem very pleased about having it brought up.

I explained my thoughts out loud, and Millie’s eyes went wide. “Wha—? Tenes, you don’t know about his Job?”

“I’ve been a shut-in for years, after all. I’m not very aware of what’s going on outside the castle walls.”

“Right, right. Okay, I’ll tell you. The Job of Ordis Exlord, the successor to House Exlord, is...” Millie stopped herself, then looked at everyone before continuing. “It’s Normal. Even though he’s a high noble, he got a Job that’s given to most regular citizens of the Empire.”

***

Magic referred to supernatural phenomena produced by applying elemental attributes to mana from the natural world. There were ten known attributes—flame, water, lightning, earth, wood, wind, metal, poison, ice, and light. The Holy Empire of Novalis was divided into Ten Noble Dynasties holding Ten Jewels, and each of these Jewels was assigned a unique attribute.

House Lumel, the ninth in rank, was given light.

House Balzac, the eighth in rank, was given fire.

As if to match the Jewel granted to their respective houses, Fiona Lumel was granted the Job of Saint, the highest-ranked Job available to users of light magic, while Ignis Balzac was granted the Job of Flame Emperor as a particularly exceptional user of flame magic.

House Exlord, the tenth in rank, was given the attribute of water. However, Ordis Exlord’s Job was Normal, a plain and unassuming Job for ordinary citizens. Still, the Lordship of Exlord had several lakes teeming with life throughout their lands, signifying that they were the land with the Jewel of water. The shores of these lakes were lined with thick vegetation, and the city roads followed the growth of these plants.

“Gah ha ha! My muscles are aching to get some action!”

Along one of those city roads, a man was laughing boisterously on horseback with several attendants in tow. He twirled his slightly curled hair while sporting a wide sneer on his face.

“Fiona sure loves to give me trouble! How could she ask me to train that wimpy Normal successor? Me, a future Swordsaint! She sure is helpless without me! She’s always like that!”

The man was Matthew Lumel, Fiona’s cousin and someone who had a penchant for cruelty toward Tenes. His statements paid no heed to the attendants following behind him.

“Lord Matthew. Lady Fiona asked several candidates, including you, to take on the task. She was not asking you in particular—”

“Hey, shut your mouth. Fiona wants me to help out, deep down in her heart. I’m just kind and sensitive enough to pick up on her deepest desires, so I volunteered. I heard her inner thoughts. She said, ‘Matthew, please, help me out!’”

Matthew was lost in his delusions while his attendants stared at each other.

“Her...inner thoughts?”

“Well yeah! I’ve been with her for a long time. It’s only natural for us to know each other’s deepest thoughts.” Matthew looked proud of himself as he rubbed his nose and addressed his subordinates.

“Okay, you guys can turn back now. Tell Fiona I’m gonna go on my own.”

“Huh? B-But—”

“We’re right in the middle of the Succession War. Go and protect the Lumel lands. We don’t know what could happen at any time. You should leave jobs like these to me.”

Of course, Matthew wouldn’t say out loud that he was going to hog all the glory for himself.

“But Lord Matthew—”

“Hey, don’t tell me you can’t obey the orders of your lord’s blood relative.”

“N-N-No, but... P-Please excuse us, milord! We shall be on our way. Please take care of yourself.”

“I wanna surprise Fiona, y’hear me? Don’t check up on me!”

Matthew watched as his subordinates left in a panic. He drew his sword and raised it up high. “Gah ha ha! Look at me! I, the Swordmaster, will whip that pathetic Exlord into shape in a month!”

Then, Matthew would gain more points in Fiona’s eyes and become her husband. That was his meager yet grandiose desire.

Nobody ever noticed that Matthew had vanished into thin air on the way to his destination.

***

House Exlord’s castle was constructed using pale blue brick. These bricks, with their unusual hue, gave the illusion that the sky and surrounding lake water were melting into them. Water mana reinforced the bricks, which gave it great resistance to the ever-changing weather. They were one of the lordship’s best exports.

Inside this castle, Ordis Exlord, the heir, and the incumbent lord, Ockham Exlord, were locked in a discussion.

“A triple alliance... The Lumels have some interesting ideas up their sleeve.”

Unlike his wimpy son, the elder lord had a strong, reliable posture as he stroked his aged beard.

“Father, what do you think?”

“What do you think, Ordis?”

“I wanted to ask for your opinion first—”

The father let out a deep sigh. “Ordis. You are the successor to House Exlord. The next Holy Emperor will be selected among the heirs to the houses. The Succession War is a battle between the successors. You must be the one to show your talents to the world.”

“B-But I have no such talents—”

“You have no confidence in your duel against House Balzac?”

“Of course not! H-How could I have any confidence?”

Ockham Exlord, the lord of the house, let out another long sigh. “Your attitude is exactly why Lumel is going out of their way to send a mentor to train you in battle. Do you not find this pathetic?”

“I-I-I—”

“You have yet to even participate in House Exlord’s rite of passage. Until when do you plan to make me wait?”

Ordis stared at the floor, balling his fists as his father continued to chide him.

“You were such a talented boy. Where did your charisma go? Your bravado? How did you turn out to be such a pathetic co—”

“Father, that’s enough for today.”

The door opened, and a young woman entered. She had the same pale blue eyes as Ordis, and her straight, shoulder-length hair gave off an air of innocence. Her dress was fastened with a bronze flower brooch.

“Yuma...”

She was Yuma Exlord, daughter of the current lord, and Ordis’s younger sister.

“Yuma, you must refrain from indulging your brother,” the head of the house chided before he leaned back in his chair. “In any case, I wish to return to the matter of the mentor from House Lumel. I wanted to leave all matters regarding the Succession War to you, Ordis, but I am not happy about this.”

“Wh-Why not?”

“Our forces were indeed exhausted from House Balzac’s invasion. However, being thought of as unable to prepare for a duel on our own is an embarrassment. I will have the mentor from Lumel go back home.”

“But father, Fiona already—”

At that moment, a soldier posted outside the room announced, “Lord Ockham, the visitor from House Lumel has arrived.”

Ockham Exlord glanced at Ordis. “Speak of the devil. Let him stay in the visitors’ room.”

The members of the family were all speechless upon seeing the visitor. They had expected a burly, battle-hardened man to arrive, but the visitor was instead a shady, masked individual cloaked in black, with a presence so faint it was almost as if they would vanish into the shadows if they took their eyes off them. Paying no heed to their own dubious appearance, the visitor bowed respectfully.

“My pleasure to meet all of you. I am Matthew Lumel the Swordmaster. I am the combat mentor sent by House Lumel.”

Chapter 2: The Mentor in Black

“I will be his mentor.”

A few days ago, at the base, I told my comrades as much. The fate of Fiona’s three-way alliance lay in the duel between Ignis Balzac and Ordis Exlord in a month. Ordis, being a Normal despite his high noble status, was given assistance by Fiona in the form of a mentor from House Lumel.

“Milord, you mean to volunteer to be the mentor from House Lumel?”

“No. I can’t act too openly, so I’m going to switch with the one they actually send.” I answered Riche’s question while seated on my throne. This was not my narrow, cramped, and beloved bedroom, but the audience chamber and throne room where I had named our organization. Honestly, I wouldn’t have minded addressing my comrades in my bedroom, but Millie insisted on holding our meetings here because she “found it cool.”

Looking closer, I noticed that the throne room had been decorated further with some intimidating furnishings. A grim black banner was hanging from the wall right behind the throne, and a black carpet was laid out across the hallway. The torches lit all over the room flickered and crackled, providing ominous lighting within the dimly lit hall.

“Uhh...”

“We have prepared decorations befitting of you, milord, the lord of darkness,” Riche said while bowing to me.

“I see...” I could only nod as I lay back on my chilly throne.

“Switching places with the mentor, huh? You sure like your flashy ideas.” Millie seemed impressed with my plan.

“Honestly, it feels like a pain when I think of the work I’d need to do for this. But I don’t really want to leave this to a stranger who can’t guarantee the result I want. It’s best for me to step in directly.”

I don’t mean to brag, but I’ve already fought against the Flame Emperor. I won too.

“At this point, I’m already used to hearing you say some crazy things, boss.” Millie shrugged.

Right next to her, Aizel crossed her arms. “How do you plan to switch places?”

“There are a few places someone going from Castle Lumel to Castle Exlord would have to pass through. The trees along the lakeside are perfect for hiding, and I would switch places somewhere out of sight.”

“So we’re going to erase the mentor sent by Lumel, correct?” Riche asked.

“Just to be clear, we’re only going to knock them out,” I replied. House Lumel would find it suspicious if the person they sent didn’t come back from their task. We would knock out the mentor, lock them up in the underground base for a while, then erase their memories with Abduct before sending them back to Castle Lumel.

“We should be able to pull it off since they wouldn’t be bringing that many people along.”

There’d be no point in bringing multiple people as tutors. House Lumel was also still in the middle of the Succession War, so they wouldn’t be able to afford sending over their forces for a long period of time. At most, it’d be the mentor and a few bodyguards.

The most likely candidate would be my cousin Matthew. He’d always had it out for me, and since he was head over heels for Fiona, he would bite at the first opportunity to try and impress her. He would love to take up the task of being a combat mentor. Matthew also had some clout as a relative of the lord of House Lumel, and held the Job of Swordmaster. Few would object if he went for it.

If that were the case, then it was possible that Matthew wouldn’t even have bodyguards with him. He would try to get all the credit for himself.

“How odd,” I muttered.

“What is?” Riche asked.

“Oh, it’s just that I’m suddenly quite motivated to do this.”

For some reason, I just didn’t think I would feel bad for having Matthew imprisoned for a few weeks.

***

With that, we staked out the road to Castle Exlord and ambushed Matthew, knocking him out and taking his place. I had entered Castle Exlord with no trouble at all.

At the reception room, three people were gathered. One was the successor, Ordis Exlord. Behind him was an old man stroking his beard: Ockham Exlord, the incumbent lord of the house. Finally, there was an anxious-looking girl in her teens at the corner of the room. According to Millie’s intel, Ordis had a younger sister, so that must have been her.

The lord of the house, Ockham Exlord, stared at me, seemingly trying to evaluate me. “You are the mentor sent by Lumel?”

“Yes, I am.” I handed over the letter of recommendation given by Fiona to the real Matthew. I read the letter of recommendation out loud. Afterward, I sensed displeasure in the old man’s voice.

“I acknowledge that the seal on the letter is the genuine seal of House Lumel, but why are you dressed in such a suspicious manner?”

“I understand that my appearance may seem quite uncouth.” I knelt down and lowered my head. “Fiona Lumel, the successor to House Lumel, wishes to form a triple alliance with your esteemed house without recompense. However, in the shifting tides of the Succession War, we may find ourselves on opposing sides. I conceal my appearance as a form of self-defense.”

I had tested the pitch-black robe I was wearing multiple times. This was an artifact devised by my ancestor the Hermit. The robe was imbued with the Hermit’s inherent trait of being “difficult to perceive,” and imparted it onto its wearer. In time, observers would forget the wearer entirely. Despite knowing that their memories of me would be erased even if they saw my face, I wanted to be cautious.

“Hmph. I see. I shall allow it.” Ockham Exlord crossed his arms. “However, my son Ordis Exlord does not need any mentorship. I will have you return home.”

“May I ask why I am being turned away?”

The lord of House Exlord slowly stood up from his chair as if to intimidate me. “I am saying that we can prepare for this duel by ourselves.”

“If I may—” I cleared my throat before continuing. “If I may, I would say that no one in House Exlord is more capable of teaching your son than myself.”

“Hah! Such overconfidence.” Ockham Exlord glared at me. “Do you think that I would just bend over and say ‘yes’ just because you say that?”

“Shall I prove myself, then?”

“And how will you do that?”

“You have twenty or so assassins hiding outside the room, in the shadows of those pillars, and in the ceiling. Command them to attack me. I can tell that your forces are quite experienced. It would be the perfect opportunity to showcase my skills.”

The Exlord elder’s eyes widened.

Clairvoyance: A Hermit skill that let one see things that had been hidden.

Enshroud: The ability to render people imperceptible, from their presence to their whole existence.

And Abduct: The power to hide objects and erase nonphysical things—even memories.

Those were the three skills I had discovered as a Hermit thus far, and I had put the first to use here.

“F-Father, what does he—”

“Quiet.”

Ordis looked perplexed. It appeared that he wasn’t informed. For Ockham’s part, he added a stern gesture to thoroughly silence his son.

“Who are you?”

“I believe I have already introduced myself.”

“Matthew the Swordmaster, correct? You seem to be quite the extraordinary man.”

“I am humbled by your praise.” I affirmed his claim, if only to bolster my credibility.

“Well then, what is an extraordinary man like you going to do if I order my men to attack you?”

“I would bet that you would do no such thing.”

“And why would you think that?”

“You have just confirmed that I’m quite capable. If you order an attack now, a battle will unfold, and many of your men will sustain unnecessary injuries. Your forces are still exhausted from the invasion of House Balzac, so you would not be able to afford losing any more men in a pointless show of force.”

Ockham looked like he had just swallowed a bitter pill. It seemed that my theory had hit the nail on the head. I stood up and further hammered it in. “Moreover, your decision in this matter exposes the state of your house’s finances. Among the Ten Noble Dynasties, your house is ranked tenth—the lowest in rank in terms of wealth and military strength. Just as House Balzac preyed on your weakness, the other houses will do the same. In order to survive, House Exlord has no other choice but to push for the success of House Lumel’s alliance.”

“Is that a threat?”

“Please take this as an objective analysis of your situation. I’m sure you’re not lacking in self-awareness.”

Ockham Exlord pursed his dry lips and sat on a chair. Then, he looked at me and heaved a sigh.

Ockham gave his son an anxious glance. “Fine. I will leave my son’s tutelage to you.”

“Father...”

“Our finances, huh? You really know how to hit us where it hurts. It appears House Lumel is quite serious about this arrangement. I have no reason to decline when they have sent someone as competent as you.”

“Thank you very much.”

I let out a relieved sigh in my mind as I bowed in gratitude. I had just cleared the first obstacle in my way. I extended a nervous left hand to the anxious-looking young heir.

“Lord Ordis, I shall be your mentor from now on.”

***

After the meeting in the reception room, Ordis and I headed for the castle’s training grounds. The invasion had visibly taken a toll on House Exlord’s forces, as there were only about twenty soldiers using the grounds. The rest of the space was desolate.

“Uh, Sir Matthew, are you all right?” Ordis addressed me with a look of concern on his face.

“Uh... What made you ask that?”

“Oh, it’s just that, well, you took a while on the toilet.”

“Oh...”

After the meeting with the head of Exlord, I went to the restroom and stayed there for some time. It wasn’t because I was afflicted with anything in particular; I was just exhausted from being in an unfamiliar place surrounded by strangers—and talking to them on top of that. I needed a break.

“I’m okay. I’m just an introvert.”

“I-I see. Sir Matthew—”

“Lord Ordis, please refer to me as Master.”

“Huh? O-Okay.”

I turned to face Ordis. “Under our contract, I am obliged to be your mentor. Therefore, I must insist on establishing the relationship of seniority between us. Of course, it’ll only be for the month I’ll be teaching you.”

“Y-Yessir!”

Ordis nervously nodded. Establishing seniority was important, but that was only half the reason I had him call me “master.” The other half was that I didn’t like it when he called me “Matthew.” It would also be a huge problem if I didn’t react quickly enough when called by that name.

“A-Anyway, Sir Matt—oh, uh, Master, how should we start my training?”

“Hmm... Let’s start by testing your capabilities. Are you better with the sword or with magic?”

“Umm... Neither.” Ordis scratched his head. Apparently, he had been trained to wield a sword since childhood, but his skills were only average. Water magic was also passed down in House Exlord through generations, but Ordis could only manage the basics.

“Okay, let’s start with your swordplay.”

“Y-Yessir!”

Ordis held a wooden sword in his hand and took a stance. After a short pause, he yelled and swung it down.

“Continue.”

“Yessir!”

Next, Ordis swung the sword horizontally in a sweeping motion.

“Hmm...”

I crossed my arms and observed Ordis’s movements. Then, he stopped swinging and looked at me anxiously.

“H-How was that?” he asked.

“Pretty normal.”

“Right...” Ordis looked disheartened.

“You practice Linearm style?”

“Y-Yes, I do! How could you tell from that?”

“I have mastered every known sword style in the continent.”

“That Swordmaster title isn’t for show, huh?”

Of course, I didn’t actually have the Swordmaster Job. In my sixteen years of being a shut-in at Castle Lumel, I’d spent my time reading every book on swordsmanship I could get my hands on as a means of survival. I used my prison—room—as a place to practice what I’d learned, and went out to hunt fellbeasts in the mountains to apply it. That was why I could claim to have mastered all known sword styles.

Linearm style was an aggressive style, practically abandoning defense in favor of keeping up an attack. While technique was key, it was equally important to never fear the opponent.

I suddenly heard the other soldiers on the training grounds chatting with one another.

“Hey, hey, the heir’s here for a visit!”

“I heard he’s doing some training today.”

“What? No way. That’s too much for a coward like him.”

“Shh, he can hear you!”

Ordis merely stood there, gripping his sword tightly.

“Are you just going to stand there and let them insult you?” I asked him.

“I—”

“You can’t let them talk behind your back like that.”

“Huh?”

“Lord Ordis, you will be the one to lead these soldiers into battle. Maintaining the army’s discipline is paramount during an emergency. Soldiers who insult their commander need to be punished.”

The soldiers seemed to have overheard our conversation, surrounding us in no time. The one who appeared to be their leader stepped forward and gave us a provocative glare.

“Ya got a problem with us?” The one who spoke was a female soldier with a deep, husky voice, short hair, and tanned skin.

“Master, her name is Mensa. She is the leader of the army’s first squad. Mensa, this is Matthew the Swordmaster, the mentor sent by House Lumel.”

After Ordis introduced us to one another, the soldier named Mensa spoke up. “We’re following Lord Ockham’s orders. We’re not obliged to follow his son who hasn’t even qualified to be the heir.”

“Hasn’t qualified?”

I had no idea what she meant by that. Ordis was, by all rights, the successor to House Exlord—or he should be.

Mensa continued her tirade. “This little boy made the whole army retreat during House Balzac’s invasion because our forces were outmatched. He called for the citizens to abandon their homes and villages. And on top of that, he handed over the Jewel—our most valuable treasure—to the enemy and surrendered! What’s wrong with calling a boy like that a coward?”

Ordis was taking the abuse quietly, so I decided to intervene.

“I know you don’t like him, but—”

“Don’t get me wrong. I don’t like you either.”

“Me?”

Mensa’s venom was suddenly aimed right at me. “Look: I’m the one who’s supposed to be training that boy.”

“Oh, really?”

“And now some Swordmaster or whatever’s coming over from abroad to take my job? I’ve no intention of disobeying Lord Ockham’s orders, but I don’t like it. He said he’d tell me the goal of the training, but he never did. Whatever, it’s probably about the rite of passage anyway.”

I had no idea what this “rite of passage” was, but the training was supposed to be for the fated duel between the Flame Emperor and Ordis. This was a top secret matter, and only Ordis and Lord Ockham would be privy to it. Mensa’s reaction to a stranger coming out of nowhere tasked to do something incomprehensible to her was completely natural.

“So what am I supposed to do about that?”

“Duel me. Lemme see what you’ve got.” Mensa tapped my shoulder with her wooden sword. “You gotta accept—you’re a Swordmaster, right?”

The atmosphere in the training grounds suddenly changed. The other soldiers seemed to have gotten wind of a fight brewing, and they started to gather around us.

“I believe Lord Ockham wants to prevent any further casualties to his forces,” I said.

“Hah! Already acting like the winner, are we?” Mensa scoffed. “Don’t worry. This is just a friendly sparring match. You teach swordsmanship, don’t ya? Why don’t you give me a lesson too?”

“Hmm...” If that were the pretense for this match, then Lord Ockham wouldn’t need to do anything. “Well then, I have a condition before I train you.”

Mensa raised an eyebrow. “What’s that?” she asked.

“For every time I land a hit on you, you will have to listen to an order from Lord Ordis.”

“Huh?”

“Wha—”

Mensa and Ordis both looked flabbergasted.

“Are you not confident enough in dodging my attacks?” I taunted.

“Miss me with that,” Mensa answered.

“Well then, we’ve got a deal.”

“U-Uhm, Master?”

“Please stay back. It’s dangerous.”

I brushed off Ordis’s concern. I wanted to wrap this up as soon as possible. Once the triple alliance was established, Ordis would be fighting alongside House Lumel. I needed to create an environment where his subordinates would listen to his commands. It was ideal to have him prove himself with his achievements, but it wouldn’t hurt to have one or two fallbacks. If the army commander listens to Ordis, then all the others would follow.

“All right then.” I grabbed the wooden sword lying by my feet. “Let’s begin.”

“Hey! Call the other guys on break!”

“Mensa’s gonna fight the Swordmaster from Lumel!”

The training grounds suddenly turned lively. Soldiers emerged from their quarters and gathered around to watch.

Mensa looked at the crowd that had encircled us, then pointed her wooden sword at me.

“A mask and all-black garb... Doesn’t look very swordsman-y to me. That just the trend for Lumel swordsmen?”

“No, this is personal preference.”

“Y-You sure are an odd one.”

“I get that a lot.”

Mensa pointed her sword at the sky—Linearm style, just like Ordis. “Take your stance,” she demanded.

“I’m fine like this,” I replied. I was holding my sword rather lazily, but I made sure to tighten my grip a bit.

“So, no stance is your stance, then. I don’t like your attitude, Swordmaster.”

Mensa suddenly shifted her weight forward and swung her sword down.

“Hu-woh!”

I managed to meet her strike with my weapon, but the incredible force made it feel like my arm would be torn off. She had put her whole weight behind her slash. The best defense is a good offense—it was truly an attack emblematic of the Linearm style.

“Mensa, let’s go!”

“The other guy’s gettin’ cold feet!”

As the crowd yelled and jeered, we exchanged blows, and the sound of wood hitting wood echoed across the training grounds.

“Tch, it’s like I’m attacking a piece of cloth! Is that Ollrein style?” Mensa complained as she continued her attacks. The Ollrein style was known for brushing away enemy attacks and using their force against them. It was a sword fighting style well suited for defending against strong blows.

“Well then, can you take this?” Mensa stepped forward to attack. I timed a thrust of my sword to match her step, and Mensa twisted her body to evade my attack at the last moment.

Mensa peered through her half-opened eyes. “Ngh! That’s not Ollrein style!”

“Indeed. This is East Debaton.” Between her attacks, I had switched to a style that emphasized counters.

“Ollrein style and East Debaton style? That’s mighty flexible of you.”

“Thank you. That’s one of my few special talents.” Especially since I don’t have a lot that stand out.

I would pit a soft feather against solid steel, and steel against a feather. I would change my styles to directly oppose my foe. That was why I didn’t stick to any particular stance.

“Okay then. Lemme see if you can take this!” Mensa took three steps backward and drew her sword back.

“I’ve been waiting for this! That’s Mensa’s boulder crushing attack!”

The moment I heard a voice from the crowd, Mensa took a deep breath and kicked herself off the ground. Her kick launched a thick cloud of dust, and the sound of wooden swords smashing against each other echoed over the training grounds.

“Stop this! Please!”

Someone had stepped in, arms spread wide, between me and Mensa. It was Ordis. Mensa had barely managed to stop her sword before it hit him.

“Move aside, boy!” she yelled. “You’re just gonna get hurt out here!”

“I-I will not!” Ordis was trembling, but kept his head held high and faced her. “Th-This should just be a training session! Not a duel to the death!”

Silence fell over the training grounds. A tense air had settled over everyone present, but it quickly dispersed.

Mensa sighed and dropped her wooden sword. “Tch. What a letdown. Let’s get outta here!”

“Damn, it’s over already?”

“Boring!”

As Mensa turned around and left the training grounds, the other soldiers followed suit. Ordis and I watched as the crowd dispersed.

“I-I’m so sorry... I didn’t want things to end up like this,” Ordis said soon after he settled down. His gaze shifted downward. “You heard, right? I’m a high noble, but my Job is Normal.”

“I heard.”

“That’s why the soldiers look down on me. Most of them have Jobs related to combat.”

“Mensa said you weren’t qualified to be heir. Is that because of your Job?” I asked, curious.

Ordis shook his head. “I believe she’s talking about the rite of passage.”

“Rite of passage?” Come to think of it, Mensa herself said something about that. “What’s that?”

“There’s a cave south of the capital, about an hour away by carriage,” Ordis explained. “It’s a den of fellbeasts. It’s a tradition of House Exlord to head there and hunt them down in order to become the successor.”

“That’s quite a medieval tradition,” I remarked.

“Y-Yeah, it is... You sure don’t hold back, do you?”

“That’s just how I am.”

“I-I’m jealous. If I were as capable as you are, I wouldn’t need to worry about what others think of me.”

That had nothing to do with my strength as a swordsman. Because of my years of seclusion, I just didn’t know how to socialize with others. Of course, there was no need to tell him that.

Ordis cleared his throat. “As you know, House Exlord is the lowest among the Ten Noble Dynasties. It’s why every heir has to have the courage to struggle against overwhelming odds.”

“And you haven’t accomplished that rite?”

“N-No, I haven’t. I’m scared. Pathetic, right?” Ordis laughed weakly. “A Normal noble, and a coward who can’t even pass his family’s rite of passage. Who would want to follow someone like that?”

“Must be nice to get a Job,” I muttered.

“Excuse me?”

“It’s nothing.”

I shook my head and stared at the entrance to the training grounds. There, a young girl was attempting to hide behind the half-open door, poking her head out just enough to look at us. Her hair was pale blue, and she gave off an air of innocence—she was apparently Ordis’s younger sister.

“Yuma?”

The girl named Yuma appeared to flinch out of embarrassment from being found by her brother. She hid herself behind the door.

I handed the wooden sword in my hand to Ordis.

“Lord Ordis, you asked who would want to follow someone like yourself. From my experience, if you have even one person whom you can count on as an ally, you’ll be able to keep going.”

“Master...”

I smiled, albeit from behind my mask. “And this time, I think your soldiers will follow what you say...at least for the next two times you ask.”

“Shit... Can’t believe he got three clean hits in.”

Meanwhile, the squad leader Mensa was gritting her teeth in frustration. Her left arm, right thigh, and side—the sketchy black-clad swordsman from Lumel had managed to land three soft hits on those spots. When she returned to her quarters and took off her clothes, she found some new bruises on her body. Her opponent had managed to hit her thrice.

“What kind of swordsman is he?”

Ollrein style—a style that focused on redirecting attacks.

East Debaton style—a style that focused heavily on counters.

The Swordmaster was so flexible that he could switch freely during combat. He wasn’t particularly fast, yet there were times she couldn’t track where he was.

“Damn it.”

For every time I land a hit on you, you will have to listen to an order from Lord Ordis.

That was the deal between her and the swordsman. Because of that, when Ordis intervened and told the two of them to stop, she had no choice but to obey. With that, she had followed one of his commands.

“Two left...”

Her opponent must have realized that during their duel as well. Mensa didn’t want to accept it, but her pride as a swordsman wouldn’t let her break her word.

Fortunately, her men didn’t seem to notice. If they found out that she, the best swordsman among all of them, lost to some shady foreigner, their morale would plummet.

“Wait... It can’t be...” A realization dawned on Mensa. Was that the whole reason her opponent only gave her light jabs?

Mensa gritted her teeth harder and cursed her opponent’s name.

“Matthew... Swordmaster Matthew!”

***

“Huh?”

Around the same time, the real Matthew woke up in complete darkness.

“Wha—”

There was only darkness as far as he could see. All he could feel was cool, damp air clinging to his skin.

“What’s going on?”

His head was throbbing. His thoughts wouldn’t come together. Matthew crawled around and found that he was sleeping on a cot, or something like it.

“What happened to me?”

The last thing he could remember was accepting a task from Fiona in order to impress her, then heading out somewhere. On the road, he had been attacked by shadows...

“Ugh...” The more he tried to remember, the farther away his memories seemed to get. “Where am I, anyway?”

Matthew managed to sit up, and his eyes had finally gotten used to the darkness. He looked around to get his bearings.

He was in a sterile stone room—stone walls, and a stone ceiling. There were no windows, and there was only one door, which was made of solid steel. The bed he had been sleeping on was placed right in the middle of the room, but other than that, there was no sign of any other furniture. It was just a completely drab cell.

The other strange sight in the room was the floor. A circle with various geometric patterns scribbled inside had been drawn on the floor with the bed in its center. When he squinted, he realized that the circle was glowing faintly.

“A magic circle?”

Right then, the door creaked open, and something entered the room. Matthew backed into the nearest wall in a panic, then realized that a small creature had entered. It appeared to be a puppy, which let out a soft bark at the sight of Matthew and happily approached him.

“A... Oh, a puppy? Damn, don’t scare me like that!” Matthew breathed a sigh of relief and carefully observed the creature that had entered his room. It had fluffy gray fur, a cute expression...and horns growing on its head.

“A B-B-Black Fenrir?!” This time, Matthew scrambled to one of the corners opposite the door. In front of him was the infant form of a legendary fellbeast that could destroy a whole city in one night.

“S-Stay away!” Matthew shrieked, grinding his back into the cold stone wall as though it would give way. “Get away from me!”

As Matthew cried, more intruders entered the room. This time, they weren’t fellbeasts. Since they stood against the light from outside, he couldn’t quite make out their faces, but he could tell that they were women—three of them.

The one in front—a woman with beastly ears on her head—spoke first. “Thought I heard somethin’ from inside... What do we do? He’s awake.”

Behind her, a woman in what resembled a maid outfit glared at the third woman standing next to her. “Aizel, would you like to explain yourself?”

The tanned woman with long hair crossed her arms. “Hmm... I seem to have miscalculated. It has been a while since I’ve used hypnosis on anyone.”

“This is not something that can be settled as a simple miscalculation.”

“It is trivial to make someone remain asleep. However, in order to keep them alive without food or water for a whole month, they must be in this magic circle that slowly provides them with life force. It is quite difficult to get the formula for this correct.”

“Wh-Who the hell are you people? What did you do to me?!” Matthew’s voice cracked, feeling a strange terror over these women casually talking to each other in this situation.

Hm? That’s—

Matthew strained his eyes. His belongings had been left in a corner of the room. He rushed to take out his beloved sword and laughed victoriously. “Hah! You all let your guard down! Now it’s time for my counterattack!”

“We’ll have to have milord alter his memories later. We have been tasked to keep watch, but this is a massive failure on our part.”

“Indeed. I must atone for my failure. With my body, of course.”

“You just wanted an excuse to do that, didn’t you?”

“Damn it, don’t ignore me!” Matthew had his blade pointed at the three women, but they paid him no mind. In fact, they barely acknowledged his presence. “Stop acting like I’m not here!!!” Matthew’s screaming had finally gotten the three women to turn to him, now seemingly annoyed at his very existence.

Wait up.

A beautiful maid with features like a doll.

An adorable beast-eared woman.

And a sharp-eyed, silver-haired beauty.

Now that Matthew had had a good look at them, he had to admit these three women were gorgeous. He gulped, then shook his head.

N-No, I mustn’t! I have a beautiful wife named Fiona waiting for me! W-Wait, maybe...

Come to think of it, he had been hearing ‘milord’ over and over. Just what kind of man had these three gorgeous women wrapped around his finger?

“Damn it, what a lucky man! Ahh, wait—” Matthew tightened his grip on his sword. “You wenches, prepare yourselves! Tremble before the might of this high noble, Matthew Lumel the Swordmaster! It’s far too late to grovel and kowtow!”

Matthew lunged at the three women. “If you don’t want to get hurt, you better tell me what you—gwah?!”

Matthew felt a strong blow on his neck before losing consciousness. He never heard what one of the women had to say next.

“Boy, some Swordmaster you are. Sure don’t hold a candle to the legendary Sword Maiden, that’s for sure.”

Chapter 3: The Continent’s Greatest Mentor

House Balzac: eighth in rank among the Ten Noble Dynasties. The land in their territories was fiery red, as if to reflect the hotheaded temperament of its citizens. There, a castle lorded imposingly over the land and was lauded by its people—a castle with an undecorated facade, emphasizing functionality and practicality over elegance.

There, a petite woman with a sneer on her face entered one of the castle’s very utilitarian rooms.

“Lord Ignis, sorry I’m late. I’m all better now.”

A man with flaming-red hair, and the only other person present, looked up while doing push-ups. “That you, Winnie? You can move around now?”

“Ain’t fully recovered yet, but doin’ better for sure.”

The woman was Winnie, Ignis Balzac’s right hand. She had been confined in the infirmary to recover from her injuries, but now she was back to work, and as she settled in she let out a long sigh.

“Hey, hey, why the long sigh?” Ignis said. “You’re killin’ the vibe here.”

“Oh, sorry ’bout that.” Winnie bowed apologetically, then voiced her concern. “Just can’t get those guys who kicked our asses outta my mind.”

She was referring to the events that transpired two weeks ago. House Balzac had brought an army of seven hundred soldiers to conquer House Lumel. They had expected an easy victory, but they encountered an unknown force in the mountains, leading to their plans falling apart.

On top of this massive failure, Winnie couldn’t even remember who—or what—had attacked them. Despite trying her best to recall the events that transpired, all she could manage was a nondescript blur. Her body also recalled being knocked out by a heavy blow to her abdomen, leading to her lengthy hospitalization.

This was the first time Winnie had experienced such an embarrassment since she’d begun working under the Flame Emperor. The worst part was that she had survived the entire ordeal. The enemy could have ended her life right then, but they had left her alive, seemingly because they lacked interest in her.

Winnie bit her lip. I can’t let this slide, no matter who or what did this to me.

In contrast, Ignis answered nonchalantly, continuing with his push-ups. “Hey, hey, did you forget I’m a dumbass? I don’t know shit about who did this to us.”

“I’m sorry I even asked.” Winnie sighed again. “Was it assassins from one of the other houses? Or maybe...a black guild?”

The higher-ranked houses weren’t lacking in the sort of funding that hired those shady sorts to sabotage their competitors.

They also couldn’t disregard the rumors of those legendary black guilds manipulating events all over the continent from the shadows. Though some grunts belonging to the fringes of these organizations could sometimes be caught, none could reach any deeper. It was doubtful whether these organizations even had a central figure or leader.

“Boss, your thoughts?”

“I ain’t botherin’ ’bout things I can’t figure out.”

“That’s one way of dealing with problems.” Winnie decided to change the topic. “Oh yeah, I heard from father. You’re thinkin’ of allying with Lumel and Exlord? I thought you hated being all buddy-buddy with folks.”

“I don’t like bein’ buddy-buddy, but I like fightin’ alongside others. Even more now that I know there’s some crazy monsters out there.”

Ignis was practically a wildfire given human form, but sometimes he displayed an unusually cool head. He probably didn’t give it much thought. In fact, it was his gut that Winnie found to be quite reliable.

“But you still put some terms on them, right? I heard you’re gonna duel the heir from House Exlord.”

“Well duh. I ain’t gettin’ friendly with a guy I don’t trust. You know I only talk with my fists.”

“Right, right. I don’t think the guy’s gonna be much of a challenge though.”

Winnie had heard that the successor to House Exlord was given the Job of Normal, despite being a noble. She recalled their invasion of Exlord’s territory to have been rather anticlimactic, since he just handed over their Jewel and surrendered.

“Well yeah. He ain’t winnin’ if he just fought me as he is right now,” Ignis said.

“So you’re sayin’ there’s a chance a wimp like him could win against ya?”

“A Normal like him doesn’t have any special talents, so he ain’t winnin’ by just fightin’ me one way. Still, if he gives me a good fight, then I gotta answer with all I got.”

“All ya got... So your sword and magic, your fightin’ spirit, and power to turn the tide of battle.” Winnie couldn’t help but remark on everything she had just listed. “Sounds like he ain’t got no chance. Even if they got someone to teach him, he ain’t learnin’ a damn thing in such a short time.”

***

“Ughhh...”

I groaned as I started experiencing a sudden shortness of breath. Something soft was pressing against my face and making it difficult to breathe. My body felt heavy, and I couldn’t move. It was like several chains were tying me down. Was this what they called ‘sleep paralysis’?

Which means...

I must have been asleep. This is bad. Sleep meant vulnerability. Someone in the castle with ill intentions might sneak in and kill me. I needed to wake up. I kept on repeating it to myself as I struggled against the paralysis and opened my eyes.

The first thing that greeted my sight was a deep crevasse—a dark brown valley with ample volume and softness along the sides.

“Umm...”

I turned my gaze upward, spying a flash of silky silver hair and the face of a tanned elf.

“Aizel?”

“Mmm...” Aizel let out a soft groan as she opened her eyes. “Good morning, dear husband.”

“Good morning... Wait, no, why are you in my bed?”

“Ha ha. Surely you jest. It is only natural for a husband and wife to sleep in the same bed.” Aizel blushed as she spoke. “Even so, it is quite embarrassing to have you stare at my face up close. How was the sensation of my chest as your pillow?”

“Is that why I found it so hard to breathe?!”

The magic stones in the ceiling illuminated my bedroom with a faint light. The lighting of the stones synchronized with the time, which meant that it was currently morning outside.

I seemed to have had a strange dream. I tried to wake up from it, but like in my dream, I couldn’t move any of my limbs. When I looked around, I noticed that I wasn’t bound by chains, but by someone else’s arms and legs embracing me from behind.

When I tried to turn around to check who it was, I was immediately greeted by twitching animal ears.

“Millie?”

“G’mornin’, Tenes...” Millie yawned and mumbled. She tightened her grip on me and went right back to sleep.

“And why are you here as well?” I asked.

“Indeed, why are you in the same bed?” Aizel lowered her voice. “Are you trying to ruin our precious time together as husband and wife?”

Millie opened her eyes partway. “I’m not a great sleeper... It gets really cold in the mornings down here, see? I was so out of it that I was lookin’ for some warmth and ended up here.”

Not a great sleeper? Understatement of the year.

Aizel didn’t appear to be convinced with Millie’s explanation and kept on trying to unwrap Millie’s limbs from me. “You say that, but you must be aiming for my husband yourself! Even if God allows it, I will not!”

“Huh? Why do I need your permission to do anything?”

“My husband’s chastity is mine to take!”

“That’s mighty honest of ya!”

“W-Well, I suppose my sexual prowess still needs some work.”

“Now you’re trying to be modest?!”

Suddenly, a threatening chill emanated from the room’s entrance.

“Excuse me. What exactly is happening here?”

When I looked up, Riche was standing at the doorway in her usual maid outfit looking very unamused. She stared blankly at the tangle of bodies on my bed. I couldn’t help but notice a sharp knife in her right hand.

Millie and Aizel promptly got out of bed. “Hey, hey! I was just sleepwalkin’ and all! I don’t wanna see the Sword Maiden brandishin’ a knife!”

“Indeed. I was only here to ravish him.”

“Uh, Aizel, could you be a bit less direct?”

Riche sighed watching the two bicker. “I was in the middle of preparing breakfast, but I was nearly forced to make use of this knife for a different purpose.” Riche waved the knife around, and a cold breeze blew into the room.

“Okay then. My work includes milord’s morning preparations, so it’s time for you two to get out and go to the dining hall.”

“Okay, okay, fine.”

“Tch. Next time.”

Millie and Aizel looked dissatisfied, but they complied and left the room.

Riche placed the knife on one of the shelves and bowed apologetically. “Milord, I apologize for my failure.”

“Hm? What failure?” I asked.

“About the prisoner waking up.”

“Prisoner... Oh, Matthew?”

It wasn’t that we were imprisoning him, per se; he was only being held here after I had swapped places with him. I had him brought here and made him sleep inside a special magic circle. I had heard yesterday that he had woken up from the spell.

“I don’t really mind. I already Abducted his memories. Besides, Aizel remade the magic circle, didn’t she?”

Normally, I would have felt bad about throwing someone into a dungeon, but for some reason, I didn’t feel that way about Matthew. We were keeping him safe and healthy, so I at least hoped he was having some good dreams down here.

“Thank you, milord.” Riche seemed relieved. She rolled up her sleeves. “Okay, I shall start preparing you for the day. First, I will help you fix your bedhead.”

“Riche, I know you offer that every day, but I can fix my hair on my own.” I was a shut-in and hated expending energy, but I needed to at least take care of myself or I would turn into a complete slob.

“Understood.” Riche’s expression remained unchanged, but her tone had a hint of disappointment.

I looked around my small bedroom. Prill was in a corner, fast asleep.

“I’m really glad,” I muttered.

“About what, milord?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I had a nightmare that I was back in my room in Castle Lumel. I was just relieved that I wasn’t actually there.” Back in Castle Lumel, I was constantly worried about threats to my life. I was never able to get any restful sleep. “But here, I can rest well thanks to all of you.”

“Milord...” Riche bit her lip and approached the bed. “Do you mind if I fix your hair after all?”

I looked at Riche’s doll-like face and smiled. “No...not at all. Please, go ahead.”

***

“I can’t believe we can get fresh fruit all the way down here. It still messes with my head!” Millie exclaimed.

All of us were gathered at the dining hall for breakfast. There were fresh tomatoes, beans, and leafy greens served as a salad. There were also luscious fruits lined up on the table. All of these were picked fresh from the base’s farm and orchard. The underground base had several vents connected to the surface to provide and amplify sunlight. There was no way we could manage the entirety of the farm, though, so we only grew crops in a small area. The farm as a whole was so big that we could have easily grown crops to sell in the market.

The comfort level of this underground base was out of this world.

“Anyway Tenes, how’s the Exlord boy?” Millie asked while scarfing down her food.

“Pretty average,” I replied. His strength, stamina, agility, perception, and magical prowess were all perfectly normal. Since he was human, he had some minor deviations from the norm, but his capabilities were well within expectations.

“Well, yeah. He’s a Normal, after all.”

“And he is going to fight against the Flame Emperor?” Aizel chimed in. “He only has one month to train. Would it not be smarter to find a different plan?”

“No, we’re sticking with the current plan,” I said before sipping a fragrant cup of herbal tea. “Ordis Exlord might be normal, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I mean, for one, that’s something I want but will never have.”

I was abandoned by God, having never received a Job from the Oracle.

Riche was bound by a contract, doomed to protect an underground labyrinth for a century.

Millie was imprisoned for life after trying to infiltrate the Grand Temple.

And Aizel had been hunted down by adventurers for the last hundred years.

None of us had ever experienced a so-called normal life.

“Someone with average capabilities can be guided, and they will reap the rewards of their growth.”

“However, milord, even if he grows as you say, can a Normal really defeat the Flame Emperor in combat?” Riche asked.

I set down my cup. “Probably not.”

“What the hell.” Millie rested her chin on her hand and pouted. “So what now?”

“Normally, at least. But hey, that just makes it a goal worth pursuing.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“God gave Ordis the Job of Normal. Of course, a Normal would never win against the Flame Emperor. But if he did—”

That would mean God had made a mistake.

“Wouldn’t that be amusing?”

We were God Eater—challengers to God’s perfect order. This was a challenge that we had to undertake.

Millie snorted. “I see, I see. You sure think of some fun things to do, Tenes.”

“But Master, how would you make this plan work?” Aizel asked.

“For a Normal to defeat the Flame Emperor, he would have to match him with all of his skills.”

“All of his skills?”

“Sword and sorcery. The ability to take risks. His agility and tenacity. He must use his entire arsenal, but he can create an opportunity to take victory.”

“I understand, but teaching him all of those skills will be a difficult undertaking, will it not?”

“Aizel, you need not worry,” Riche assured. “Milord can do anything.”

“I-Indeed. He can. How foolish of me.”

As Riche and Aizel had their exchange, the clock on the wall caught my eye.

“But today is a weekday,” I said. In other words, I needed to go to work. I had to keep the pretense of working as a guild handyman in order to avoid attracting House Lumel’s watchful eye.

“Huh?” Millie looked perplexed. “Then you can’t train him unless it’s the weekend! What are you gonna do now?”

I wiped my lips with a napkin and met everyone’s gaze. “No problem. I have a plan.”

***

Back in House Exlord’s territory, the young heir was swinging his sword in the castle gardens.

“Lord Ordis, the mentor from House Lumel has arrived.”

A guard had arrived, accompanied by the usual masked figure in a pitch-black robe.

“Sir Matthew—no, Master, I look forward to your tutelage.”

“Indeed.” The masked figure nodded. His voice was muffled by the mask and difficult to discern.

“Were you able to sleep well?” Ordis asked his mentor. Originally, lodgings within the castle had been prepared for the masked figure, but important figures within the house had opposed the idea of having someone from one of the other dynasties staying within the castle grounds. Instead, he had been given a place to stay in the castle town. He would head to the castle from there for the daily training.

“We do not have time to waste on idle chatter,” Ordis’s mentor replied curtly.

“Y-Yes, of course. I’m sorry.”

The masked figure took a stance. “Let us begin our training.”

“Y-Yes!”

Matthew the Swordmaster handed Ordis a training sword, which he grabbed with his delicate right hand.

“Today, we will be practicing your sword fighting.”

“O-Okay!”

“We do not have much time, so we will train your skills through combat. Ready yourself.”

Ordis took a stance, but then, he froze in place. It wasn’t warm outside, but sweat was dripping down his cheek.

“What’s wrong? Hurry up and attack me.”

“Y-Yes, of course!”

Ordis attempted to put some strength into his arms, but he was unable to move. His mentor’s build wasn’t particularly huge or muscular, and he was just standing still. However, Ordis felt an immense and intimidating pressure pushing him back.

“Hurry!”

“G-Graaaaah!” Ordis forced out a yell to propel himself forward. He took a step and swung down his wooden sword.

Before he knew it, he was lying on the ground, staring straight at the sky.

“H-Huh?”

“There is no coordination between the movement of your arms and legs. Without that, you will be easily swept away by a more stable opponent. They will trip you.”

“I-Incredible...” Ordis muttered.

The masked Swordmaster pointed his wooden sword at Ordis’s cheek. “Get up if you do not want to be killed in combat.”

“Y-Yessir!” Ordis quickly hopped to his feet and gulped, slight confusion surfacing in his mind. Somehow, he felt that his mentor was a little different today.

***

“Phew.”

The sun was high up in the sky. At the Lavos adventurers’ guild, I was relaxing and drinking some tea.

“Tenes, could I have a moment?”

“Miss Felicia. How can I help you?”

As usual, I had finished all my work in the morning and was loafing around at my desk in the guild storehouse when Felicia handed me a form.

“Tenes, did you order lunch today?” Felicia asked. “Just checking.”

“Yes, I did.”

“I see. I just thought it was strange since you usually bring your own lunch.”

I set my cup of tea on the desk. “The person who usually makes my lunch wasn’t available today.”

“Wha—” Felicia looked shocked. “Y-You weren’t making your own lunch?”

“I do make my lunch when time allows, but I’m not very good at waking up early. I just have it made most of the time.”

“Wh-Who makes your lunch, then? O-Oh, it’s your mom, right?” Felicia was stuttering.

“No, it’s my maid,” I said.

“M-Maid? A-Are you actually some high noble like the rumors say?”

I laughed. “No, I’m just your regular citizen.”

My family had taken away my noble titles, so this was the truth.

Felicia looked relieved. “Ah, a rich regular citizen, then. Whew. I’m glad it was just your maid.”

“Glad? What for?”

“Huh? O-Oh... I don’t know, myself...” Felicia looked perplexed. “Your maid sounds amazing though. What’s she like?”

“What’s she like...” I echoed. “She’s...strong.”

“Strong? Not kind or something? Do you mean that she’s strong and confident?”

“I guess you could say she’s confident, but I meant it in the physical sense.”

My gaze drifted out the window as I answered Felicia’s questions. “I thought it was a good idea though... Did I overdo it?”

***

“That’s it for today’s training.”

“Th-Thank you...very much...”

Ordis was lying down on the twilit Castle Exlord gardens, exhausted. His breaths were shallow, his cheeks sunken, and some of his hairs had turned white.

All of us in the Black Curtain will take turns acting as his mentor.

Tenes, the leader, was the one who came up with the plan. Since he had work at the adventurers’ guild on weekdays, the others would take his place, and Richelotte was first up. That way, they would be able to continue training Ordis without pause. On top of that, his mentors were Richelotte the Sword Maiden, Aizel the dark elf, and Millie the Bandit King. Their range of expertise in swordplay, magic, tactics, and subversion were ideal for raising Ordis’s capabilities in battle.

Milord, your plans are incredible, Richelotte thought, smiling behind her mask. I really wonder how I haven’t been found out yet.

Richelotte grabbed the hem of her pitch-black robe. This garment had been created by her former master, incorporating the characteristics of the Hermit in order to create a magical artifact that made the wearer difficult to perceive. Tenes and Richelotte had completely different body types and hair styles, but despite that, nobody looking at them would think they were different people.

Moreover, the mask was also a magical artifact—one that disguised the wearer’s voice, from equalizing tone and intonation to obscuring their unique speech patterns. These items made taking turns as Ordis’s mentor possible without their identities getting exposed.

Richelotte stared at Ordis, the way he was lying limply on the ground. “Get up. Your opponent will not wait for you in a real battle. It is dangerous to leave yourself exposed for too long.”

“Y-Yes...” Ordis groaned.

“Brother!”

A young girl who resembled Ordis came running from behind a nearby pillar. Richelotte had heard that her name was Yuma, and that she was Ordis’s younger sister. She knelt beside her brother, who couldn’t even manage to eke out a cry.

Yuma glared at Richelotte. “How cruel! Did you have to go this far?”

“This far? Of course. A proper swordsman would be able to crush a fortress wall or two with one strike.”

“Fortress wall? Wh-Who would even be able to do that?! Don’t make others do what you can’t!”

“World Breaker.” Richelotte muttered the name of an attack and swung her sword. Fissures ran across the ground. The air itself seemed to split, and the castle wall in the way followed in an instant. The resulting shock wave rushed past the three of them and battered their eardrums, blasting up a cloud of dust in its wake.

“Like this.”

“Th-There’s no way he could possibly do that!!!” Yuma shrieked.

Richelotte sighed under her mask. “You say that I am cruel, but I am still holding myself back. If I had not restrained myself, then your brother would have died 372 times by now.”

“Th-Three hundred— Wha—”

“In other words, your brother has cheated death 372 times.”

Richelotte turned around and walked away from the siblings. “Tomorrow, your brother will be trained in magic. I would say that it will not be as harsh as my training today. Surely your mentor will be kinder tomorrow.”

***

The following day was another sunny one. Ordis was standing at a lakeside where various aquatic birds gathered.

“Gaaaaahhh!” His screams of terror reached across the lake and beyond. Ominous ripples began appearing in the water. Before long, the ripples became a torrent, and a huge water spout soon burst forth. The Exlord heir was then helplessly thrown into the pillar of water.

“Gwoh... Bwah...” Ordis eventually surfaced from the lake, coughing and spitting up the water he’d taken in, and desperately tried to catch his breath.

“You’re no kinder at all! You liar!” Yuma, who had been watching the training session unfold, yelled at the masked, robed mentor standing at the shore with arms crossed.

Today, the dark elf Aizel was the one training Ordis. She stared at the little girl standing next to her. “Liar? What do you mean by that?”

“You said you would be kinder today!”

“Did I say that yesterday?”

“You did! Don’t tell me you forgot!”

“It becomes difficult to remember recent happenings when you get to my age,” Aizel lamented.

“You talk like you’re an old man!” Yuma retorted. “How old are you anyway?”

“Hmm... I cannot recall, to be quite honest.”

“That’s not good.”

“So, what did I say yesterday, exactly?” Aizel asked.

Yuma looked exasperated, but she repeated Richelotte’s line word-for-word. “I would say that it will not be as harsh as my training today. Surely your mentor will be kinder tomorrow.”

“Oh? Not as harsh, huh? I cannot let this stand.” Thanks to the mask, the change in Aizel’s tone was imperceptible to Yuma. “Listen well, little girl.”

“L-Little girl?”

“This land is abundant in users of water magic. The heir’s attribute is also water. Am I correct?”

“Y-Yes, indeed. But how dare you call House Exlord’s daughter ‘little girl’ like that?!”

Aizel cackled. “Even the oldest among you human women are nothing but little girls to me.”

“Hey, are you crazy or something? I know you’re kinda weird, but I can’t believe House Lumel sent over someone as dangerous as you. Wait. Did House Lumel send you to harm my brother—”

“Your imagination is the most important factor when it comes to magic. In order to manipulate water, you must be intimate with it. Know everything about water itself. That is the most basic of basics. I am merely forcing him to be acquainted with it.”

“Listen to me!” Yuma’s anger was quickly being replaced with bewilderment.

Aizel observed Yuma’s face with much interest. “You make such colorful expressions. I know a woman whose expression never changes, so this is quite novel to me.”

“D-Don’t change the topic! Getting my brother acquainted with water is nice and all, but how could you just throw him into a pillar of water like that?! It’s insane!”

“There is no other way. This lake has a massive amount of water, and it is quite difficult to control.”

Aizel’s control over mana became more turbulent once she applied an element to it, which is why she normally used pure mana to cast her magic—a feat known as nonelemental magic. Today, she was attempting to apply water magic—an element that she wasn’t used to manipulating—in order to train Ordis.

“Well, worry not. His survival is assured—”

“H-Hey, why’d you go quiet?”

“I lost sight of him while talking.”

“Hey! Where’s my brother?! Brother!”

“Alhab.”

“Wh-Wha—”

Aizel raised her right hand. Suddenly the ground shook, and all the water in the lake coalesced into an orb and rose above their heads.

“Wh-Wh-What’s going on?!”

“Oh, there he is.” Aizel, ever unconcerned, found Ordis floating in the giant orb of water. He didn’t seem to be moving at all, but perhaps it was just her imagination. She separated him from the water and guided him to the shore, where Yuma hurried to meet him.

“Koff, kawf, bwuh-khah—”

Yuma clung to Ordis even as he coughed up an unsettling volume of water.

“Brother... Brother!”

“Y-Yuma...”

“Brother, you’re awake!”

“Heh... I’m a fishy fish, ha ha...” Ordis chuckled, staring blankly at the sky. “The water’s so nice...”

“Brother! Come back to me!” Yuma desperately shook her brother’s shoulders, then glared at Aizel with tears in her eyes. “Liar! You said you’d be kinder today! You awful liar!”

“Please do not say that. A magus must be capable of these basic exercises.”

“Basic exercises?! Your idea of ‘basic’ is out of this world!”

Aizel cleared her throat. “Well, worry not. Tomorrow will be training on tactics and physical prowess. Surely my training tomorrow will be much kinder to you.”

“I-I’ll hold you to that!”

***

The following day, Ordis was at the castle garden.

“M-Master, really?!” His eyes went wide in surprise at the proclamation of the mentor in front of him. Ordis had been getting run ragged, and his face showed it, but now there was a sign of hope anew.

“You heard me. Today’s training will be a little game.”

“I-I don’t have to get attacked with sword slashes that would’ve killed me? Or get thrown into a raging lake?”

“Nah! Hey, what kind of training were you given anyway? I can already imagine, but I’m sure you were put through hell the past few days.”

The Bandit King Millie was behind the mask of the mentor today. Her voice had a hint of sympathy toward the beleaguered boy.

“It sounds like he really is gonna be nice to you today!” Yuma nodded happily. “Isn’t that great, brother?”

“Y-Yeah,” Ordis answered in timid agreement. “So, what kind of game are we playing?”

“Tag.”

“Tag?”

“You played tag as a kid, didn’tcha? The one where you’re ‘it’ and you chase each other around, and trade places when you touch the other players.”

“Am I gonna have to chase a wild beast or dragon while I’m it?” Ordis cautiously asked.

“What kind of trauma did they inflict on you?” Millie sighed. “We’re not doing any of that. I don’t want you to die, okay? I’m gonna be the one running, and you’ll be chasing me. The garden’s gonna be our playground. Today’s training ends when you catch me. Got it?”

“Th-That’s all?”

“Sounds great!” Yuma grabbed Ordis’s hands with a big grin on her face. “It’s just a normal game of tag. It’s gonna be a breeze today!”

Then—

“Haa...haa...haa...”

The rays of sunset were giving a pale glow to the castle’s brick walls. It was already twilight, and Ordis was wandering around like a dead ghoul.

“H-How...did I not catch—haa—catch him...even once?” Ordis let out a gasp and flopped onto the ground.

“Brother!” Yuma rushed to her brother.

“Wha’sup, you done already?” Millie shrugged, and Yuma glared fiercely at her while Ordis slowly sat up.

“Y-You lied again! That wasn’t a game at all!”

“Really? I was just playin’ around.”

“H-How—”

“How come you couldn’t catch me? Well, one reason’s the gap between our physical abilities.”

Millie was a beastkin. Her stamina and agility far exceeded that of a regular human.

“But the biggest reason is your strategy and observational skills.”

“Strategy and...observational skills?”

“You’re never gonna catch someone faster and hardier than you are by just blindly chasing after them. You gotta use your brain to make up that gap.”

In order to corner someone with limited room to do so, one must be able to observe patterns in their behavior and use that information to trap their target. One must know and apply those thinking skills in such a situation.

Ordis stared at his mentor as he caught his breath. “Sir Matthew... You’re a Swordmaster... But you’re so skilled at both sword fighting and magic... You really can do anything.”

“Oh, uh... Yeah, that’s right! My boss has high expectations of me.”

“Fiona sure is incredible...”

Fiona was being praised without her knowledge, but Millie let it pass. She turned her eyes to the twilight sky and rotated her shoulders. “Okay then. Break’s over! You haven’t caught me yet, so it looks like you’re gonna have to chase me until dark!”

“You’re not any kinder at all!” Yuma’s complaints fell on deaf ears as the sun began to sink behind the horizon.

***

“Hey, did you just see that too?”

“Sure did.”

“Our little boy heir’s screamin’ his lungs out!”

“Even got his baby sister coverin’ for his sorry ass!”

“Gah ha ha! You said it, bro! There’s no helpin’ that Normal.”

It was sunset, two weeks after Ordis had begun his training. Ordis’s screams were now a daily spectacle for soldiers coming in and out of the castle town. Many of them were mocking the Exlord heir’s Job.

Mensa was heading the group of soldiers walking through the castle town, and one fellow soldier addressed her.

“Hey Mensa, whaddya think of him?”

“Don’t care,” she answered curtly.

“C’mon, don’t be such a spoilsport! Oh, I know. You’re sulkin’ ’cuz you got beat by that weirdo from Lumel, and now he’s got your spot as the boy’s mentor!”

“What did you say?”

“Hey, hey, don’t get mad at me! I’m sayin’ you’re better off as the boy’s mentor! Swordmaster, schmordmaster, you had the guy on the back foot the whole time! If the boy hadn’t stepped in, you would’ve won! Right?”

“Yeah! Mensa, you woulda won if you had a bit more time.”

“I bet you were holding back, yeah? You wouldn’t want the guest from Lumel lookin’ bad after all.”

Mensa remained silent as her fellow soldiers sung her praises, gritting her teeth.

These knuckleheads don’t know a damn thing about what happened.

The Swordmaster Matthew from Lumel was no ordinary man. Only those who had faced him directly would sense his supernatural prowess. Thinking of it another way, he wouldn’t let even those who were watching from nearby sense his strength. That was a clear sign of the vast gap between their skills. Even so, try as she might, she couldn’t clearly recall a single detail about his swordplay.

Mensa balled her fist. “We lost to the Balzac army. We don’t have any right to complain about this arrangement.”

“The hell? Man, you really are a spoilsport.”

“Hey, the boy’s comin’. Enough yappin’.”

Ordis Exlord, the Normal successor to House Exlord, was walking along the twilit road. He had just finished his training. His face was pale, his gait unstable, and he was being supported by his sister Yuma through every step. Residents of the castle town giggled as the heir hobbled through the group of soldiers.

As Ordis’s slender silhouette grew smaller and smaller, the soldiers guffawed.

“Pfft! Did you see that?”

“He looks like he’s dying!”

“C’mon, that was just training! How bad could it be?!”

After a few minutes of mockery and laughter, the soldiers seemed to lose interest and went back on their way.

Only Mensa stood there dumbfounded, staring at Ordis’s silhouette as he vanished into the horizon.

“What the hell was that?”

Chapter 4: To a Lawless Land

It had been two weeks since I first started training Ordis. Today was a weekend, and I was the one standing as his mentor at Castle Exlord.

“Lord Ordis, how are you doing today?”

“How could you ask that in such a cheerful tone? How do you think he’s doing?!” Yuma answered for Ordis with a frown on her face. My first impression of her was a sheltered rich noblewoman, but now she looked completely exasperated. I felt bad for driving her to this point.

“I’m spacing out, and my body feels heavy, but...I feel like I’ve gained some stamina.” Ordis rubbed his cheeks as he answered. He sounded rather optimistic. He had been taught by the greatest teachers in all of the continent for the last two weeks, so perhaps his training was starting to bear fruit. His sincerity was both his strong suit and his weakness.

“Master, what are we going to do today?”

“Hmm... Where would you say is the rowdiest place in all of Exlord?”

“The rowdiest place?” Ordis looked perplexed at my question. “Well... The town of Barz in the northeast is known to be pretty rowdy.”

“The kind of place where punks are roaming around causing trouble for the townsfolk?”

“W-Well, yes... What about it?”

“How about we pick a fight with them?”

“Wh-Wha—” Ordis yelled in shock. “Wh-Wh-Why would we—”

“Lord Ordis, you practice Linearm style, correct?”

“I-I do, but—”

“There is something you lack that you need in order to master it.” Ordis looked confused, so I continued. “You lack belligerence.”

He bit his lip, seemingly aware of this flaw.

“Linearm style is heavily focused on offense. You must possess a mind of steel—one that never fears your opponent. It’s too late to start changing your sword style, so we must train you until you gain that mentality.”

My three comrades were already drilling him on the basics in battle, magic, and tactics. In that case, I had to train his mental fortitude.

“W-Wait!” Yuma interjected, looking alarmed. “I didn’t hear anything about this!”

“Of course not,” I said. “I just came up with it.”

“What kind of irresponsible— Barz is a very dangerous town! How could you make my brother go to such an unsafe place?!”

I laughed off her concern. “It’ll be fine. You don’t need to worry about him.”

“You of all people don’t get to say that!”

I turned around and urged Ordis. “We’re about to find out if stamina is the only thing you’ve gained these past two weeks.”

***

Barz was a town located far to the northeast of the castle. It was a slum town, the kind of place where nomads and the homeless ended up. The streets were littered with garbage, and the stench of sewage from the cramped houses hung in the air. And no matter how much the authorities tried to crack down on illegal activity, unsavory businesses kept springing up all over the place.

“So this is Barz,” I observed.

“Indeed. Though it’s my first time coming this far inside.” Ordis was trembling and rubbing his arms as he answered. “I don’t like it here...”

“Lord Ordis, we’ve come this far. Please steel yourself.”

“B-But, we didn’t have to go straight into Borzo Family territory!”

“Borzo Family?”

“Barz is divided into several territories. The Borzo Family is particularly violent, and they’re responsible for many civilian casualties. Father cracked down on them two months ago.”

Despite that, Borzo, the boss himself, had managed to escape the crackdown, and the organization had barely managed to survive intact. Ordis was shivering even more as he explained that they might hold a grudge and take it out on him.

“Even better, then.”

“How could you be so positive about this?!” Ordis held his head in his hands and let out a sigh. “I’m glad I didn’t bring Yuma along.”

“You don’t seem happy about that.”

“There’s no way I’d take my sister to a place like this.”

Yuma had insisted on tagging along, but unusually for him, Ordis steadfastly refused her request, and she reluctantly backed down. Due to the Exlord army’s defeat during the Balzac army’s invasion, the situation at Barz had only gotten worse.

“You sure take good care of your sister,” I said.

“Taking care of the little sister is the big brother’s job,” Ordis replied, sounding somewhat dejected. “Master, do you have any siblings?”

“I don’t.” I’d been expelled from House Lumel, so at least officially, I couldn’t call myself Fiona’s little brother. “But I understand the desire to protect your siblings.”

Ordis wondered what he meant by this, but the next moment, someone called out to them from behind.

“Hey you two. Stop right there.”

“Ain’t seen yer faces ’round here.”

The two of us stopped and turned around. If one looked up the word ‘delinquent’ in the dictionary, a depiction of the men standing right in front of us might appear.

“The hell’s with the robe? Creepy-ass punk.” One of the delinquents commented on my wardrobe.

“You’re standin’ in Borzo territory,” another one from the group informed us. “Outsidas like you gotta pays ya dues when passin’ through.”

“This is a public road. I wasn’t informed that there’d be a toll,” I told them.

The man who spoke first balled his fists. “You payin’ up, or ya want me to rearrange yer face first?” he threatened.

Another man turned his attention to Ordis. “Hey, ain’t that the Exlord heir over there?”

The men went quiet for a moment.

“Huh? You sure?”

“Do I look like I care ’bout rememberin’ that prick’s face?”

“Coulda sworn I’d seen him at some parade or somethin’.”

“Dumbass. The heir of Exlord ain’t showin’ his face in this dump.”

After a short argument, the group of delinquents seemed to have come to a conclusion. The eight of them started approaching us.

“Whateva. Better for us if he’s the hoity-toity little heir. We got a score to settle with ’em after our dear lord messed up the Borzo Family business.”

“M-Master...” Ordis whimpered and retreated, looking at me for help.

“Good luck!” I grinned and gave him a thumbs-up.

“Why are you so relaxed about this?!”

Even as Ordis was panicking, the ruffians were readying their fists and began charging at us.

“Get ’em!”

***

It should be this way.

Meanwhile, another outsider had come to the town of Barz—Mensa, the short-haired, sharp-eyed swordswoman. She had entered Castle Exlord for certain matters when Yuma approached her at one of the hallways and pleaded desperately.

“Please, help my brother!”

The mentor from Lumel had apparently taken Ordis to Barz to test his mettle. It was quite a bold training method—one that made Mensa question if she would have done the same. In accordance with Yuma’s plea, she headed to the town of Barz, but not just to rescue Ordis. She was there to observe him. She was there to grasp the strange feeling she had felt on the previous afternoon when she’d encountered Ordis in town.

Mensa headed deep into the meandering alleys of Barz and heard a loud scream from a street corner.

“Get ’em!”

Mensa ran toward the noise and hid behind a wall to observe. There, she saw Ordis screeching and being chased by eight ruffians. He ran desperately down the connecting alley, face blanched and streaked with tears.

Looks like I was just imagining things. Mensa sighed as she watched the situation unfold. She wanted to turn around and head home, but unfortunately, she’d sworn her loyalty to the heir of House Exlord. The heir’s sister had also pleaded to her for help. She had to rescue him. She placed a hand on the sword on her hip.

However—

“Damn it! Slippery son of a bitch!”

The ruffians were unable to get a hold of Ordis, who slipped straight into a narrow alley barely able to fit one man. The rowdy group could only squeeze into the alley in single file.

“Gueh?!”

Suddenly, an ugly squeal could be heard.

“Hey, turn back!”

“You dumbass! Everyone’s blockin’ the way behind me!”

The men argued among each other until eventually they slid out of the other end of the alley in an avalanche. At the exit, Ordis was waiting with his wooden sword in hand.

“Not bad,” Mensa muttered, having tailed the group. Ordis hadn’t been running blindly; he had made use of the twisting alleys of Barz in order to create a situation where he would fight the men one by one instead of all eight at once.

“Huh? Wha—” However, it seemed like Ordis himself was more surprised at the turn of events than anyone else.

Five of the ruffians fell face-first into the alley and stayed on the ground, groaning in pain. Only three of them were left standing. One was bare-handed. Another one was holding a plank of wood, and the last was brandishing a knife.

“Get ’im!”

The three men lunged at Ordis all at once. Ordis blocked the plank of wood with his sword. At that moment, the man with the knife tried to plunge his weapon into Ordis.

“Splash.” Ordis aimed his free hand toward the man with the knife, and a jet of water burst forth, blasting the ruffian straight in his face.

The volume of water that launched from just his fingertip was over twice as much as he’d been able to produce before his training had begun. It was not enough water to fully stop his opponent from approaching, but it hit the delinquent straight in the eyes.

“Gwah!”

The man tried to clear his obscured vision on reflex, but Ordis used this opening to hit him with his sword on the nape, and he was out. Now, there was only one enemy left.

“Wh-What the—”

The last man standing picked up the knife that had fallen on the ground and hurled it at the robed figure. He had judged that he wouldn’t win against Ordis in a fair fight, so he changed targets. However, the man’s knees suddenly buckled, and he collapsed.

“M-Master!” Ordis seemed to be shocked at the turn of events and went up to me. “Wh-Wh-Why is my body moving like this?”

“Looks like your training’s paying off,” I assured him.

“I-I was scared at first, but after calming myself, I realized that they weren’t as scary as you during our training.”

“Was... Was I really that scary?” I wondered.

“You were!” Ordis exclaimed. “Especially during my sword and magic training. For some reason, it felt like you were competing with yourself and made my training harsher and harsher every day.”

“I see...” Ordis was still trembling, so I reassured him as positively as I could. “You did get training from the greatest mentor in the entire continent, so everything’s going as planned.”

“Hah! You call yourself the greatest mentor in the entire continent?” a voice called out. Mensa stepped out from the shadows of the nearby buildings. “Some crazy confidence you got there.”

“Mensa?!” Ordis squeaked. “Why are you here?!”

“Lady Yuma asked me to help you out, though it looks like you didn’t need any.” Mensa turned her gaze to me. “You don’t seem surprised. Did you manage to sense my presence, Matthew the Swordmaster?”

“Hm? Oh, me? I did. I’m pretty good at finding things that are hidden.”

Mensa placed a hand on her hip and turned to Ordis. “Looks like that odd feeling I had was spot on. Hmph. You’ve grown a bit.”

Ordis had gained the ability to take advantage of terrain. He had used his water magic to blind the enemy, and determined the best priority in which to fight them. And his skills in both swordplay and magic had improved significantly.

“Th-Thanks,” Ordis said sheepishly.

“But I still don’t plan on recognizing you as the heir until you undergo the rite.”

“Yes, o-of course.”

“Anyway, something doesn’t feel right.” Mensa stared at the men that were lying down on the ground.

“Indeed,” I nodded along with her.

“Master, what’s strange?”

I looked around the area. “This area is controlled by the Borzo Family, right? Barz is a pretty unruly place, and the Borzos are especially violent. But we’ve already walked around a bunch, and we haven’t run into any other ruffians.”

“C-Come to think of it...”

“Even the last guy didn’t bother shouting to call reinforcements,” Mensa added. “In other words, there aren’t any other Borzo Family members in this area.”

“So...that means the Borzo Family’s gone, right? Looks like the boss ran away, but the army’s cleanup seems to be effective.”

“Heh heh heh...” One of the fallen ruffians snickered. He started laughing so hard that he clutched his abdomen and sweat started pouring down his head. “You got flowers and rainbows in your head or somethin’? Do ya really think the boss would just turn tail?”

Mensa glared at the man. He started raising his voice. “Ha ha ha! You should’ve just let him be in his territory! We’re only here to clean up! The boss already took a bunch of our guys! Keep tremblin’ in yer boots while you wait and see what he’s up to!”

“What?!” Mensa readied her blade. Ordis’s eyes shot wide open.

“Why do guys like these just come out and blab all their plans? I really wonder.” I shrugged. “You were a big help, in any case.”

Still holding my wooden sword, I slowly crouched right beside the man’s head. “Care to tell me more?”

***

There was a sizable village in the middle of the mountains, about two hours away by carriage from Castle Exlord. Deep in a grove overlooking the village, a large man built like a bear licked his thick lips.

“To think I’d end up as a bandit all the way out here.”

The man’s name was Borzo—a charismatic figure formerly from the town of Barz. A slender man was standing in his gigantic shadow. He was of average build and height, unremarkable, and looked like any other man.

“Do you dislike being a bandit?” the slender figure asked.

“Nah, it ain’t bad. Robbin’ suits my style.”

“The lord of this land robbed you of many things. Now it’s your turn.”

“Gah ha ha!” Borzo held his rotund belly and cackled. “Ya ain’t wrong ’bout that!”

Borzo turned and looked at the hundred or so members of his Family standing behind him, ready to go out and spill some blood. “Ya ready, nitwits?! We’re gonna raid that village, take all their money, and build our strength!”

Their group would do this over and over again, building up their treasury and area of influence. Once they were big enough, they would attack the capital and take revenge for having their racket ruined.

Borzo raised his hand axe and roared. “We’re the Borzo Bandits! Take everything they have!”

***

“I see. A bandit squad, huh?”

At the town of Basel, I echoed the information relayed to me by the ruffian from the Borzo Family.

“Thank you for giving me an honest answer,” I told the ruffian lying face-up next to me. Even my Clairvoyance wasn’t able to discern secrets hidden deep within a person’s heart—for now, at least. I could at least discern if someone was hiding something from me, and it didn’t seem that he was hiding anything more. Thankfully, he seemed to be a simpleton.

“I-I ain’t got no choice but to answer with that training sword pointed at me! I can’t even move!”

I chuckled and stood up. “This is just for self-defense.”

“A bandit squad? That Borzo’s made a hell of a career change,” Mensa said, her brows furrowing.

Ordis looked anxious as he grabbed my robe. “M-Master, wh-what do we do?”

“What do you want to do, Lord Ordis?” I tossed the question back at him.

“W-We can’t just ignore them! We have to inform my father and formulate a plan!”

Ordis seemed flimsy and unreliable at first glance, but he was quick and decisive when it came to protecting his sister and his domain’s citizens. Whether that was a quality born out of kindness or something else was difficult to say.

I stared at the castle made of pale blue bricks in the distance. “All right then. Let’s go and inform your father.”

***

A village in the south was attacked by a group of bandits. While we were extracting the same information from the man from Barz, some survivors had escaped from the village and sought shelter from neighboring towns, and the chiefs of these towns quickly sent emissaries to inform the lord of Castle Exlord.

“That Borzo turned to banditry?! I shouldn’t have let him get away!” Ockham slammed a fist on the arm of his chair in frustration. His ministers bombarded him with anxious questions.

“L-Lord Ockham, what shall we do?”

“What else do we do but pacify them?!”

“H-However, our army is still recovering from the damage sustained from House Balzac’s invasion. And the squadrons in fighting shape are busy with restoring the villages that were burned down during the battle. It would take several days to call them back!”

Ockham groaned and gritted his teeth.

“It would be prudent to act as soon as possible,” I said. “More villages will suffer the longer you delay. You cannot afford to be caught with your pants down.”

That was the logical course of action, but I had another reason for them to act quickly. The weekend was almost over. I could leave the task to Riche and the others, but since this was an emergency, I wanted to be involved while I was in the role of Ordis’s mentor.

“An outsider like you has no right to interfere in our matters,” one of the ministers snapped. “We lack the numbers to build a specialized squad, and we need to carefully deliberate who will take the lead in this operation.”

“Why not have Ordis lead the squad?” I suggested, to which the young man in question squeaked from across the table.

“One of your villages is being ransacked,” I continued. “Who else should take a stand but the one to succeed as leader of this domain? I believe that is the natural course to take, yes?”

“M-Master, I-I...” Ordis looked like all the color had drained from his face. I gave him a thumbs-up.

“Let’s get this bandit hunting started.”

“What?! B-But we don’t have enough men to—”

“I can get you around thirty from my squad,” Mensa said. She seemed quite eager to move out. “We don’t have time to dawdle.”

I had heard that the Borzo Family had about a hundred men under them. We were outnumbered, but our men were better trained and equipped compared to a band of rogues and delinquents. They had no decisive advantage over us.

Ockham Exlord faced his son and asked, “Ordis, can you handle this?”

“Y-Yes, father.” Ordis might have been timid and indecisive, but he’d never outright rejected the duel with the Flame Emperor, his intense training under me, or now, this operation to eliminate the bandits. As long as it was about protecting his citizens, he would never say no. Perhaps he was hesitant to hunt down fellbeasts for the rite because it was only for himself. In any case, I was certain that there was a need to see Ordis’s development through.

“Now that the squad has been formed, Lord Ockham, please announce Lord Ordis’s mission to your citizens.”

“Wait! M-Master, what for?!”

“There’s no better opportunity to prove yourself as the successor to House Exlord, don’t you think?”

Ordis was mocked without end by his own people, all because he was a Normal. But in order for the alliance between the three houses to become something of value, it was best for him to earn the respect of his citizens so that he could move his whole domain with a single word. Hunting down the bandits destroying towns and villages in the countryside was the perfect opportunity to regain his honor in the eyes of his subjects.

“Indeed. I shall announce the operation to all our subjects,” Ockham announced.

“F-Father...”

I gazed at the clear blue skies outside. “Beautiful day to hunt some bandits, don’t you think?”

“D-Don’t talk like we’re going out for a picnic...” Ordis whimpered.

***

The skies were clear and the sun was shining. A squad of about thirty soldiers was riding on horseback down a lakeside road, kicking up a cloud of dust in their wake. At the head of the squad was the young heir of House Exlord, along with Mensa, captain of the first army squad. Mensa’s soldiers were following right behind her in an orderly formation.

“So, where’s this ransacked village?” I asked.

“Whoa! Where’d you come from?” Ordis pricked up in surprise. “O-Oh, right, you were right behind me. I forgot.”

I cackled. “How could you forget your own mentor?”

I regularized my breathing. My ability Enshroud activated in different stages. The first stage was diminishing my presence and making myself difficult to detect. The second involved stopping my breath and disappearing from sight. Finally, by being completely still and fully focusing on erasing myself, I was able to completely remove my existence from the minds of everyone around me. I’d just been testing out the third stage, and it seemed to work out perfectly.

Time was a precious resource. This was a cliché, but also a saying that encapsulated my entire life. Because of the circumstances behind my birth, I had no idea when someone would come and take my life. I’d used my time as a shut-in to learn and train as many skills as I could. Of course, it wasn’t like I had much to entertain myself with either.

In any case, it was during this time that I had read through Castle Lumel’s library of books on swordsmanship, as well as learning all the attributes of magic. However, there was still much I didn’t know about my abilities as a Hermit.

“Umm... It was this village called Talri in the mountains,” Ordis explained, turning his gaze back to the path ahead. I could sense the anxiety he felt toward the daunting task of hunting down the rogues that had ransacked the town.

Ordis explained the background of the village to me while biting down his frustration at the attacks. The village of Talri held a lot of wealth from their mining industry, which must have made them appealing as a target.

“This Borzo figure seems to be quite clever,” I remarked.

“He was the type to prefer violence while he was ruling over Barz,” Ordis said. “I didn’t think he had that kind of cleverness in him.”

“I see. Then that means—”

“You two, enough talking,” Mensa, who was riding ahead of us, interrupted and glared at us. “There are several villages up ahead. We need to hurry up.”

***

We galloped at top speed for the next hour and reached the foot of the mountains. There, we got off our horses and climbed the twisting uphill path by foot. It was a road used to deliver ores down from the village, so it was regularly maintained, but there were still weeds growing here and there, and the path itself was rough and bumpy.

“I-I can’t...” I whined.

“Master, what’s wrong? You don’t feel well?” Ordis checked up on me after lagging behind.

“I’m fine... It’s just my stamina...”

“What, a Swordmaster like you already getting exhausted from climbing this mountain path? That’s rich,” Mensa said mockingly.

“Sorry about that. I was born frail.”

I thought I had gained some stamina between my work in the guild and running an underground organization, but it didn’t seem to have worked out. My constitution was as pathetic as ever.

“Flow Armor.” I cast a wind magic spell to cover my body in an armor of air. The armor split the incoming headwind and made it slightly easier for me to climb.

As we proceeded up the mountain road, we reached an open area where around thirty men who clearly looked like scoundrels were loitering around.

“Bandits!” Mensa yelled.

“Whoa, it’s the army!”

“They really came all the way up here!”

Borzo didn’t seem to be around, but these were most likely his men. They quickly scrounged up their clubs and rusty swords and blocked our path.

“Get ’em!”

“Kill ’em all! No mercy!”

“Yeah!”

The battle cries of the Borzo Bandits and Mensa’s sharp commands to her squad melded together. Before long, the sound of weapons clashing echoed throughout the mountain. There were even numbers of bandits and soldiers, but as expected, there was a vast gulf in quality and discipline between the two forces.

“Gwah!”

“Ow ow ow! That hurts!”

The village ruffians were no match for trained soldiers. The bandits were quickly subjugated by the army one after the other.

“Haaah!” Even throughout this chaos, Ordis was doing his best to fight the rogues. In fact, he was completely overwhelming his opponents.

“M-Master, wh-what’s going on? It’s like they’re all just standing still!”

“I’m sure they seem like that to you.” I affirmed his observation. Ordis trained under the legendary Sword Maiden. She had subjected him to many blows that would have taken his life in an instant had she not held back. Even if his level of swordsmanship was that of a Normal, he had escaped death countless times now. Rogues like these were no longer a match for him.

“Splash!”

“Whoa?! What the hell—”

Ordis launched a torrent of water from his left hand at the bandits. Like in Barz, the output of his magic wasn’t enough to blast them away, but the cold water was enough to stop his enemies in their tracks long enough for Mensa to take them down one by one. Ordis seemed to be using his water magic more effectively.

“Yeah, he’s getting better at this,” I muttered. Of course, these bandits were nothing compared to the Flame Emperor, but his overall skill level had vastly improved thanks to his excellent tutelage.

As for things that needed my attention...

“Damn it! Fall back! We’re outmatched!”

The bandits’ numbers had been reduced by over half. They turned around and fled through the mountain path. They were heading straight for Talri Village.

“After them! Don’t let any of them get away!” Mensa commanded, and the soldiers pursued the rogues into the mountains.

The squad of soldiers reached a narrow path that could fit two men at most, with sheer rock faces towering on both sides.

“Talri Village should be up ahead,” Mensa said.

After climbing a gentle slope, a towering shadow greeted the group. He was hairy and enormous—he was built like a bear.

“Welcome, Exlord dogs,” the man growled.

Mensa stopped in her tracks and glared at the bearlike man. “You must be Borzo.”

“That’s right. I’m the mighty Borzo, leader of the Borzo Bandits.”

“You sure have fallen on hard times since your stint as the head honcho at Barz. You’re better off doing something your style, I’d say. Drop your weapons and surrender if you value your life.”

Borzo guffawed while holding on to his hand axe. “Hah! Surrender? With just thirty of you? What do you plan on doing with that pathetic force?”

“This pathetic force just destroyed your henchmen. You should consider training your men some more.”

“Heh heh heh...” Borzo was unfazed by Mensa’s threats. More than that, he started laughing even harder. “Gah ha ha!”

Mensa looked perplexed as Borzo raised his right hand. Then, men started pouring out from the rock faces sandwiching the road. There were ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty... Their numbers kept increasing. There must have been at least two hundred of them.

“Huh?” Mensa was caught off guard. She had heard that Borzo only had a hundred men.

Borzo cackled after seeing the confusion on Mensa’s face. “Lemme see you destroy us now.”

The bandits readied their bows and rained down arrows on the soldiers.

“Gah!”

“Ngh!”

While the bandits didn’t seem adept at using their weapons, there were just too many arrows falling from the sky. At least two or three soldiers groaned and fell.

“Tch.” Mensa clicked her tongue as she struck down the rain of arrows bearing down on her.

“F-Fall back!” Ordis yelled.

“What are you saying, boy?!”

“We’ll take too many casualties if we take them head-on. We have to retreat!”

“We’re soldiers here. We don’t mind taking a hit or two. If we don’t take ’em down now, there’ll be even more casualties!”

“We need to warn the other villages and have them reinforce their defenses.”

“Boy!”

“We can’t keep going! We need to fall back!” Ordis didn’t budge at all.

Mensa glanced at me and bit down on her lip.

“That’s two,” she groaned. She swept away more arrows as if casting away her hesitation along with them. “Fall back! Take the injured with you!”

As soon as she ordered it, the Exlord army evaded the rain of arrows and retreated through the mountain pass.

“Captain!” one of the soldiers yelled. At the rock faces above the mountain path, men were starting to roll giant boulders to drop onto the path.

“Hurry!”

The Exlord forces managed to escape the mountain path right before the boulders rolling down the rock face completely blocked their path.

Borzo watched the fleeing soldiers with great satisfaction. He raised both hands and cackled. “Look at ’em run! Men! Tonight, we celebrate!”

“Yeaaaah!”

***

The Exlord army heard the celebratory shouts from afar while treating their injured soldiers. The arrows hadn’t caused any critical injuries, and the soldiers managed to survive.

“I’m glad they’re okay...” Ordis sighed in relief.

Mensa grabbed the Exlord heir by the collar. “You coward! Your skills might have improved, but you still run away the moment you’re on the back foot!”

“S-Sorry...” Ordis looked apologetic. “B-But there were too many of them—”

“So what?! There might be hundreds of them, but we didn’t train so hard just to lose to a bunch of rogues and thieves!”

“I-I mean, that means that Borzo managed to get more men from the village they attacked!” Mensa kept her glare trained on Ordis. He continued. “I-I’m not sure, but he must have gotten the men from the village to serve under him. I can’t imagine that they were all doing it willingly.”

Mensa paused for a moment, then asked, “What’s your point, boy?”

“Borzo’s men must have taken their wives and children as hostages. They had to do everything he said.”

Mensa remained quiet and let him explain.

“If we attacked them, Borzo would have sent the hostages out front.”

And then he would order them to attack the army. While the soldiers hesitated to attack, the bandits would strike. And the hostages would despair at being attacked by the army sent to save them.

“And you think that justifies running away before our escape route gets cut off?” Mensa kept glaring at him.

“I-I want you to head to the other villages and tell them to reinforce their defenses. We can’t let Borzo expand his area of operations.”

Reinforced villages would at least be able to withstand attacks from an untrained force like Borzo’s bandits.

“So you want to abandon Talri Village, then?”

“The path to the village is already being watched. I’ll sneak into the village from a side path and check where the hostages are being held?”

“You will? On your own?”

“Y-Yeah. I’ve been training for a while, so I think I can do it without being spotted.”

Ordis had been put through some hellish childhood games, but thanks to that he had some knowledge on how to hide himself. He planned to find an opening to beat the men keeping watch over the hostages and turn the tide against the bandits.

“Sounds like you’ve thought pretty far ahead about the retreat, then.” Mensa released her grip on Ordis. “But I still haven’t accepted you. You’re just trying to justify running away again, aren’t you? The teachings of Linearm style say to never retreat and never fear your opponent. Isn’t that the way for the Lordship of Exlord to survive?”

“That’s—”

“Listen well, boy,” Mensa demanded. “I will only heed your orders one. More. Time. Got it?”

“One more time?”

Mensa turned around and took her soldiers down the mountain path, leaving Ordis behind to watch them go.

Thanks to his intense training, Ordis had managed to make split-second decisions during battle based on the enemy’s attacks and positions. He had managed to explain himself to Mensa not with on-the-spot excuses, but with sound reasoning and logic.

“But...”

Ordis sank his head into his hands.

“You’re just trying to justify running away again, aren’t you?”

Mensa’s words had a grain of truth to them. Ordis’s head started hurting, and painful memories started flashing in his mind.

“I... I just don’t want to see anyone get hurt, ever again,” Ordis mumbled. Then he looked up, as if he’d suddenly recalled something important. “Wait, where’d Master go?”

***

“Gah ha ha! Look at ’em run! The army that beat us down so bad is running away!”

“Bah ha ha! Buncha losers!”

“We’re invincible!”

The Borzo Bandits were celebrating their victory as they went down the path back to Talri Village. As they trekked back, the average-looking man walking beside Borzo scrunched up his face. “Borzo, why did you let the army escape?” he asked.

“Huh?” Borzo growled.

“You reversed the order of events. You should have cut off their escape with the boulders first, then showed up with the hostages. You should have made them fight the army, then eliminated the enemy while they’re hesitating. That should’ve been the plan, right? There’s no point if they just run away.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right.”

“That’s right? That won’t cut it. The man leading that army had to have been Ordis Exlord. It was the perfect chance to kill him.”

“What?! You sure ’bout that? Never saw that boy’s face in my life, ya see. Tell me ’bout these things sooner!”

“I thought you had a grudge against the lord of this land?” The man raised his voice. “You should at least know the face of his heir. I even had a villager escape to the army while they were preparing. We could have bought us time if you destroyed their forces right then.”

Borzo glared at the man. “Don’t you order me around. I ain’t listenin’ to no shady freak who showed up outta nowhere. I’m taggin’ along ’cuz it sounded like a good time, ya hear me?”

“Of course. I apologize for stepping out of line,” the man replied, lowering his head. Once Borzo’s attention was off him he muttered under his breath, “Shouldn’t have expected anything from a ruffian.”

The man still needed these bandits to do work for him. He couldn’t afford to sour Borzo’s mood. The boss of the bandits grinned, seemingly satisfied with the man submitting to him.

One of Borzo’s underlings called out to him. “Boss, what’s next?”

“Gah ha ha! Tie up the men once we get to the village. We’ll have some fun with the hostages right after. I haven’t had my fun ’cuz this guy kept pesterin’ me ’bout the army comin’ over.”

“Please restrain yourselves,” the man said, doing his best to hide his exasperation. He wanted to accelerate the expansion of the bandits, but they needed some leisure time. But if they went too far, the men from the village who had just joined them might instigate a rebellion. Controlling a bunch of nitwits was a herculean task.

A voice suddenly rang out. “That’s no good.”

“Gaaaah?!” Borzo jolted up in shock. The voice came from a masked figure wearing a pitch-black robe standing behind him. The figure’s presence was so faint, and yet its otherworldly appearance instantly caused a commotion. “Wh-What the hell are you?! When’d you get here?”

“I’ve been here from the start. You just didn’t notice me.”

“D-Don’t lie to me!” Borzo stammered.

“How hurtful. I consider myself an honest person.” The masked figure spoke calmly despite being surrounded by a crowd of bandits. “I’d like to ask you to stop with the terrible treatment of hostages.”

“H-Huh?”

“Ordis is gaining more confidence from this bandit hunt, and he’s on track to gaining the trust of his subjects. If you treat the hostages terribly, Ordis’s reputation would suffer if he can’t act in time to stop you.”

“The hell is this guy talkin’ about? Who the hell are ya?”

“I’m just a random shu—ah, no, I am Matthew the Swordmaster.”

“Huh? Like I said—”

“I am neither a saint nor an ally of justice. I have no interest in anyone except those who have brought some light into my dark days. However, if I fail here, one of those people who brought me light would surely be sad.”

“Shaddup!” Borzo yelled, his face beet-red. “Swordmaster? Dunno who the hell you are, but ya got some guts comin’ all the way here. Here, I’m your God. Bandits! Get ‘im!”

“Guooooh!” On Borzo’s orders, the men who had just finished battling the Exlord army yelled out a battle cry.

However, the masked figure remained unfazed. “Just so you know, I hate God.”

The Borzo Bandits rushed at the hooded figure with their weapons. Then, in the middle of the chaos, a shadow shifted around.

“Gwah?!”

“Gueh—”

“Ack—”

Blood splattered about, and the bandits’ groans and yells could be heard all around. The figure’s robe was darker than night, and it wove around the chaos like a shifting mirage. The rogues fell onto the ground one by one.

“What the hell?” Despite Borzo’s large, bearlike stature, nervous sweat started pouring down his head even as he held his hand axe high. Though the enemy’s movements weren’t particularly fast, it was like they were disappearing before his eyes and popping up elsewhere. Borzo couldn’t track their movements.

The men who had been forced into Borzo’s service watched the battle unfold, dumbfounded. Almost a hundred of Borzo’s men couldn’t subdue so much as one person in a cloak, and the numbers of those capable of fighting were rapidly dwindling.

“The hell’s goin’ on with you all?!” Borzo flailed his hand axe wildly, trying to hack at the shifting shadow. He gouged one of his men by accident.

“Gueh!” the man groaned.

“You’re in the way!” Borzo kicked his underling. He was now out of breath, and out of underlings.

“Who the hell are you?!” Borzo stomped on the ground in frustration.

The robed figure slowly pointed his sword at Borzo, then announced dramatically—

“I am Matthew the Swordmaster. By the order of Ordis Exlord, I will exterminate you all.”

“Ordis? The heir?” Borzo gritted his teeth. “The little bastard sent an assassin while pretending to turn tail?! Just my luck. The fun was just about to start—the good part was comin’! Don’t get in my way, damn it!”

Borzo’s hand axe hit nothing but air. Then, there was a quick flash from the masked figure’s blade. Silence befell the mountain soon after. The ambitions of the Borzo Bandits were crushed by but one person.

The men from the villages looked around blankly, not comprehending the events that had transpired.

Who is that?No, what isthat?

The unremarkably average man gulped as he hid behind the bushes, far from the action. He’d sensed that something terrible was about to happen and quickly distanced himself from the scene. He stared straight at the masked figure with the pitch-black robe. It was as if he were staring at the grim reaper—barely perceptible, not unlike a mirage, but imminent and unstoppable.

“Matthew the Swordmaster,” the man muttered. That was the name given by the hooded figure. The man had underestimated House Exlord—they were one of the Ten Noble Dynasties in name, but they were at the very bottom. He had anticipated that they had no one exceptional under their rule, but it would seem that they were hiding this monster up their sleeve.

“Oh no.” The man was hiding away from the battlefield and observing from afar, but Matthew’s mask seemed to turn and face him. There was no way the Swordmaster could find his hiding place; he was adept at concealing his presence, after all. However, he felt a jolt run down his back. There was no avoiding death.

At that moment, when he was about to heed his instincts and leave his hiding place—

“Master!”

Another voice called out from a bush up ahead, and the deathly glare that was fixed on him had vanished. The man hiding from behind the bushes used this opportunity to escape, before his cover was blown.

***

The young heir of Exlord emerged from the bushes, with alarm written all over his face. He was drenched in sweat, seemingly from rushing to get here.

“Lord Ordis...” I greeted him.

“Master... What happened here?”

Ordis looked at the carnage left behind by the elimination of the Borzo Bandits.

I sighed, not having anticipated his sudden appearance. “I see. You went out on your own to check on the hostages. You could’ve waited a bit longer.”

“Master, did you—”

“No, I could not have done this on my own.” I knelt before Ordis and bowed my head. “As you commanded, Lord Ordis, heir and successor to House Exlord, I have eliminated the Borzo Bandits.”

“H-Huh?”

Upon hearing this, the men from the village started talking among themselves.

“O-Oh yeah, I think he said something like that...”

“This man is the heir to House Exlord?”

“I thought he was just a Normal?”

“The heir himself came all the way here to eliminate the bandits?”

“Th-Thank you so much!”

“Lord Ordis, we are very grateful for your presence!”

“Uh, um—” Ordis looked bewildered, shaking his head as the villagers kowtowed to him.

“Now please rescue the hostages,” I urged the villagers. “There shouldn’t be that many men guarding them. Once they find out that Borzo is gone, they probably won’t even resist.”

Upon hearing this, the villagers looked at each other, then immediately left for the village.

“M-Master, why did you—”

“It’s important for you to have authority over your citizens,” I told the perplexed heir.

“But—”

“Besides, I didn’t say anything wrong. You really did lead the bandit extermination squad.”

“But I ran away—”

“And here you are, coming back for the hostages.”

Ordis went quiet. I decided to press him on something I had been curious about. “Lord Ordis, I apologize if this is overstepping my bounds, but you seem to be exceedingly sensitive about others being hurt in your presence.”

“That’s...” Ordis looked down and balled his fists.

“Well, normally I wouldn’t care about something like this.”

“Wait, did you just say you wouldn’t care? You’re lying, right?”

“That hurts. I’ll have you know, I’m pretty honest.”

Ordis had retreated his army the moment he saw their disadvantage against Ignis Balzac. His citizens hadn’t experienced any severe casualties, so his decision accomplished the goal of protecting his subjects.

This time, the bandits had more men than anticipated, and some of his own were wounded, so he ordered Mensa and her men to retreat. As a result, their escape route wasn’t cut off, and further injuries were minimal as a result. Ordis’s decision-making had improved significantly after his training under my comrades.

“You’re overly concerned with minimizing your casualties, and this gets in the way of your swordsmanship and fighting spirit. I cannot ignore this if it will affect your upcoming battle with the Flame Emperor.”

Ordis bit his lip in silence. He didn’t seem to want to rebut my accusations.

I let out a sigh. “Let’s check on the hostages. That’s why you’re here, right?”

“Y-Yes, of course.” Ordis turned around and followed the villagers.

I scratched my head and stared at the nearby bushes. “It seems there’s still some work left to do.”

I had to figure out how to supplement Ordis’s shortcomings before his duel.

And I needed to find out the identity of that man who escaped the battlefield. There had been someone hiding in the bushes during the entire battle, watching it unfold from afar. But there were too many bandits, and I couldn’t deal with it in time. The man had already vanished, and my Clairvoyance couldn’t find him anymore.

“I can’t leave loose ends untied.”

The man who escaped wasn’t a mere ruffian, judging by the way he disappeared from the fray. Borzo, the leader of the bandits, used hostages to recruit men from Talri Village and bolster the bandits’ ranks. They were planning to lure the army and cut off their escape with boulders from the mountains. It was a plan I couldn’t have imagined a man like Borzo coming up with, which meant that someone was pulling his strings. Was it someone who had a grudge against House Exlord, or perhaps...

I opened up my palms and generated the ten attributes of magic. They slowly melded together until they formed a pitch-black ball of darkness in my hands. I had planned to launch this darkness magic at the man hiding behind the bushes, but it had been too difficult to meld all the elements together while battling several bandits at once. I had also exhausted my stamina from traveling long distances between my two facades.

I closed my hands and let out another sigh. “Looks like I’ll need to address this problem first.”

Chapter 5: A Problem to Be Addressed

“Lady Fiona, I have a report for you.”

Fiona’s duties as the heir of House Lumel involved attending meetings and dinners, administering the Lumel lands and signing documents, as well as discussing sensitive matters with her father and the Lumel ministers. It had been three weeks since Ordis started his training when an army scout arrived to report to her.

“How’s the situation at Exlord?”

“About that—”

“Oh, wait, before that. I’ve been waiting for Matthew to report in, but I haven’t heard anything since he left. Why is that?”

“Lord Matthew mentioned that he wished to surprise you with the results of his efforts. It seems that he had no plans of providing you periodic reports of his progress.”

“Why would he...” Fiona pinched her forehead. The three-way alliance between the lowest-ranked houses was key for their lordships to survive the Succession War. The fate of this alliance hinged on the duel between Ordis Exlord and Ignis Balzac the Flame Emperor in the coming week. However, the gulf between their skills was too vast, so she’d decided to assist Ordis by sending a mentor to House Exlord.

She had asked her cousin Matthew, who held the Job of Swordmaster, if he knew anyone who could help.

“Say no more. I know exactly how you feel, Fiona. Leave everything to me,” he’d said, pushing away all the other candidates and heading to Exlord. On top of that, he sent back all the people who were supposed to accompany him on his task. Fiona thought to leave things to him for a while in consideration for his pride, but it had already been three weeks without a word from him.

“What in the world is he thinking?” Fiona sighed. After two weeks of no contact had passed, she had sent out a scout to check on Matthew, and today that scout had made it back with an update. “So, how is Ordis doing?”

“Well, uh... How do I...”

“Not good?”

“The opposite, actually. He’s doing quite well.”

“Huh? Really?” Fiona blinked in surprise.

“Yes, ma’am. Before, both soldiers and citizens alike were mocking Lord Exlord’s son for being a Normal despite his noble blood.”

“I did suspect as much.” Fiona recalled that Ordis wasn’t so timid and cowardly as a child.

“However, last week, he led an expedition to hunt down bandits terrorizing villages in their lordship and managed to eliminate all of them. Because of his accomplishment, his reputation among the citizens is beginning to improve.”

Fiona looked impressed. “That’s great news. Did you get to see Matthew?”

“Y-Yes, I did. I did meet him, but he was wearing a mask and robe to conceal his appearance to prepare for the possibility of conflict between our two houses during the Succession War.”

“How cautious of him... Is this really the same Matthew we’re talking about?”

“He was, indeed. He knew about events from your childhood, so I am sure he is the same one,” the scout reported confidently.

Once the scout left, Fiona stared at the door. “Matthew? Really?”

***

“Honk, shoo... Mimimi...”

Meanwhile, the real Matthew was sleeping like a rock underground.

“He sure is sound asleep,” Riche remarked upon peeking into Matthew’s cell.

“Of course he is.” Aizel pouted. “I made sure my magic circle would work this time.”

“You mean he won’t wake up during his nap, correct?”

“Indeed. In fact, he is so sound asleep that he might as well be comatose. He may have a few problems with his memory later on.”

“That’s good for us, I’d say,” Millie said as she wagged her tail.

“How’s Ordis been doing this past week?” I asked the three of them.

“It’s just as you said, milord,” Riche started. “He is quite serious and sincere about improving, and he has responded to the training with great results. He should be on par with trained soldiers or better now. However, he has yet to reach the level of breaking down walls with his attacks.”

Aizel was next to speak. “His magical output is now ten times larger compared to when he started training. Surely that is the fruit of my training. Still, he is quite far from siphoning the water from a lake and making it all float in the air.”

“I don’t wanna be compared to you two freaks of nature. Don’t forget that I’m the one cleanin’ up after your twisted training methods.” Millie punctuated her complaints with a stern frown, then continued, “He doesn’t seem to know how to react to his citizens finally starting to respect him, but I think his strategic thinking and observational skills improved the most.”

“Hm. I see.”

It seemed that his skills had improved overall under the tutelage of the greatest teachers in the Holy Empire. That only made his lack of adventurism and fighting spirit stand out as the last remaining obstacle.

And even before all that, there was something I needed to resolve.

“Milord, you’ve been looking quite ill as of late. Are you okay?” Riche asked.

“Yeah, I am,” I answered just as I stepped away from Matthew’s room. “Thanks for checking up on me.”

I wasn’t sick or anything, but I was definitely working too hard. I was working weekdays commuting from my secret base in the mountains to the adventurers’ guild. On weekends, I was heading to Exlord to teach Ordis. And last week, I went to Barz to suppress some ruffians causing trouble, and even exterminated the Borzo Bandits in the mountains. This was way too much work for someone as frail as myself.

The worst of it was just getting around. Exlord was a neighboring lordship, so it wasn’t as bad, but if I were to work on weekdays while operating in the shadows in a different lordship, I had to do something about this. I barely had any stamina as it was.

“Why don’t you get some rest?”

“The Succession War isn’t going to wait for me.” Surely Fiona is working several times harder than I am. “Riche, my ancestor was intervening in the shadows everywhere, right?”

“Probably... I think so.”

My ancestor was the first Hermit in the Lumel family and the creator of this underground base. He was my best lead considering the artifacts in his research room, like the enchanted mask and robe I wore. He surely had something that would help me with my problem, or at least, that was my thought.

I walked down the hallway on the right into the space we were using as our training grounds.

“My husband, what did you want to try out today?” Aizel asked as we arrived at the grounds.

“There’s something I wanted to test using darkness magic.”

There were ten attributes of magic. Just as people had a dominant hand, magic users generally had a primary attribute they favored. Because of my lack of distinctiveness, I was able to wield all ten, even if only to average levels. However, after deciphering the research notes left behind by my ancestor, I was able to produce the eleventh attribute—darkness—by combining the other ten. It required precise levels of control, so even Aizel the dark elf was unable to wield it.

“What kind of applications do you think darkness magic has?” I asked Aizel. I unleashed orbs of each of the ten attributes around my body. As each orb overlapped, like beautiful colors slowly melding into black, they melded together into a single dark orb. A ball of darkness that consumed even light itself, emitting black bolts that crackled in the air.

“Repulsion, I would say,” Aizel answered while crossing her arms. “All ten attributes meld together, but also repel each other. The forces held within could be unleashed as a powerful blast of repulsive energy.”

“She sure looks like a decent person when talking about magic like this,” Millie commented.

“She sure does,” Riche agreed. “How odd.”

“Just what do I look like to you two?”

“A slutty elf.”

“The very incarnation of lust.”

“Grr. I would like these misunderstandings to cease. I only lust for my husband.”

“Well, you didn’t completely deny them.”

“And that’s the problem.”

They were starting to squabble again, so I returned the conversation to the topic at hand. “Repulsion. Yeah, that does sound like a good application. However...”

An idea floated in my head while thinking about how to move myself around. “If there’s repulsion, there should also be attraction, right? Darkness seems like it would suck everything into itself.”

Aizel’s brows furrowed, trying to absorb what I was trying to say.

“Maybe it’s only repulsive because there’s no outlet for the energy.”

“You mean—” Aizel’s arms unfolded in her shock.

I expanded the ball of darkness in my hands and placed it in the air. I needed a lot of concentration to ensure that the ten attributes were present in equal parts. Once I confirmed that it was stable, I did the same thing at a different part of the training grounds, creating a second ball.

“My husband, that’s—”

“That about does it.”

After stabilizing the second sphere of darkness, I tossed a pebble into it. The sphere acted as a hole in space, and the pebble exited from the first sphere, clattering as it hit the floor.

“I knew it.”

“Instantaneous transport?!” Aizel looked flabbergasted. “You connected space with your magic?!”

“There should be examples of this historically. But to pull it off, you need a large and complicated magic circle, as well as a huge amount of mana. You would need to move the entire country to manage this by normal means.”

Aizel was elated. “That’s my husband! I truly do love you...”

My theory had proved correct. My ancestor had to have used this to get around.

“I’ll call this my Gate. I’m gonna need to test a few things.” I inserted an arm into the sphere of darkness, and it popped out of the other sphere.

“Yeah, it looks like living things can pass through safely as well.”

I surmised that I could only maintain one or perhaps two pairs of these Gates at a time. I also needed to test how long each portal would last. But for now, I could create Gates in the base and in the inn I was staying at in Exlord to greatly reduce my travel time.

“Hey, you managed to solve your problem so quickly, but you kinda just invented something totally crazy, didn’t’cha?” Millie wondered.

Aizel crossed her arms and nodded. “Indeed. This magic is nothing short of revolutionary. Still, in order to use darkness magic, one must be able to use all ten attributes and control their ratios perfectly. Right now, only my husband can perform such a feat.”

“Why of course milord can do such a thing.” Riche looked proud of me.

“Yeah! Good job, boss!” Millie gave me a slap on my back.

My face cracked into a big grin. “Yeah. Now I can get home from work without breaking a sweat.”

“That’s what you’re happy about?”

***

“Okay then, that ends our training for today.”

“Master, thank you for the lesson.”

The sun was setting on my weekend training session with Ordis. We were at the garden, and we could hear birds chirping from afar. Normally, I would be commuting by carriage back to Lumel and return to the base fatigued, but I had opened a Gate at my inn room, which should cut down the amount of time I spent moving around.

All hail darkness magic. Thanks to my discovery, my stamina was at its peak today.

In fact, I was in a pretty good mood too, so I complimented my pupil. “Lord Ordis, you’ve grown so much compared to when we started three weeks ago.”

“Th-Thank you very much, Master. It’s all because of your guidance.”

“Tomorrow, we will have you undergo the rite of passage and exterminate monsters in that southern cave.”

“Of cour— Wh-Whaaat?!” Ordis’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “Wh-Wh-Why would—”

“It should be the perfect test to cap off your training, don’t you think?”

The rite of passage was supposedly a way for the heirs of House Exlord to make up for their massive disadvantage in house ranking with ferocity and bravery. Ordis had yet to undergo this trial.

The ultimate goal of this training was to prepare Ordis for his battle with the Flame Emperor. Originally, I had no plans of including this rite in his training since fighting humans differed from fighting fellbeasts, but I’d changed my mind. His skills and abilities had already cleared certain thresholds. But it didn’t matter whether he was fighting humans or fellbeasts if he was still reluctant to fight at all. And while Ordis’s reputation was improving among his subjects, many still doubted his abilities. The rite was the only way he could prove himself—he had to do it.

However, Ordis frantically shook his head. “I-I’m really sorry, but I can’t. I’ll do any other trial except that one!”

“But that’s a trial that the heirs of House Exlord have to undergo, correct?”

“Y-Yes it is. B-But I really can’t...” His pleas seemed downright desperate to me, but it was clear I wasn’t getting anything more out of him on the subject.

“Hah... Okay. I’ll think about it some more.”

“I’m so sorry. Please train me again tomorrow.” Ordis bowed apologetically and left the garden. I was now standing alone.

“Lady Yuma?” I called out into a nearby bush. Ordis’s sister’s face emerged from inside, trembling.

“H-How did you know I was in here?”

“I’m pretty good at finding hidden things,” I answered, approaching the bush. “Great timing. I wanted to talk.”

“W-Well I don’t.”

“Huh?”

“I was just checking if you were doing anything dangerous to my brother. I have no intention of talking with you.”

“Not even a bit?”

“I said no!” Yuma yelled. “You always make my brother suffer! You demon! Monster!”

“How horrible!” I protested. She really didn’t like me. I should probably find out from Riche and the others exactly what kind of training they’d been putting Ordis through.

“You dragged my brother to Barz and made him eliminate bandits! Why do you keep making him do dangerous things?!”

Oh. I guess it was my training that she didn’t like.

“On top of that, you’re making him go through that deadly rite of passage! You’re a horrible person!”

“Well, I won’t deny that...”

“You won’t? Yikes!”

“You’ll have to forgive me for my tone. It’s just that I grew up different from everyone else.”

My only socialization at Castle Lumel was with my sister Fiona. I had no idea what “normal” was supposed to be. Still, all the training that Ordis had undergone was a cakewalk compared to fighting the Flame Emperor. And it was important for him to go through all of it, though I wouldn’t say it out loud at this point. I did consider divulging all of that then erasing Yuma’s memories, but after some experimentation, it seemed that Abduct could only erase memories involving the Hermit.

I took a step closer to Yuma. “Anyway, I wanted to ask you about that trial. Ordis willingly undertook all the other training given to him, but he still refuses to undergo the rite of passage. Why is that?”

“Iunno!” Yuma exclaimed and blew raspberries at me, then dashed out of the garden. As the twilight sun started setting, I stared at her with my Clairvoyance, and something caught my eye.

She was definitely hiding something from me.

***

It was a weekday the following week. I was staring holes into a newspaper at the guild storehouse. In the paper, there was an article about the third-ranked Noble Dynasty sending out an expeditionary force. They were sent to travel across the different lordships, check on the Holy Emperor’s condition, and send feelers for alliances with the other Noble Dynasties. Still, the other houses were on edge from this news.

“The upper ranks have started moving...”

Millie had left the base a few days ago. It looked like she went out to investigate the expedition. The bottom three houses needed to get their alliance going, but Ordis’s upcoming duel with Ignis was what would make or break it.

“Tenes, do you have a moment?” Felicia entered the storehouse just as I peeled my gaze off the paper.

“Yes, of course.”

“Could you help me sort out some papers?”

“Sure thing.”

Felicia placed a pile of papers on my desk, but kept her gaze on me.

“Um... Is something the matter?” I asked.

“You look healthier than before.”

“Really?”

After obtaining the ability to use Gates, I was now able to move around more freely. I made one in the underground base and another at my inn in Exlord. However, I could only maintain two at most, so I still had to go up and down the mountain when going to and from the guild.

“You looked terrible for a while,” Felicia said.

“I was pretty fatigued back then.”

“Fatigued?” Humid mocked as he joined us. “You always go home on time. The hell’s makin’ you fatigued?”

“Don’t say that, Humid,” Felicia chided. “Tenes already said that he used to be a shut-in. I’m sure he’s tired from adjusting to society.”

“Thank you, Miss Felicia. You hit the nail on the head.”

“Tch. Felicia, why are you covering for this guy anyway?”

“And what are you doing here, Humid?”

“I-It’s none of your business! There’s something I wanted to look up. You’re just here at the same time, got it?!” Humid cleared his throat and walked up to one of the inner shelves.

“Miss Felicia, there’s something I want to ask you,” I asked while sorting some of the documents on the desk.

“Sure thing!” Felicia chirped. “Ask your ever-reliable senior anytime!”

“How do I get girls to open up to me?”

“Bwah?!” Felicia squeaked and froze. “Wh-What did you just say?”

“Oh, I was just wondering how to get girls to open up to me.”

“I-Is there anyone in particular you have in mind?”

“I do.”

“Wh-Whaaat?!” Felicia shrieked.

“Miss Felicia, why are you freaking out?”

“Yeah, Felicia, why are ya freaking out?” Humid chimed in. He was supposed to be looking something up, but had come up beside me at some point.

Felicia looked perplexed, and a moment later she put her hands on her face. “I’m uh, just wondering, b-but is it that maid who makes your lunch?”

“No,” I answered matter-of-factly.

“You have other girls in your life?!”

“That’s right, Felicia,” Humid said. “That’s the kind of guy he is.”

I shook my head. “I’m talking about the little sister of one of my pupils. She really doesn’t like me. I was hoping to do something about that.”

“One— One of your pupils?” Felicia echoed. “Do you work as a tutor or something?”

“Something like that.”

“I-I see...” Felicia looked relieved for some reason. “But why ask me, then?”

“I just thought I would get a more grounded opinion from you.”

I recalled asking the same question to my comrades at the base.

“Open up someone’s heart...” Riche pondered. “Do you mean physically? In that case, a knife would suffice in most cases.”

“No, Riche,” I sighed. “Not physically.”

“My dear husband, there is a spell known as ‘forceful extraction,’” Aizel suggested. “If we drug that girl and bring her here, I can prepare the magic circle at once. However, it seems that the spell makes the target talk nonsense, so the efficacy is somewhat questionable.”

“I think I made a mistake asking you two,” I muttered. Millie might have given a more reasonable answer, but unfortunately, she was out gathering intelligence.

When I expounded my question further, Riche tried her hand at answering the question. “Well... Aizel, Millie, and I were rescued by you, and we feel a deep gratitude toward you. So perhaps if you resolve a problem that the girl has, she would change her attitude.”

“Resolve a problem, huh?”

“But...”

“Riche? What is it?”

“You see...” Her voice dropped to a mumble from here, and I couldn’t fully make out the rest. “Personally, I would dislike it if you got taken away by any more women...”

“In any case, resolving a problem sounds great and all, but I don’t think I can pull that off immediately,” I concluded.

“I-I see.” Riche’s expression seemed to brighten.

Yuma’s greatest problem at the moment would be, well, my very existence, which put a wrench in that plan. There was the option of introducing an even bigger problem for her to resolve, but Yuma was neither evil nor malevolent. I’d rather not resort to such a tactic.

“No matter how many women sign up to be your wife, I will never let go of my seat as the legal wife,” Aizel announced proudly. “However, my husband, Richelotte and I come from unique backgrounds. I do not think our opinions would be of much use to you. I believe receiving advice from a regular woman would be the most effective.”

“Hmm, you’re right there.”

Everyone in this base, including myself, had unusual backgrounds, be it being a shut-in in a castle, being trapped in an underground labyrinth, staring down the gallows, or being hunted by adventurers for a hundred years.

With that, I decided to ask Felicia for her thoughts on the matter.

My senior pressed her fingers against her temples and groaned in thought, then eventually suggested, “Well, women like sweet things, so maybe you should try coaxing her with something sweet.”

“Something sweet?”

“Hmm, hmm.” Humid was writing down notes behind her. I decided to ignore him.

“But perhaps the most effective way would be...”

“Would be?”

“Being completely sincere with her!”

“Completely sincere?” I echoed.

“Yeah! Be honest with your intentions, and tell her that you want her to listen. If you’re sincere with her, I’m sure your pupil’s sister will open up to you!”

“I see. Sincerity, huh?”

Do I have an ounce of sincerity in me? I wondered.

Humid stepped forward with a determined expression on his face. “Y-Yeah, y-you gotta be sincere. It’s now... It’s gotta be right now!”

“Humid, is something wrong?”

“F-Felicia, I-I—”

“Yeah?”

“U-Um, F-Felicia, I, uh, I l-lo—”

“Hey Humid! Stop fooling around and get back to work! You ain’t as fast as Tenes, so get those hands moving!”

A senior employee clutched Humid’s collar and unceremoniously dragged him back to work. Felicia and I exchanged glances as his cries echoed through the storehouse and beyond. “Why noooow?!”

“Is Humid okay?” she wondered.

“Who knows,” I shrugged.

***

The pale blue brick walls of Castle Exlord glittered under the gentle light of the moon. Yuma, the young lady of House Exlord, had just finished getting ready to go to bed. She stood up and turned off the lights. Only the light of the moon pouring from the gap between her curtains illuminated her room. Darkness enveloped her surroundings while I, in my pitch-black robe, stood in its cover.

“Good evening.”

“G-Gyaaah?!”

The younger Exlord jumped out of her bed in shock.

“Hello there. It’s me, Matthew the Swordmaster. I have something to say to you—”

“S-Someone—”

“I’m sorry, but please be quiet.” I swiftly approached her and covered her mouth. A sketchy figure in a pitch-black robe and mask was stifling a rich young lady’s voice while she struggled. It was not a very charitable scene for my character, but this was the only opportunity I had to talk to her alone.

With my free hand, I took out a neatly wrapped object from my pocket. “Here, have this.”

“Mmmph! Mm—” Yuma stared at the item with suspicion and then sheepishly took it in her hand.

I gently removed my hand from her mouth. “It’s a cookie. It’s full of sugar and butter, sweet and melts in your mouth.”

“Th-Thank you. But who the heck is gonna eat this?!” Yuma threw the cookie onto the floor and pointed a trembling finger at me. “Wh-Wh-What are you doing here?! Do you have any idea what you—”

“Do you dislike sweets?” I asked.

“I don’t, but there’s a time and place for that!”

“I will take any punishment bestowed on me.” I knelt before her. “But for now, please listen to what I have to say. This is an important matter involving Lord Ordis.”

“M-My brother?” An expression of concern crossed Yuma’s face.

“I would like to know why Lord Ordis refuses to undergo the rite of passage.”

“I already told you—”

“Lord Ordis will be battling the Flame Emperor of House Balzac this coming weekend.”

“Wha—” Yuma’s blue eyes went wide in shock. “Wh-What are you talking about?”

“There have been secret talks on forming an alliance between the three lowest-ranked houses,” I explained. “In order for the alliance to happen, Lord Ordis must make the Flame Emperor acknowledge him in battle. I have been sent here to train him for that purpose.”

“I-I heard nothing about this!” Yuma cried.

“This is top secret information that would determine the fate of our lordships,” I divulged. “This is not something that should be revealed to anyone so lightly. Lord Ordis has grown so much over the past month. But he still lacks the mental fortitude to face the Flame Emperor in combat. I believe that undergoing the rite of passage will be the final step he needs.”

“E-Enough of that! My brother is a kind man! Don’t make him fight anymore!”

“Kindness is not enough to protect those who matter most to you.” Slowly, I stood up and removed my mask. “Kindness is indeed Lord Ordis’s virtue, and this makes him fear the thought of others getting hurt on his account. His attention is always focused on those around him, and he will retreat at the slightest sign of danger. But all that does is delay the problem. This alliance between the three houses is important for the future of his subjects. And for the alliance to happen, he must face the Flame Emperor in battle. Ordis is well aware of that. In the end, Ordis will suffer the most if he doesn’t obtain the strength he needs.”

Yuma remained silent for a while, staring at me curiously.

“I wouldn’t have expected someone who trains my brother like a demon would have the face of an angel.”

“Well, I don’t know about that.”

“House Exlord’s matters shouldn’t concern you at all. Why do you go so far for us?”

“I also have someone I want to protect.”

Yuma’s blue eyes widened once more.

“I am prepared to put my life on the line to protect this person. That’s why I went all the way to Exlord to act as your brother’s mentor. That’s why I am putting him through this harsh training. And that’s why I am talking to you right now, and why I’m taking off my mask before you.”

I didn’t know if I had an ounce of sincerity within me. But at the very least, I had conviction.

No matter what happens to me, you’ll save me. And no matter what happens to you, I’ll save you. Okay?

I had the pinky promise I shared with my sister.

Yuma went quiet again. Silence fell over the room.

“Is it your lover?” she asked.

“No. It’s a bit complicated, but I suppose she’s kind of my sibling.”

“Sibling...” Yuma repeated. She went quiet again, but only for a second. “My brother... He— He wasn’t always like this. He was not only kind, but strong. He was amazing at fighting and with magic. He was even called a prodigy. I was really proud of him.”

I could hardly imagine it, but since his own sister was saying it, it must have been the case in the past. I kept quiet and let her continue talking.

“That’s why, five years ago, the two of us went there.”

“Where?”

“The cave for the heir’s rite of passage.”

Ordis had been avoiding the rite of passage all this time, but he’d already been there? And with Yuma, no less.

“We wanted to surprise father—show him that my brother could already pass the rite of passage. The rite needed a witness, so I accompanied him without telling anyone. My brother hesitated, saying that it was dangerous, but I convinced him to go. We made it to the deepest part of the cave. And then we saw that...thing.”

“A fellbeast?”

“A huge...monster, with a demonic face—”

Yuma shuddered as she recalled the memory. I wondered if it had been some kind of ogre. There were many variants, but according to the adventurers’ guild’s guidelines, it should be around B-rank—strong enough that it usually needed four veteran adventurers to handle.

“My brother fought it bravely. But the fellbeast was so strong...I ended up jumping out of my hiding place, even though my brother told me not to come out.”

The ogre then changed its target to her. The gigantic creature approached and swung its enormous rusted sword, and...her memories ended there. “When I woke up, my brother was carrying me on his back all the way to the nearest village.”

By coincidence, there was a highly skilled physician staying in that village who had managed to save her life.

“But—” Yuma lifted her nightgown and showed me her bare stomach. The pale moonlight illuminated a large, ghastly scar across her skin.

“On the carriage back home, my brother was holding his head, apologizing to me over and over.”

“I see now...”

“The wound was a huge shock to me, of course... But it was my fault for making him go, and I’ve always thought of it as my punishment for not listening to him. But he doesn’t think of it that way.”

Ever since, Ordis had been terrified of seeing those close to him get hurt.

“Making him undergo the rite of passage means making him remember that day,” Yuma said. “Do you get it? I don’t want him to suffer anymore.”

Yuma bit her lip, touching her scar for a few moments. Then she slowly put her night gown back in place. I put my mask back on as well.

“I understand now. Thank you for telling me everything. You are a strong person, Lady Yuma.”

“H-Huh? What makes you say that?”

“You worried more about your brother despite your own wounds.”

“That’s—”

“And your brother is surely a much stronger person now than he was back then.”

If that event happened five years ago, then it happened before Ordis went to the Oracle. Of note, Ordis wasn’t heavily injured in that battle—only Yuma was. That meant that he had fought the ogre evenly. The Oracle had given its revelation to him after his sister’s near-death experience—after he had sunk into despair.

In that case, God might have underestimated him.

“Siblings that care for each other... Normally I’m the cautious type when it comes to work, but I’m feeling a bit motivated right now.”

“S-So what if he’s stronger? What can we do about him now?”

“About that, I have an idea. And I might need your help when the time comes.”

“I-I don’t mind, but—”

I picked up the wrapped pastry on the floor and handed it back to Yuma. “My maid— One of my comrades baked this cookie. It’s delicious, I assure you.”

“Huh? U-Um—” Yuma timidly accepted the cookie.

“Well then.”

“Wait.” Yuma called out to me before I left. “Um... I’m sorry for calling you a demon, and a horrible person. You’ve braved all sorts of danger for the sake of your sibling, right?”

“Indeed.”

“Then you’re not a horrible person after all.”

“I see.” I quietly opened the window and stepped onto the frame. “I don’t really know about that, but if I’m not, then that means the few people I’ve interacted with have taught me how to be human.”

I left her with that and jumped into the darkness of the night.

Yuma stared out into the night sky. She took out the cookie from its wrapper and bit into it. “It is delicious... Matthew...”

She savored the sugary taste on her tongue, her eyes locked on the space Ordis’s mentor had occupied.

***

Meanwhile, in a forest by the lakeside to the south of the Exlord castle town, a figure quietly flitted through the darkness. A man with an unremarkable face and unremarkable characteristics stood right in front of a cave. A warning sign that said “No Entry” was hanging on its entrance.

“I didn’t want to use this here, but...” the man muttered with a hint of frustration as he took out a large pouch from his bag. Inside was a special, unusual powder.

“There’s no time left. I have to do this.”

The man looked up at the crescent moon. He clutched the pouch in his hand and stepped inside the cave.

Chapter 6: Never Retreat, Never Fear

The first to sound the alarm was a passing group of merchants. They were riding in a carriage along the shores of a rich, deep-blue lake when one of them spoke up.

“Hey, something feels odd.”

“Odd? Like how?”

“Isn’t it too quiet around here?”

The merchants were on the shore of a big lake, but nary a bird was chirping. Not a single swan, goose, or duck was floating or flying over the clear waters.

“It’s not migration season yet, is it?” one of the merchants wondered.

“Maybe they all got eaten by wild fellbeasts or something.”

It was common knowledge that there was a cave full of fellbeasts a short distance south of this lake. Though dangerous, they preferred to stay in dark, damp places and rarely attacked passersby unless they entered the cave. So the merchant’s remark was meant as nothing but a lighthearted jab.

The carriage driver suddenly stopped and called out, “Hey, wait a minute.” He stared at the ripples on the quiet lake. Something was disturbing the water—and before long, he realized that it wasn’t just the water that was shaking. The ground beneath them was starting to rumble.

“Wh-Wh-What the—” Another man looking in a different direction was stammering in fear. In the distance, there was a large cloud of dust forming in the forest across the path.

“L-L-Let’s get outta here!”

***

“A herd of fellbeasts?!”

It was an hour after the merchants had first discovered the emergency, and Castle Exlord had just received the news. Lord Ockham Exlord frowned. “What is the meaning of this? What is happening out there?”

“Father, we do not have time to find the cause right now,” Ordis said.

“Indeed, we do not.” Lord Ockham stood up and commanded, “Gather all the ministers and commanders in the castle!”

Soon enough, the leaders and officials of Exlord were assembled in the castle hall.

A herd of fellbeasts?

I was one of the individuals attending the meeting. I had been preparing for Ordis’s duel that was to take place tomorrow, devising a plan to get Ordis to enter the cave down south beforehand...but it would seem that I needed to change my approach.

“The fellbeasts appeared about twelve klicks south of here,” an army scout reported to the men in the hall. “There are some variations among the monsters, but the herd is heading north.”

Anxiety started to spread among those gathered, and concerns came flooding from their mouths.

“Quiet! This is no time to be caught off our feet!” Lord Exlord’s commanding tone echoed across the hall, and the panic started to subside.

“The fellbeasts number about a hundred. It will only take an hour for them to reach the castle from the forest here.” Lord Exlord pointed at a map rolled out over the table—at the castle’s location—and slid his finger south to where the fellbeasts were expected to go.

He was pointing at the Forest of Mauru, a woodland located by the lakeside and not too far from the castle gates. The herd of fellbeasts only needed to make it through the forest to reach the city.

“Mauru is too thick for a whole herd to pass through unimpeded. The forest would split them up before they get here. We will stand guard near the woods and hunt down the ones that break away.”

“Yes, milord!” The soldiers started moving upon receiving their orders.

“Lord Ockham. Please leave the hunting of the fellbeasts to my squad,” Mensa stepped forward and offered.

“Then I shall order the archers and mages to fortify the gates and attack the herd at range. Mensa, take your squad to the forest and slay any fellbeasts that escape their assault.”

“Yes sir!” Mensa bowed.

Lord Ockham turned his gaze to me. “Sir Matthew, you—”

“Oh, don’t mind me. I’m a complete bystander to all this, so I’ll sit back and observe. I still have a lot of other things to do, after all.”

“Grmgh... Yes, of course. We cannot trouble a guest from another lordship with fellbeast extermination. That would be a disgrace to the house of Exlord.”

Lord Ockham looked as if he had swallowed a bitter pill. He must have wanted me to help out, but I dug into his pride a bit; as the domain lord, he couldn’t allow it.

“But everything will be fine,” I assured him. “Lord Ordis is here to help.”

“Hwuh?” Ordis, who was standing behind his father, straightened his back.

I continued. “After all, he has accomplished the amazing feat of eliminating the band of bandits threatening his subjects. Surely exterminating a herd of fellbeasts will be a trivial task for him.”

“Master, but the bandits—”

“A fine suggestion.” Lord Exlord turned to his son. It looked like Lord Exlord’s opinion of Ordis had improved after the clash with Borzo’s men. “Ordis, will you do it?”

“Y-Yes, father!” Ordis gulped. All the color had drained from his face. Still, I figured that the kindhearted Ordis would never have refused while his subjects’ lives were on the line.

“Well then, if you’ll excuse me.” I gave Ordis a thumbs-up. “Best of luck, Lord Ordis!”

“Why are you leaving me to deal with all of this?!” Despair was painted all over the young heir’s face.

I swiftly left the meeting hall, but I had no plans of leaving the castle quite yet. First of all, I had to look for Yuma. But I didn’t need to go all the way to her room—I bumped into her just as I turned the corner on the hallway.

“Kyah!” The commotion all over the castle seemed to have piqued Yuma’s curiosity, and she was rushing to see what the hubbub was all about.

“Oh, Lady Yuma. I was just looking for you.”

“S-Sir Matthew? You were looking for me?” Yuma’s cheeks turned bright red. “U-Um, wh-what’s going on?”

“I don’t know what triggered it, but a herd of fellbeasts is headed straight for the city,” I informed her. “And Lord Ordis is heading out to hunt them down.”

“What?!”

I grabbed Yuma’s shoulders. “Lady Yuma.”

“Y-Yes?”

“I need you to help me with something.” I leaned in close and whispered into her ear, and when I pulled back she looked astounded.

“Y-You can do that?!”

“I won’t insist if you don’t want it.”

“I, uh, I’m fine with it, but—”

“We don’t have much time. Please think hard about it. I’ll be back as soon as I can, so please tell me your answer then.”

“S-Sir Matthew—”

Yuma still looked perplexed when I left her and ran down the hallway. I rushed down the nearest flight of stairs and out of the castle to head for my inn room in town.

“Phew.” I exhaled a sigh as I ran down the streets. The news of the fellbeast attack was starting to cause a commotion in town. I disliked having to rush like this.

I had set my Gate of darkness magic to connect my room at the inn to my underground base in Lumel. It could only move between those two locations; in other words, I had to use other methods to travel elsewhere, including to my own guest room. While instantaneous transport using darkness magic was revolutionary beyond compare, there was still a lot to improve and iterate on.

I decided to put a positive spin on my travel time. Chiefly, it meant more time for me to get some thinking done.

“Finally...” I arrived at the inn and flung open the door to the closet where I had hidden the Gate. Jumping right into its pitch-black void, I felt the strange sensation of my body being stretched and compressed at the same time before being thrown out into the other side: my underground base at Lumel. I was in the throne room where everyone would normally gather.

“I have been waiting for you, milord.”

Before I even went out to call everyone, Riche was already in front of the throne, kneeling in her usual maid outfit.

Surprised, I asked her, “What are you doing here?”

“I was waiting for your return.”

“But you didn’t even know when I’d be back.”

“I am an automaton designed to lie in wait for invaders for a century. A day or two of patience is but a trifle to me.”

“I see.” I had forgotten that Riche’s sense of time was out of sync with everyone else’s. “You don’t have to wait for me while I’m gone. Instead, you can do something more productive, or something you enjoy.”

“As you wish, milord.” Riche acquiesced, but with a hint of disappointment on her face.

“My husband and master,” Aizel declared as she emerged from the shadows of a nearby pillar. “I would like to make my presence known as well.”

“Aizel, did you wait for me too?”

“My love for you compels me.”

“Your love for me, huh?” I looked around the room. “What about Millie?”

“Millie is still out on reconnaissance,” Riche answered.

“I see. No point in waiting for her, then. You two are more than enough.”

Riche’s and Aizel’s expressions changed.

“Is it time for a mission, boss?”

“Boss, it is finally time for me to display my powers.”

“You really don’t have to call me boss, all right?”

I stood in front of the throne and took a deep breath. “I command you, my dear comrades of Black Curtain—nay, God Eater.”

I explained to my comrades the role that they were to play. Then, once I finished, I glared at the ceiling. “Well then, let’s expose God for the fraud that They are.”

***

“Five klicks until the fellbeasts arrive!”

“We have confirmed the presence of wild boars and greyhounds! However, the dust cloud is too thick, and we cannot see the entirety of the herd.”

The reports on the fellbeasts kept coming from the army scouts. Once the archers and mages were in their positions, the herd had gotten so close that they could be spotted with the naked eye. The creatures would be entering through the thick woodlands of the Forest of Mauru. They were all agitated—growling, drooling, and fangs bared at anything and everything in their wake.

“Hey, what’s goin’ on out there?”

“I-I don’t know!”

“My boots are quakin’ at the thought of those things bearin’ down on us all at once.”

The archers on the city walls readied their bows.

“Hey, we’re all here at the back. If yer boots are quakin’, the guys in front are probably pissin’ their pants right now.”

A short distance from the southern gate, Mensa and her squad were about to fight off the approaching herd. The men previously injured from the battle with the Balzac army had finally recovered, and their squad now numbered around fifty. Still, the scales were weighted against them, pitted against over a hundred ravenous fellbeasts.

“Lady Mensa, we are now in position.”

“Good work.” Mensa turned her attention to a nervous Ordis. “Little boy, do you have anything to say to your men?”

“I do.” Ordis stepped forward. “Please don’t overexert yourself. Prioritize the weaker monsters, or the ones injured by the archers and mages. Worry about your own lives first.”

“You coward!” Mensa grabbed Ordis’s collar in her fury. “What the hell are you thinking, spouting that pathetic drivel?!”

“B-But—”

“Yeah, I know you were right when you ordered the retreat against the bandits,” she growled, her grip on Ordis’s collar still tight. “We have this much manpower here thanks to you. But you never even gave us the chance to take back our territory from the Balzacs. We ran! Did you ever think about what your soldiers were thinking as they turned tail without fighting back?! Can’t you even tell your men to be your shield as they die in battle?!”

“Mensa, I—”

Mensa gritted her teeth and growled, “That’s the last one.”

“Huh?”

Mensa let go of her grip and turned to her soldiers. “Don’t fight the fellbeasts on your own. Work in groups. And work with the archers and mages to take down every single fellbeast you encounter.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The soldiers, usually enthusiastic, gave a cool, collected response to Mensa’s order.

“Um... What did you mean by ‘the last one’?” Ordis wondered.

“It’s my deal with your damned mentor,” Mensa spat. “I had to listen to your orders for each time I got hit during our sparring match. I got hit thrice.”

“A deal with my master?”

“Yeah, and I held up my end. Don’t expect me to listen to anything you say again.” Mensa turned her back against Ordis.

“They’re coming!” The archers behind them called out. The sentinels from the watchtowers also rang the bells announcing the entry of the fellbeasts into the forest. They only needed about fifteen minutes to cross the forest. The soldiers could feel the damp, sticky air and the foul odor of rotting meat coming from the woods. The weather wasn’t even that hot, but sweat was dripping down from their foreheads into the ground.

“They’re here!”

Finally, the vanguard squad encountered the first fellbeasts that escaped the forest—rabbitlike creatures with red eyes and purple fur known as evil rabbits. They were small, but fast and ferocious. Their fangs and claws were sharp, and they were highly dangerous when found in groups. There were about five of these creatures, and the army had to kill them before the rest of the herd arrived.

“Onward!”

The rabbits’ size made it difficult for the ranged squad to hit them, so the ground soldiers had to band together and slay them. From atop his horse, Ordis ordered the men to move around and seal off their escape route.

“Hmph, not bad,” Mensa remarked.

“It’s no different from playing tag,” Ordis replied.

“Huh? The hell do you mean by that?”

The soldiers kept on cornering the evil rabbits and eventually eliminated all of them.

“Get some rest and treat any injured!” Ordis yelled. Some of the soldiers were hurt, but the mages on the ramparts quickly healed them with light magic.

“The next wave is here!” a sentry yelled while ringing the alarm bells.

The next fellbeasts that arrived were medium-sized, boar-like creatures aptly named wild boars. They grunted and flashed their sharp tusks, drooling and kicking up dust as they charged forward.

“Something strange is going on,” Mensa said. Ordis nodded in reply, his gaze still fixed on the monsters in front of him.

Fellbeasts were violent creatures, but they rarely, if ever, got agitated as a group. This bothered Ordis and Mensa, but they had no time to search for answers. There were four wild boars. Getting hit by even one’s charge would cause massive casualties.

“Do not block them directly!”

“Ranger squad! Fire!”

Mensa and Ordis barked orders. A rain of arrows from the archers and magic from the mages fell down on the charging fellbeasts. The wild boars were ferocious, but they mostly just charged forward, especially as agitated as they were. They were easy targets for the rangers.

“Guoh!”

“Chaaarge!!!”

As the projectile shower fell on the fellbeasts, the vanguard squad charged at them with spears, piercing through their rotund bodies.

“The next wave is coming!”

Once again, the alarm bells rang, giving the soldiers no pause. Ordis and Mensa yelled out their commands. The soldiers roared and grunted, and the squeals of dying fellbeasts filled the battlefield.

“Hey, w-we’re—”

“We might be pulling this off!”

The rangers were exhaling sighs of relief and started chatting with each other. Castle Exlord was built to withstand a human invasion, but not one by fellbeasts. The city’s defenses were also starting to show their age. Evil rabbits could scale the walls with their sharp claws, while the wild boars’ charges could easily shatter the fortifications. The rangers had gone into their positions expecting the worst, but not a single fellbeast had even made it to the wall. They had already defeated about twenty-four of them.

“Looks like the word about the heir eliminating the bandits was real.”

“Yeah. Who the hell spread those rumors about that boy being a coward?”

The vanguard squad repelled the fellbeasts before the city walls one by one. The soldiers’ opinion of Ordis, who had been giving them orders along with Mensa, began to change.

“Don’t let your guard down! Next wave’s incoming!” Mensa yelled, and the soldiers responded with great enthusiasm. Though they had little time to prepare, they were doing an excellent job repelling the vicious fellbeasts, and morale was at its peak. Things were going well...

Until it showed up.

***

At a small hill overlooking the pale blue walls of Castle Exlord, a figure was observing the battle unfold. His face could have been mistaken for any average man that one would encounter in the street.

“Looks like the plan to lead them straight to town went well,” the figure muttered. A bag full of special powder was right beside him. It was a drug that affected the nerves of fellbeasts, causing them to run berserk. He had spread a trail of this powder from the southern cave up to the city gates. Once the drug took effect, the monsters would run amok all over town.

“I didn’t think I would have to use this here though.”

The powder required a special formula for synthesis, and he wouldn’t be able to use it again for a while. But it was quite effective. The Exlord army was fighting off the herd of fellbeasts for now, but it was only a matter of time. The man had investigated the cave, and he had spotted it from afar. Once it entered the fray, the Exlord army wouldn’t last long.

A thin smile spread across the man’s usually expressionless face. “This mission’s as good as done.”

***

The soldiers guarding the gates felt the arrival of a strange presence. A loud roar came from deep within the forest, then suddenly it was deafeningly silent.

“Huh? What the hell—”

A soldier barely finished muttering when they heard the unpleasant sound of several towering trees toppling over all at once and being crushed by a massive force.

“Retreat! Retreat!” Soldiers rushed to evade the felled trees. But despite the trees hitting the ground, they continued to hear a faint rumbling underneath them, and it was starting to get louder, like it was climbing from the pits of hell. The ominous footsteps continued to get closer, crushing the earth underneath with every step.

Then, the source showed itself from the woods. There was an expression of pure, unadulterated fury on its face. Its torso was beset with large, bulging muscles; its arms were as robust as the biggest logs in the forest; its bloodred hide was thick and rough as a worn boulder; and the rusty greatsword it carried was as large as a hardwood tree.

“A hell ogre...” Mensa’s voice was trembling.

Ordis’s eyes went wide in shock. “No... No.”

“Ranger squad!” Mensa raised her right hand, and the archers and mages opened fire upon the beast. But the hell ogre’s armor of muscle repelled everything aimed at it.

A normal ogre was classified as a B-rank threat, which meant that a squad of at least four experienced adventurers was needed to hunt one down. Meanwhile, a hell ogre was an A-rank fellbeast, marking it a danger even to a trained army squadron. This creature must have been close to the middle of the herd, and the dust cloud had hidden it from view.

“Grrr...” The hell ogre growled and took a step closer to the city walls. The overwhelming pressure silenced the soldiers for a moment, then someone spoke.

“Fire!”

Another rain of arrows fell on the red beast, but the hell ogre didn’t even flinch. It shrugged off the attacks as if it were walking through a drizzle.

“Lancers! Charge!” The spearmen charged straight at the ogre.

“N-No, wait!” Ordis cried out, but the soldiers’ momentum could no longer be stopped.

“Plunge your spears!”

But they failed to even reach its hide. The hell ogre stopped the charge with a sweep of its left hand.

The crimson fellbeast then swung its greatsword with its right hand. The force of its swing was enough to smash through bone with the greatest of ease. It was fortunate that the soldiers were barely out of the reach of its rusty blade, but the gust of wind it generated shattered the armor of the soldiers in its path and sent them flying.

“Gaaah!”

“Ungh!”

The soldiers hit their backs against the city wall and slid down. They crumpled onto the ground, groaning in pain.

Ordis’s gaze was fixed on the hulking fellbeast. “That ogre came from the south cave.”

“What?” Mensa turned to Ordis. “How do you know that?”

The blood drained from Ordis’s face. “That thing... It’s... It’s—”

“Boy! Get a hold of yourself!”

The hell ogre lifted its head and roared, and the sound waves rippled through the forest and shook the ground. Half of the soldiers stationed on the walls fell to their hands and knees in fear.

“W-We can’t do this...”

“We’re done for...”

As if responding to the hell ogre’s call, a group of ogres emerged from the forest to join the fray. The Exlord army was in dire straits.

“This is bad. We have to regroup and separate t—” Mensa prepared to shout new orders, but Ordis cut her off.

“That’s enough.”

“Huh?”

“Mensa, we’re running.”

“You idiot!” Mensa screamed. “What do you think will happen to the castle town if we run?! We have to hold our ground! And I told you. I’m not listening to a word you say!”

Ordis seemed to have come to his senses. He bit his lip and grasped his chest.

“But at this rate, it’ll be just like last time—”

Right then, a shrill voice yelled from atop the ramparts. “Brother!”

The high-pitched shout drowned out the growls of the fellbeasts and silenced the chatter among the soldiers. Ordis turned around and saw the small figure that had called out to him.

“Yuma!”

***

A short while ago, I’d just made it back to the castle and rushed to Yuma’s room.

“Sorry I’m late.”

“I-I don’t mind, but where did you go?”

“I had something to take care of real quick. Well then, about the matter we discussed—”

“Please let me do it.” Yuma looked me straight in the eye, and I nodded.

“Okay. Your determination will be the key to everything. Well then, let’s hurry.”

I urged Yuma to prepare and we readied everything on the spot. We headed out for the south gate where the battle raged on, dashing through the panicked streets of the castle town. Information about the battle must have leaked to the citizens. Anxious voices filled the city streets.

“Fellbeasts started attacking the city gates!”

“What do we do?”

“A herd of fellbeasts right after the Balzac army? What’s going on with the world?”

“I heard that the heir—that Normal is going to hunt them down.”

“Then we’re all doomed! We gotta run away!”

“But didn’t he just eliminate those bandits in the mountains?”

“Who’s gonna believe a dumb rumor like that? Our goose is cooked!”

We managed to pass through the city streets and reached the city gates. The growls of monsters and the battle cries of soldiers rang all over as the battle went on.

“I’m Yuma Exlord. Let me through.” Yuma identified herself to the sentinels guarding the city gates, then the two of us climbed the stairs up the city walls. On our way up, we heard a deafening roar.

The two of us exchanged glances. A strong wind was blowing over the ramparts, but we could see the battlefield clearly. Between the Forest of Mauru and the city walls, the Exlord soldiers were fighting, with corpses of fallen fellbeasts littering the ground all over. It was at that moment when a group of large, burly ogres emerged from the woods.

“Ah...” Yuma gulped. She spotted Ordis on horseback, fighting a bloodred ogre that clearly looked different from all the rest.

“A hell ogre,” I muttered.

Yuma looked terrified. “Why... Why is that...”

“Lady Yuma, what’s wrong?”

“That... That’s the monster we found in the cave!”

I quickly turned my gaze to the beast. Yuma and Ordis had encountered this creature in the cave of trials. Yuma couldn’t have been mistaken; she would never forget the fellbeast that had caused her grave injury. And of course, neither would Ordis.

In that case, this group of fellbeasts had come from the cave down south. But fellbeasts that lived in a dark, damp cave would normally never leave their nest and form a herd like this. I could come up with various explanations in my head, but nothing concrete. Besides, I had more important things on my mind.

“Sir Matthew, I...” Yuma grabbed onto my robe. She seemed to know what she had to do. I gave her a nod of approval.

“Brother!” Yuma stepped up to the edge of the ramparts and yelled at the top of her lungs. The rangers stationed on the walls, the soldiers below, and Ordis all turned to look at her.

Yuma! The little sister saw Ordis mouth her name.

“Everything’s going to be okay! I’m fine! I’m all better! You don’t have to worry anymore!”

Yuma yelled at the top of her lungs, then lifted her shirt, exposing her bare stomach.

“L-Lady Yuma! Wh-What are you—”

Some of the soldiers panicked and averted their eyes, but Ordis stared in disbelief. The young lady of House Exlord wasn’t just exposing her skin to everyone—the ghastly scar that had marred her abdomen had completely vanished.

“H-How—”

“My scar’s all healed! Brother... Don’t look back at me! Just face forward and charge on!”

Ordis was half crying and half smiling, and he roared to the sky. The other soldiers looked on, dumbfounded as the heir of House Exlord jumped off his horse and charged at the hell ogre with sword in hand.

“Boy!” Mensa cried out—whether it was to stop him or to cheer him on, she herself didn’t know. The man she was watching now was far from the one who’d just told her to retreat.

The hell ogre swung its sword down with a mighty shout, but Ordis jumped to the left, then swung his own. Bright red blood spurted from the hell ogre’s stone-hard hide, and the fellbeast’s right hand was severed from the wrist. “Gwuaaah!”

“Would you look at that,” I whispered. “You are pretty strong.”

According to Yuma, Ordis had been known as a prodigy before he received the Oracle. If her story was to be believed, he had entered the cave of trials and fought the fellbeasts there to its depths. In fact, he had single-handedly fought not a regular ogre, but a hell ogre to a stalemate. And over this past month, his natural talents had been honed by the continent’s greatest mentors.

“Looks like God’s judgment really can’t be trusted.”

“Brother...” Yuma wobbled against the wind; I caught her before she fell over.

“Are you okay?”

“Thank you, Sir Matthew,” she mumbled. “It’s all thanks to you.”

“I didn’t do much to earn your thanks.”

Yuma’s injury hadn’t actually healed. I’d merely concealed it with Abduct. To observers, it must have looked like his little sister was cheering him on by showing her unmarred belly. But to Ordis, that scar was a ghost of his past he thought he’d never escape.

“It’s not just for my brother. It’s for myself too...” Yuma was sobbing and gently rubbing her stomach. I had told her that I only hid her scar, and that the effects were temporary. But unlike Riche’s contract and Aizel’s crest, it was a normal wound without any magical effects attached to it, so the concealment might last for quite a while.

“Graaagh!”

The battle between the young heir and the violent fellbeast was coming to a close. The hell ogre was flailing its thick limbs, smashing the ground and kicking up clouds of dust and debris.

Ordis skillfully evaded everything coming his way and lifted his sword overhead. This was the basic stance of Linearm style—its creed was ferocity and fortitude. He jumped high into the sky and swung his sword down on the hell ogre’s skull with all his might.

The teachings of Linearm style say to never retreat, and never fear your opponent. Isn’t that the way for the Lordship of Exlord to survive?

Be it the hell ogre’s life, or all his doubts and regrets, Ordis severed them all with his blade.

The hell ogre let out its dying cry, and the earth rumbled as its colossal body collapsed to the ground.

Without relishing in his victory, Ordis immediately delivered new orders. “Mensa. There are other ogres in the area. Clean them up while they’re stunned.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah—”

“What? Still not listening to what I have to say?”

Mensa seemed taken aback, but then she broke into a boisterous laugh.

“We’re cleanin’ up here, boys! Show ’em what House Exlord is made of! Follow the b— Follow Lord Ordis!”

“Yeeeaaah!”

It wasn’t just the men on the ground answering; even the rangers stationed on the ramparts joined in. Their cheers reached the whole city around Castle Exlord and beyond.

Ordis had accomplished the task of defeating the fellbeasts in the cave of trials in front of several witnesses without even trying. That was the moment Ordis, the Great Normal, completed the rite of passage as the heir of House Exlord.

Yuma was watching this scene in awe, then she looked around. “Huh? Sir Matthew? Where’d you go?”

***

“Phew.”

At that moment, I had hidden myself with Enshroud and headed for the Forest of Mauru. The sudden assault of a herd of fellbeasts and the unexpected appearance of Ordis’s fated nemesis, the hell ogre—despite the quick succession of unforeseen events, everything had ended well for everyone involved.

The Exlord army’s morale was at its peak, but they were exhausted, and there were still fellbeasts to exterminate. I thought to head to the forest to prevent any further casualties by hunting down some of the stragglers.

“Sure is hard working behind the scenes,” I mumbled.

I stopped in my tracks after walking a short distance.

“Milord, we have accomplished our task.”

“My husband and master, you are quite late.”

“Wow, you’re all done?”

Riche and Aizel were in the forest, having found positions to relax in while waiting for me. Back at the underground base, I had taken the two of them through the portal and headed for my room at the inn. I asked them to help out with exterminating the fellbeasts that had run amok.

We were late in getting the plan going, so Ordis had already slain the monsters that had escaped the forest. The plan was to eliminate the stragglers left in the woods in secret; I had requested that the two of them hold back in using any flashy techniques, but it would seem that I hadn’t needed to worry.

“Woof!”

“Prill! You’re here too?” Our pet Black Fenrir pup popped out from behind Riche.

“I thought to give it a bit of a walk,” Riche explained.

“I see.” Well, for Riche and Aizel, exterminating fellbeasts like this was nothing but a walk in the park. After the ogres had shown up, there were no longer any new fellbeasts emerging from the forest. It would seem that they had eliminated every single one of them.

I regulated my breathing and sat beside the two.

“Milord, is this the end of our mission?” Riche asked while petting Prill.

“I wouldn’t say it’s over,” I answered. “We’ve still a few things to take care of.”

“Like the duel between the heir and the Flame Emperor?” Aizel chimed in.

“Hmm, yeah, there’s that, but also...” I turned my gaze at a hill beyond the forest, visible through gaps between the trees. “A bit of cleanup left to do.”

Chapter 7: The Mastermind’s Cleanup

An ancient fort stood in the mountains between the territories of Lumel and Balzac. It was a relic of the era before the Holy Empire of Novalis ruled over the continent. Normally it stood desolate and quiet, but today a tense atmosphere hung over its premises.

A month had passed since Fiona, head of house Lumel, suggested an alliance between the three lowest-ranked houses. Today, the fate of that alliance hung on the duel between Ignis Balzac the Flame Emperor and Ordis Exlord the Normal. They would be using the roof of the old fort as the stage for their battle.

Fiona was to stand witness for their duel. She placed a hand on her chest and, feeling her own racing heart, tried to calm herself down. This alliance was key for the bottom houses to survive the Succession War. Without it, they would be eliminated by the stronger houses one by one. But she also understood Ignis’s insistence on only forming an alliance with someone he could trust.

Matthew, I’m counting on you.

Fiona had sent her cousin to train Ordis for this duel, but he never contacted her even once. She had heard that Ordis had managed to defeat a gang of bandits during his training, but other than that she could only hope for the best.

“Heya Fiona.” The first to arrive was Ignis Balzac, accompanied by a petite young woman with a displeased expression on her face.

“Good day to you too, Ignis. Who is this young lady with you?”

“Ah, this is Winnie. She’s my escort.”

“Hey there.” Winnie gave a small bow to show respect. Fiona responded in kind.

“Pleased to meet you. I am Fiona Lumel.”

“Well, ain’tchu a pretty girl. No wonder my boss listens to what you gotta say.”

“Winnie, shut it.”

“I’m kiddin’! I already know you ain’t the type to get swayed by a pretty face.”

Fiona watched as the two exchanged banter. She turned to Winnie. “Umm... So what brings you here?”

“Oh, don’tcha worry ’bout me. I ain’t gonna cause a scene. Just gotta watch out for some dirty tricks goin’ on behind the scenes.”

“Ordis would never do such a thing,” Fiona insisted.

“Well gee, I wonder ’bout that. A Normal would never stand a chance against the Flame Emperor—or at least, that’s how it should be. Just gotta make sure there ain’t no traps lyin’ ’round here.”

“Ya worry too much,” Ignis said.

“Ya can never be too sure, y’know?” Winnie lowered her voice. “Considerin’ the place and all.”

Fiona stared at Winnie and Ignis in silence. She could still hardly believe it, but Ignis had apparently been defeated by some unknown assailant in this fort. Was it someone from one of the other Noble Dynasties? From those legendary black guilds? Or perhaps...

Regardless, some powerful force was manipulating events outside of Fiona’s purview. As the Succession War drew on, the darkness and chaos would only grow deeper. She had to press forward with the things she could control.

Ignis placed a hand on his waist and started stretching the other. “Well then, let’s get things goin’.”

“Your opponent ain’t here yet, boss.”

“Oh, right. Gah ha ha!”

“Full throttle as always, eh, boss?” Winnie shrugged at her lord’s usual behavior. She cast a doubtful glance at the stairs leading up to the fort. “Is he even comin’? Maybe he got cold feet.”

Fiona stared in the direction of the Lordship of Exlord. She had heard from the grapevine that a great number of fellbeasts had caused a commotion within their territory, but she had yet to hear any details about it. She had faith that Ordis wouldn’t run away, but it was possible that he was being held up by the chaos.

Ordis... I believe in you.

When Fiona had first met Ordis at a gathering of the Ten Noble Dynasties, he had been proud and confident, and those around him had seen him as a prodigy. But at some point, while he remained the same kind boy, he had lost all traces of that confidence and bravado. It only became worse when the Oracle had granted him the Job of Normal.

A warm breeze blew over the rooftop of the old fort. Summer was nearly here. The appointed time for the duel was ticking closer, but the heir of Exlord was nowhere to be seen. Soon, the clock passed the appointed time.

“Looks like he ain’t comin’, boss. Let’s—”

“Sorry I’m late!”

Just as Winnie was about to urge her boss to leave, a man appeared running up the staircase.

The man was Ordis Exlord, accompanied by a young lady who shared his hair color—his sister, Yuma Exlord.

“That’s the pathetic heir I’ve been hearin’ ’bout? What’s goin’ on here?” Winnie raised an eyebrow.

Fiona looked at him, saw the way Ordis carried himself, and understood in an instant. He was undeniably the Ordis she’d seen in their last meeting, but he was no longer the timid, simpering young man from a month ago; his expression was confident, his posture unshaken, and his body well sculpted.

“Hoh.” Ignis grinned and approached Ordis. “Gah ha ha! I wasn’t expectin’ much, but it looks like I’m gonna have some fun today!”

“Ordis? Is that you?” Fiona asked. “What happened? You look completely different!”

“Do I? In that case, you have the tutor you sent over to thank for that.”

His gentle voice was unmistakably Ordis’s.

“Tutor? Oh, you mean Matthew? Speaking of which, where is he?”

“He came with me up here, but he said something about having some cleanup to do.”

“Cleanup?” Fiona tilted her head in confusion. She still had no idea what was going on in her cousin’s head. Did he have no plans of seeing the duel to the end?

Regardless, it was time for the duel to begin. They couldn’t dawdle for much longer. Fiona stepped aside some distance away from the two and announced solemnly:

“Begin!”

***

At the same time, a man was hiding in a thicket overlooking the old fort where the duel was about to take place.

“Ignis Balzac? And...is that Fiona Lumel?” he muttered to himself while watching the events unfold on the fort’s rooftop with his manascope. He broke into laughter. “It seems that God has yet to abandon me!”

The rise of the bandits ended in failure, and the assault of the fellbeasts on the Exlord castle was repelled by their army. Now the man was backed into a corner. He steeled himself and readied his last resort...but upon tailing Ordis, he found himself in a position that he couldn’t anticipate.

Right in front of him were the heads of the three lowest-ranked houses, speaking in a secluded place with no army backing them up. The air between them seemed tense, but he couldn’t discard the possibility of the three of them conspiring with each other regarding the Succession War.

“So they’re plotting among themselves. How foolish of me. I nearly missed this golden opportunity by tunneling into my mission.”

The man placed a hand on his chin. He hesitated to act—should he report this situation to his superiors?

“No. I should go for it.”

Now that all his plans so far had failed, he had to accomplish something. This was an opportunity like no other—three heads of houses gathered in one place with no guards in sight. He couldn’t let this chance slip away. He slid his hand into his pocket and took out a reddish card.

“Hello there.”

The man jumped back at the sudden greeting. “Who’s there?!” he yelled, but saw no one around. He saw no one, but he felt a faint presence in the area—an enemy. He crouched and prepared to engage.

Before long, a figure clad in a pitch-black robe—one that almost melded into the shadows—emerged from behind some nearby vegetation.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“Who—”

They concealed their appearance with a mask, but they were familiar to the man—this was the same masked figure who had eliminated the Borzo Bandits. However, though he recalled that this mysterious person was incredibly powerful, he couldn’t clearly visualize what he had witnessed. What he remembered most was that they’d called themselves Matthew the Swordmaster.

“Of course, this isn’t the first time we’ve met.”

“So you did know I was there.” The nondescript man became more vigilant. Back during the skirmish at the mountain, he thought that his eyes met with this robed figure’s, and it seemed that it had indeed been the case. More troubling still, he never noticed that this robed figure had already gotten this close to him. He shivered at the thought that he was being tailed when he was supposed to have been tailing Ordis in secret.

The man pretended to be unfazed. “Well then, what do you want from me?”

“Hmm... I figured I should finally ask what you’re up to since you’ve been sneaking around so much. What are you up to?”

“And you think you’re gonna get a straight answer out of me?”

“Why don’t I take a guess, then? I’d say your goal is to cause chaos within the Lordship of Exlord.”

The nondescript man remained unfazed and stared in silence. The latter kept on talking.

“Don’t you think it’s strange that some city delinquents suddenly knew how to plan smartly and turn themselves into bandits? That some fellbeasts living in a cave would suddenly form a herd and run amok in the city? It gets pretty suspicious when all these strange things keep on happening. It’s not hard to suspect that someone’s pulling the strings, and that someone is the same man watching from the shadows during the encounter with the bandits.”

“I’m listening.”

“Thank you. The bandits and the fellbeast seem like two unrelated events, so I couldn’t tell what the goal was at first. But it made sense in the context of causing chaos within Exlord’s territory. It didn’t matter whether it was bandits or fellbeasts as long as they wreaked havoc.”

The nondescript man let the robed figure keep talking. One’s tone and pace were normally full of tells that would lead to exposing the speaker’s identity. But their voice was unclear behind the mask—distorted—and it was nearly impossible to discern any emotion from the person’s speech.

“House Exlord would of course move their men to deal with these things as soon as they could, but their heir is a Normal and a known coward. That aside, their forces were exhausted by the invasion of House Balzac. They would have difficulties keeping order if chaos were to take hold in their domain. Their citizens would feel more and more disconnected from their rulers.”

“So?”

“The rest follows. You would find the right moment to strike, taking advantage of the chaos and resolving everything instead of the Exlords. You would earn their citizens’ loyalty once you show the unreliability of their current rulers. They would want to be protected by their new saviors. You would eliminate House Exlord and gain new territory in one fell swoop, all without committing to a single battle.”

The masked figure’s robe swayed in the wind. The man had begun to feel dizzy at some point in this conversation. Even though he could clearly see whom he was talking to, their presence blended so thoroughly into their surroundings that he couldn’t be sure they were actually real.

“Oh, yes. I remembered a recent article from the news. I heard that the third-ranked Noble Dynasty sent out a so-called diplomatic envoy to the other houses. Now, is diplomacy really what they’re after?”

“I’ve heard enough.” The nondescript man let out a deep sigh. “You’re a dangerous individual.”

“That hurts. You would be hard-pressed to find someone as harmless as I am!”

“With that much information, I’m sure you already know what happens next, right?”

“You plan on assassinating Lord Ordis, of course.”

The nondescript man’s plan hinged on Ordis Exlord’s citizens abandoning him. But Ordis managed to eliminate the bandit threat and stop the fellbeast assault on the city. All the effort the man had put in only gave Ordis his subjects’ full support.

At this point, he had no choice but to eliminate the biggest obstacle to his plans: Ordis himself. But it wouldn’t be smart to leave traces of a bigger conspiracy going on behind the scenes. He’d tailed Ordis, looking for a chance to kill him and make his death look like an accident. He thought that he had the perfect chance when the Exlord heir headed for the fort up in the mountains with his sister, but this masked man had accompanied them and ruined it. He had to pull back, hide himself, and check on the situation inside the fort, but this had led to him being found.

“You called yourself Matthew the Swordmaster, correct? Just who are you?”

“I am nothing but a mere shut-in.”

He scoffed. “I’ll admit that you’re quite the personality. But you are forgetting one important detail.”

“And what might that be?”

The man raised the red card in his hand. “There are much larger forces hiding behind those that you see with your eyes. I was merely hiding myself so as to not make my existence known.”

He launched the card in his hand. The card, as if it had gained sentience, beelined for the masked figure and exploded.

***

The battle that would decide the future of the Succession War had begun on the roof of the old fort.

“Core Flame!”

The Flame Emperor launched two pillars of fire from his right hand. They twisted and entangled with one another in midair, and the snake of fire aimed straight at Ordis.

“Brother!” Yuma screamed. The pillar of fire exploded right next to Ordis, but when the smoke cleared the young heir was no longer in the same spot.

“Hah!” Ordis had crouched and cleanly evaded the fiery assault. He remained low and lunged straight at Ignis. He swung his sword upward, and Ignis dodged by leaping backward.

Ordis’s assault didn’t end there. The moment his sword was completely upright, he took another swing straight down. This swing was a signature move of the Linearm style, and it was aimed right at Ignis’s head.

“Boss!” This time, it was Winnie who yelled.

“Now that’s fun!” Ignis blocked Ordis’s sword with a shortsword he pulled from his pocket. The blades met, and sparks flew. But the momentum in Ordis’s swing was stronger. The Flame Emperor sank to his knees, and the young Exlord heir kept on pushing.

Then the sparks coming off their swords stopped in the air and made for Ordis.

“Ngh—” Ordis blocked the sparks with the body of his blade and backed away, and Ignis, his own still in hand, used that opening to close the distance.

“Heh. Ya didn’t dodge the flames until the last minute and used ’em for cover. Ya ain’t half bad.”

“And you controlled even the sparks flying from our blades. You sure live up to your title, Flame Emperor.”

The two men collected themselves, now a few paces away from each other. The Flame Emperor cackled, and the Normal let out a soft sigh.

Ignis ignited his right hand with crimson flames and produced another ball of fire. “Enough with the warm-up! Time for the real show to start!”

***

Somewhere else in the mountain were three women watching all these events unfold. The members of the Black Curtain—Millie the beast-eared and Richelotte the maid—were squabbling.

“Hey, how long are you gonna sulk like that?”

“I am not sulking.”

Millie sighed. “Tenes’s opponent this time is someone who works in the shadows. Didn’t we agree that we’d let Tenes handle it this time? And we gotta get the guy to spill his guts later. You two make too much of a mess!”

“We already know that. Milord’s orders are absolute, and I merely follow them.”

“But you wanted Tenes to ask you for help, didn’tcha? Ain’t that why you’re sulking?”

“I said I’m not sulking. Milord gave me free will, but my emotional circuits are still defective.”

“Really now?” Millie grinned playfully.

“Wh-What?” For a moment, an unusual expression crossed Riche’s face, but she quickly returned to her usual coldness. “Anyway, milord is currently matched with the one behind all the incidents in Exlord, but just who is that person?”

“I was in charge of investigating him. This was in the newspaper last week—”

Millie had only just returned from her reconnaissance mission the previous night, and she explained everything she had discovered to Riche.

“The third-ranked Noble Dynasty?” Riche mulled over what she had just learned.

“Yup. They said it’s a diplomatic mission, but don’tcha think it’s strange that they’re startin’ with the lowest-ranked house? The timing of their visit was pretty close to when all the chaos in Exlord started. If they managed to resolve those incidents, they’d have all the Exlord folks in the palm of their hand. They’d be able to put some pressure on the first and second-ranked houses.”

“So this means we’re facing the third-ranked house next?”

“A pretty awful enemy to fight, all things considered. They’re way bigger in size and so much richer than any of the three lowest-ranked houses. I don’t like this one bit.”

“I will cut them all down if milord wills it,” Riche declared unflinchingly.

“Sure am glad I have reliable friends like you,” Millie sarcastically retorted.

Aizel the dark elf spoke up from behind the two. “Is my husband not going to watch his pupil’s duel with the Flame Emperor? I thought this duel was key for the alliance between the three houses to succeed.”

“I asked him that before we left for the fort, but...” Millie scratched her head. “He said he already knows who’s gonna win.”

***

What is going on here?

Fiona Lumel was watching the duel between Ordis and Ignis up close. At first she thought that Ordis would be at a massive disadvantage, but he wasn’t just fighting the Flame Emperor evenly—he was putting up a very good fight.

Did Matthew really do all this? Fiona wondered. She couldn’t have imagined her cousin whipping Ordis into shape like this.

The battle between the two heirs was intense. As if their fighting spirits were made manifest, the energy of their battle enveloped the entire fort. But despite everything, the fight was beginning to favor one side.

Ignis had the upper hand when at range, while the opposite was true for Ordis. The Flame Emperor was aware of this, so he kept using his fireballs to keep Ordis at bay. Meanwhile, the Exlord heir did his best to evade the flames and close the distance between them, but he found it difficult to find an opening to approach.

“What’s wrong?” the Flame Emperor taunted. “Already out of ideas? Looks like it’s almost time to end this fight!”

Ignis’s flames burned even hotter, and he continued to lob orbs of fire at Ordis without pause.

Ordis dodged left of the barrage, crouched, then twisted to the right. When Ordis next opened his eyes, he saw Ignis Balzac standing right in front of him.

Ignis wrapped his right arm in a crimson inferno and wound up for a punch.

“Didja think I wouldn’t come close to ya? Even I could read ya like a book if ya keep dodgin’ the same way. Fire Punch!”

He jabbed Ordis in the gut, and his fist erupted in flames.

“Brother!” Yuma screamed.

Fiona averted her gaze and closed her eyes, but only for a moment. No. I’m the referee. I have to see this match through. She forced her eyes open and was blown away by what she saw.

“What?!” Ignis, unusually for him, let out a grunt of surprise. Ordis had taken the brunt of the attack, but he hadn’t fallen. His clothes were scorched through at the point of impact, and his abdomen had suffered some burns, but the attack wasn’t fatal.

Did Ignis hold back? Of course not.

Steam was rising from all over Ordis’s body.

“Water magic?!” Fiona exclaimed to herself.

The Exlords were a family that specialized in the use of water magic. While regular water magic wasn’t enough to defeat the inferno of the Flame Emperor, it was enough to protect oneself. Ordis had created a wall of water around him and neutralized the flames of Ignis’s fist.

“You finally got in my range.”

Ordis was holding his sword up high with both hands, the tip pointed straight at the sky.

“You serious?!” Ignis exclaimed. He had put everything into that punch. He couldn’t retreat fast enough.

Ordis was completely capable of using water magic to defend, but he had intentionally held back until now. He had evaded all the balls of fire lobbed at him with the same pattern so Ignis could track him. Ordis had baited Ignis into a melee and pulled out his trump card. He stood his ground, risking his life to create this opportunity to take victory.

“Lord Ignis!” Winnie yelled, but Ordis’s sword had already come down, and blood spurted from Ignis’s chest.

***

“Hmph. You’re a slippery one,” said the assassin sent by the third-ranked house. I was facing off against him when he launched that weird exploding card. I evaded more of those as I gave chase, leading him deeper into the mountain. The card had a glyph inscribed on its face. It must have been a weapon imbued with some sort of magic. I had never seen an attack like this. It seemed that there was still so much out there for me to learn.

“Matthew the Swordmaster, you say? I watched your swordsmanship while you fought those bandits. I know every move up your sleeve. I just have to keep my distance from you.”

The man was grinning confidently, but I knew that over half of what he said was lies. The black robe I wore would have made any memories and impressions of me fade away over time. He wouldn’t have been able to remember the way I swung my sword. His confidence was clearly a bluff, but it was a sign that this man was used to being put under intense pressure and scrutiny.

I had run down the mountain on purpose. I could no longer check on the situation in the fort, but neither could the man—a terrible situation for him considering his mission.

“Well then, playtime’s over.” The man reached into his pocket. I had thought he was about to bring out his most powerful weapon, but instead he took out another card—this time an orange one. “Eat this!”

The card flew straight at me, but ripped into several tiny shreds a short distance before me. Then, arcs of electricity started crackling in the air. I managed to dodge it at the last moment, but I could feel some numbness in my left hand.

“I see now. So that’s your trick,” I marveled. Red for flame and orange for lightning—the cards were imbued with particular elements. “How interesting.”

“You won’t be enjoying this for much longer.” This time, the man launched both cards at once. Flames and lightning attacked me indiscriminately, and I was starting to struggle. I wanted to vanish from my opponent’s sight with Enshroud, but with the unending barrage of attacks, it wouldn’t have done me much good.

I made an effort to banter with my opponent despite having taken some damage to my left shoulder. “Is that all you have up your sleeve?”

“Who knows?”

“All right then. As thanks, I’m gonna show you my tricks.”

“Quit the acting. I told you. I’ve already seen the way you swing your sword—”

“Fireball.” I lobbed an orb of fire at the man.

“What?!” he yelped as he evaded the attack to the side. “You’re a practitioner of flame magic? I knew you were no ordinary—”

“Bolt Shot.” An arc of electricity ran from my fingertips up to the mystery man, but he threw out a brown-colored card, which turned into a shield of earth and blocked my attack.

“A wielder of multiple attributes? Now that’s a surprise. But the strength of each is nothing special. And spending your mana on different elements is hardly the most efficient use. I still have ways of defending myself. Let’s see how long you’re going to last.”

“Splash.”

“Tch!”

I kept my barrage of magic going, this time with water magic. Once again, he shielded himself with the brown card, and tossed red and orange ones at me. Each shot of my magic traded with one of his tools. Colorful flashes of light illuminated the forest as supernatural energies clashed with one another and vanished as quickly as they were produced.

I had my face concealed, while my opponent had an unreadable expression. Neither of us had a way of gauging how much damage the other was taking. This battle between those who moved in darkness unfolded in the shadows of the duel between the heirs of the Noble Dynasties.

“A wielder of all elements... What an unbelievable encounter. But you’ve yet to render me helpless. You must be running out of options.”

“Who knows?”

The man scoffed. “That bluff won’t work on me. We both work in the shadows, after all. We’re birds of a feather—foxes in the same foxhole.”

“Bluff? You know, I pride myself on being an honest and sincere person.” I shrugged, then took a deep breath and told him I still had one more in me.

“Hah. I said your acting won’t work... Hm?”

My preparations were complete. Darkness magic could be achieved by combining all ten elements, but it needed careful and precise control. At this point, I couldn’t yet launch it in quick succession, which is why I prepared myself by using all ten of the elements one by one. I gathered the lingering mana from each element and concentrated them into my hands until I had a pitch-black ball—one so dark that not even light could escape.

“What the hell is—”

“Shadow Strike.”

I pronounced the spell, and slender threads of darkness shot out from the ball, knocking aside everything in their path as they made for their target.

“Wha—” The man threw out all the cards in his possession, but it was futile. Dark energy crackled in the air. The force knocked off all the cards defending the man with ease and blasted him straight into the trees.

This was one more reason I’d moved so far from the fort. I didn’t want to attract Fiona’s attention with such a flashy spell.

“Wh-What the hell...was that?” the man groaned as he sprawled out on the ground. He tried to raise himself, but he couldn’t move. The ground and surrounding trees looked as if an angry giant had just passed through.

I slowly approached the shady man. “I’d like to ask you a few things.”

“Fool.” The man cackled weakly even as he coughed and spat out blood. “As someone...who lives in the shadows...you should already know...”

He pointed a trembling finger at me. “There’s more people like me out there... Remember that.”

With that, his arm went limp, and he lay there motionless. I stared at the man’s corpse for a while before I heard three sets of footsteps approaching from behind.

“Good work, milord.”

“Tenes, you done already?”

“What’s this?” Aizel crouched down to the man’s body and placed a hand on his chest. “A magical contract?”

“Looks like it,” I affirmed. The terms must have been something like this: You will lose your life when backed into an unwinnable position. Unlike Riche’s case, whatever gave power to this contract must have been elsewhere. I wouldn’t have been able to Abduct it. It looked like I had forever lost my chance to get any information out of this man.

Millie placed a hand on my shoulder. “Tenes, cheer up. It ain’t your fault, man.”

“I’m not grieving. I was already prepared to deal with death the moment I decided to meddle in the Succession War.”

But this made it even more clear that everyone participating in this war had their lives on the line.

“There’s more people like me out there... Remember that.”

The man’s last words rang in my head. It could’ve been a bluff, but I couldn’t discern how much truth was behind them. Clairvoyance might have revealed what he was hiding, but he was hiding way too many things in his heart.

“The third-ranked house, huh,” I muttered. “Looks like we have an uphill battle ahead of us.”

Was the man a key figure in the third-ranked Noble Dynasty? Or was he just a disposable pawn? The truth was forever lost in the darkness. I let out an exasperated sigh.

“Milord? I have something I want to ask you.” Riche asked.

“What is it?”

“It’s about the duel between the Flame Emperor and the Normal. You said that you already knew what would happen, but were you expecting that result?”

I wasn’t able to watch the battle unfold, but the three of them had seen the result.

“Yeah, I did.” I told Riche, who nodded. I continued. “I’ve fought the Flame Emperor before, and I’ve watched Ordis’s growth over this last month. He can’t win against the Flame Emperor yet. However...”

***

One man was lying face-up on the rooftop of the old fort.

“Brother!”

It wasn’t the Flame Emperor, but Ordis. He opened his eyes with excruciating pain to the sound of his sister’s frantic steps nearing. Slowly he sat up, and Yuma supported him. He let out a pained laugh and pressed down on his abdomen. “Looks like...it wasn’t enough.”

Ordis’s tactic of luring Ignis into the range of his sword nearly worked. But the force behind Ignis’s punch was far beyond what Ordis had anticipated. Despite having prepared for it and his barrier of water absorbing much of the damage, he still sustained a heavy injury, and he couldn’t move his body as well as he’d wanted. His strike was too shallow, and his sword only barely dug into Ignis’s skin.

Winnie approached the two men with her hands behind her head. “That ended just as expected, but ya really got me sweatin’ for a moment, boss.”

“Yeah... Same here.” Ignis seared shut the wound he’d received from Ordis’s blade and turned his attention to the referee. “Fiona!”

“Yes?”

“I’m takin’ that alliance offer.”

“Thank you, Ignis.”

“H-Huh? Wh-Why?” Ordis was dumbfounded.

Ignis stared at the Exlord heir and scratched his head. “What? I told ya I want an alliance with someone I can trust.”

“Y-You did, but—”

“You’re a pretty fiery guy, y’know that? Right, Winnie?”

“Righto.”

“See? You guys come up with the details or whatever. I’m goin’ home. See ya.” Ignis turned around and left the fort with Winnie in tow.

Ordis needed to prove he could be trusted—at least as far as Ignis was concerned. But he’d never once said that Ordis needed to win.

“I-I see... Thank goodness.” Ordis looked up at the sky, leaning against his sister.

“Good work, Ordis. You did well.” Fiona crouched beside Ordis and placed a hand on his stomach. “Heal.”

A gentle light flowed from her hands, and Ordis felt a brief flash of pain. Soon enough, it was gone along with his wounds.

“So that’s the Saint’s power... Fiona, you’re incredible.”

“No, Ordis, you’re the incredible one.”

“She’s right!”

Ordis was briefly abashed at the praise. He then shook his head and turned his gaze up to the sky. “I couldn’t have done this on my own. This was all thanks to my Master.”

Epilogue

“Wah ha ha! See that? It’s all thanks to me! The great Swordmaster Matthew—gueh.” A young man with curled hair woke himself up with the sound of his sleep talking. “H-Huh? Wha...”

Matthew the Swordmaster pressed a hand against his head as he sat up. He felt a mild pain in his back from sleeping on the grass. A gentle breeze caressed his cheeks, and he was bathing in warm sunlight.

“Wh-What just happened...?” Matthew looked around, confused. He didn’t know where he was, and he had no idea why he was sleeping outdoors. It felt like he’d been having a good dream for a moment, but he could no longer recall what it was about. All he could tell was the vague outline of a castle in the distance, which looked vaguely like Castle Lumel. Which meant that he was right outside the Lordship of Lumel.

“U-Um... Gimme a sec...” Matthew mumbled. Did he get sloshed and pass out? But he had no recollection of drinking. In fact, his recent memories were all a big blank to him. He seemed to recall that he was headed somewhere, about to do something, but all of it felt like it was behind a thick fog.

“Gah! I can’t remember anything!” Matthew jolted himself awake. He took a big stretch and pumped himself up. “Dunno what just happened to me, but I just know something strange happened! I gotta get back to the castle and ask someone.”

When he got back to the castle, Matthew was showered with accolades he had no memory of earning. Fiona was even showering him with words of gratitude. In the end, he couldn’t say anything except, “This is what you get when you leave everything to the great Matthew!” Soon enough, that was all he could say, but that’s a story for another time.

***

“Tenes, you sure about sending that guy back?” Millie asked.

It was the weekend after the duel, and I was back at the base. Prill was busy lapping up milk from its bowl in the dining hall.

“Yeah,” I answered confidently. “Of all people, Matthew will be fine.”

“He doesn’t have any memories from the last month, right? Aren’t people gonna find that sketchy?”

“He’ll be too busy drowning himself in all the praise before he even thinks about finding out about what happened to him.”

“What a sad, sad man,” Millie lamented.

“Millie, I see no problems with milord’s decision,” Riche interjected as she placed fresh bowls of bread on the table. “He would never err.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” Millie mused. “The Exlord kid wouldn’t win against the Flame Emperor, but the alliance would work out. Tenes said as much, and it did work out. Boss, you the man!”

“You’re really sticking with that ‘boss’ thing?”

Millie playfully stuck out her tongue in response. “Anyway, about the triple alliance. The other houses are trying to brush it off, but they all seem to be agitated internally. They all thought they could crush the bottom three, but now they can’t ignore them. And it looks like Rank Three just postponed their diplomatic mission. Ignis Balzac, Fiona Lumel, and Ordis Exlord all suddenly became the center of attention.”

I sat quietly sipping on my soup while I listened to Millie explain. She pointed a fork at me. “Speaking of Ordis, his leadership is gettin’ a lot of positive attention internally. It’s like he’s a completely different man now.”

“Really now?”

“Hey, don’t talk like this has nothin’ to do with ya!” Millie chided. “Tenes, you haven’t even gone back to check on Exlord? Ordis and that Yuma girl have been wantin’ to meet with Matthew all this time!”

“Oh. I...forgot to follow up on that. Oops.”

Matthew would have no recollection of those two, and he would likely reject any attempt from them to visit him. During that time, the effects of the artifact would slowly erase the Exlords’ memories of the mentor clad in black.

“Well, our job’s done. We shouldn’t make contact with them anymore. Besides, I’m someone who has to work behind the scenes.”

Ordis was abandoned by God in a way that made me feel a kinship of sorts with him, but he was someone who should stand in the light, while I would continue to live in darkness. I would be changing history behind the scenes without being written about in the history books. That was my destiny as the mastermind behind the curtain.

“Such a lonely job,” Riche said quietly as she put down plates on the table.

“I’m used to being lonely,” I replied. “Besides, I don’t like standing out.”

Riche paused and looked at me. “But, milord, even though everyone else will forget you, I would never.”

“Riche...”

“That goes for myself as well, my husband.” Aizel joined in on the conversation. “And of course, my body would never forget you either.”

“Aizel, it is my job to provide comfort to milord.”

“Hey, you two, quit it! Don’t squabble at the dinner table!”

“Woof!”

I watched my comrades gathered around me and gave a laugh. “Okay. Today, we’ll lean back and relax like the shut-ins we are.”

We would relax and prepare for the fateful day—the day when those who live in the shadows would rewrite the script as written by God.

Afterword

Hey there. It’s Sakaku Hishikawa again. Thank you for picking up the second volume of Guild Handyman? More Like Mastermind! Using My Hidden Skills in the Shadows.

Before having a book published, a writer needs to have a colorful sense of imagination, the ability to compose a solid narrative, and the power to capture an audience with words. Of course, all these skills are important, but for someone who works in the profession of writing, they would inevitably get hit by the reality known as “the writer’s stamina.” A writer would need to write tens of thousands of words while keeping the same posture for hours, which eats into one’s stamina. And if they’re working multiple jobs, the writer must also resist the urge to dive into bed and instead sit themselves at the desk, vomiting out words while their consciousness is about to fade away.

When I realized this, I decided to start running to build up my stamina. I will become an endless font of stamina! I will gain untold amounts of wealth and power! What a devilish plan!

This was three years ago. I had gathered the gear for running, but there were no stores that sold running shoes near my house, so I couldn’t get my hands on a pair. Comfort was important, so I hesitated in buying one online. And my schedule was always full, so I never had the time to head out to the city and try out a pair in a store. And running shoes are expensive... Excuses, excuses...

The seasons passed, on and on, and we arrive to today. I still haven’t gained the stamina I desire... Surely when this book is published, I’ll be running carefree out in a grassy field... Looks out in the distance...

Anyway, I’ll move on to the acknowledgments.

Thank you to my editor and all the editorial staff at DRE Novels for working hard to publish this book. The illustrations were drawn by Yu-nit. Thank you as always for the wonderful character designs. The illustrations and page inserts always take my breath away. Beautiful!

And my deepest gratitude to you, dear reader, for purchasing and taking the time to read this volume.

May we all see each other again soon.