To be honest. Brimdal knew for a fact that he was a madman.
"All life is born, consumes its existence, and then dies. Those ear-freaks are no different. Were we born only to die?"
"What matters is what you leave behind. The weapons you leave will not vanish, so create a masterpiece!"
"..."
"Forge a legendary sword, and do not be forgotten."
Other dwarves chose such a path. But to Brimdal's eyes, throwing oneself into lava to forge such a tool was the very height of foolishness. In the end, was it not just a weapon?
One could not know its worth unless it was used, and it lost all meaning if left to gather dust in a storeroom. Having found no other way, he was tempering a sword just as the others did, when one day, he saw a human knight.
He was an utter fool who had dared to enter the dwarves' cave and cause a ruckus, intending to steal a legendary sword. After being beaten to a pulp, he was thrown in prison. But Brimdal, seeing another possibility, visited him in his cell and asked.
"Tell me, human. How did you deflect the hammer I threw? It should have been impossible for one with such a small body."
"...?"
"Anyone can do that with enough training."
He heard the answer as if it were the most natural thing in the world. After a long period of contemplation, Brimdal shut himself away in his forge. A full month later, he opened the sealed door.
"Brimdal, what weapon have you... no, are you in your right mind!"
"Haaah...!"
The other dwarves, who had naturally assumed he had been secluded to forge a great and famous sword, were horrified. Brimdal had shaved off his beard completely.
"You... you...?"
"My friends, it seems I have little interest in making swords. I think I will try making something else instead."
"W-what did you say?"
"No matter how I look at it, there seems to be no value in something that cannot shine on its own."
"What nonsense is this!"
"If I am to strike something, I wish to touch that which has life. I want to see the potential not of steel, but of a living, breathing thing."
Having made his confident declaration, Brimdal became a disgrace to the dwarves and left for the capital of the Empire. About 100 years later. After crippling 1300 squires, he produced the greatest knight in the Empire. ...
And after that, he crippled 2000 more. It was not a failure without reason. Brimdal had learned a great deal of information.
About the limits of the human spirit. About the minimum number of hammer blows required for forging. How to prevent something from breaking.
How to prevent it from shattering. He gave form to the ambiguous thing called talent. Thus, he knew to some extent.
That this lump of rock was not suitable for forging. It would shatter easily. At best, it would become a stone knife.
"Get up. Merely approaching death is not enough. To master a new sense, you must make your body feel that it is necessary!"
"Yes."
"Walk the line between life and death, grasp your sword! Do not forget for a single moment that a being who wants to kill you is right before your eyes. Do not give up the will to survive!"
"Yes."
"Do not even dream of being healed. You must feel the sensation of death more deeply. It will end soon, your breath will stop, do not stop thinking that thought-" "Yes. I understand it all, so you can stop talking now."
"..."
Training hall.
Brimdal stared bizarrely at the small boy who was struggling to stand, holding a sword larger than his own body. His head was split open, and blood was flowing. His entire body was bruised, and he was in a state where he could not even stand, supporting himself with his bones as he dragged the sword and glared.
Even with one eye closed due to the flowing blood, his aim was precise. His own neck. There was no particular killing intent in it.
No anger either. But Brimdal found himself stroking his neck. The will contained in those calm eyes made him do it.
"... Hmph, your nerve is commendable."
By his calculations, the boy should have broken long ago. No matter how much one trained, a child was a child. When death drew near, they were bound to forget their goal, no matter how firmly they had set it.
Since that was a matter of course, the process of making them accustomed to it, so that they at least wouldn't forget while trembling, should have been essential- But he was already at a level where he had completed that. It was a disappointing thing for him.
It surely didn't mean the boy would give up in a day or two. 'Come to think of it...' They said he had endured in the Great System for nearly a year.
His talent should have been far too low for that; even if he faced a life-threatening crisis once every day, it would have been difficult. So each time he faced it, he must have experienced a concentrated version of this process.
Not giving up when death was truly near, aiming for survival—so intensely, without rest, what could the situation have been? Brimdal pondered for a moment, then shook his head and commanded.
"Attack, as well. If you have the will, it is important to express it."
"Understood."
Jern put down the sword. Then, he clenched his fists and rushed forward, kicking Brimdal in the abdomen. So dumbfounded, he asked again.
"Why did you throw away the sword?"
"I didn't come here to learn the sword. I came to learn the magic-reinforced body."
"..."
He was so confident that it felt as if Brimdal was the one who had said something strange. 'At least he won't give up in a day or two.' Sighing, Brimdal brought down his hammer again. -CRACK!
"What is this?"
"Medicine and bandages. Apply them."
"Can this actually heal me? I mean, can I recover to my previous state?"
"Of course not. It will hurt quite a bit, and it will be difficult to move."
"Then what about training tomorrow?"
"It will go even better. It will be easier to feel death."
"..."
Seeing Jern's expression sour, Brimdal hoped he might say the words he wanted to hear. But he was soon disappointed, watching the boy apply the medicine and wrap the bandages. It meant that this tiresome process would last a little longer than a week.
"From now on, I will add knife wounds. As you watch the blood flow, realize even more. I'll tell you in advance, from this training onward, you could die."
In reality, there was no chance of that, as he would control the amount of blood loss. Jern's eyebrows twitched as he muttered.
"Are you going to do this to Linmel too?"
"That child would have achieved enlightenment during yesterday's training."
"Hmm, true."
After nodding calmly, Jern was torn apart before he even had a chance to scream.
That evening.
Brimdal, looking down at the blood-soaked Jern, asked just in case.
"Have you any thoughts of giving up?"
"... Not yet, no." "Tsk."
That meant this training would be extended to two weeks. When the third week came.
"... Ah."
"What is it?"
"I can see the flow."
Cut, sliced, stabbed... a scar on top of a scar, and another scar on top of that. Jern, who had become a being closer to a living corpse than a human, muttered in a completely different tone than before as he looked at the sky.
"How strange. I can see the direction the seawater will move. From now on, I think I can avoid it even if a current suddenly rushes in."
"... What are you talking about?"
Brimdal thought Jern's mind had snapped from the repeated training. Until he saw him grab hold of something.
"Like this, I can... grab it without having to achieve enlightenment."
"..."
Brimdal, watching Jern let go of what he had caught as if disappointed, became certain. It was the reaction seen in squires at the very beginning of the magic-reinforced body. He was slow to learn, but... quick to master.
'This is...'
Jern licked his split lips and smiled.
"I think it's finally about to get interesting."
Watching that gruesome smile, Brimdal realized that he had been gravely mistaken. This training would not end with that boy breaking. At least not in that way.
"... Come."
"Yes."
In the end, it was not Jern who gave up, but Brimdal.
Red Lotus's advice had been spot on. I really was in mortal danger. The dining table, covered with a blanket to serve as a bed in the hut.
Lying on top of it, I languidly parted the empty air. I could see the overall flow of the currents. I had to concentrate to see it, and it would disappear if I blinked, but- "This is fun."
I could sense that it was dangerous. This was the true nature of the 'seawater I drank' to replenish my mana. To use an analogy, I had been chugging gasoline and using it as fuel.
So... That's enough.
I shook my head to clear the thought and got up. It was about time for Brimdal's lesson to begin. The first few weeks had been painful, but now it was fun.
I think being a knight suits my constitution better than being a mage. The sensation of learning something by moving my own body is truly wonderful. I never get used to the pain, but hearing the clattering sound of the door opening, I jumped down from my spot.
"You're here. What is it for today?"
"Today, you rest."
"?"
What was that supposed to mean? As I tilted my head, a grumbling Brimdal put on his overcoat and grabbed some swords from the storeroom.
"An old comrade called. I need to head to the capital for a bit."
"Hmm. Then may I come with you?"
"I don't mind, but why?"
"There's someone I need to meet for a moment."
I thought it would be good to get confirmation from Ciel about whether Dersia had woken up. As I climbed into Brimdal's carriage, I asked just in case.
"Can't we train on the way?"
"... Do you think training is such an easy thing? I can strike you with just enough fear and pressure to bring you close to death, but not kill you."
"It is something no one but I can do. It is also something that no fool other than myself would do."
"So this method of sending people to the brink of death is something only you use, Sir Brimdal? What about other knights?"
"They just practice without rest until death finds them. A slow and foolish business."
"..."
The knights' way was a sufficiently gruesome training method. Though it couldn't compare to Brimdal's. We drove for several hours and arrived at the capital. Though I had only been away for a few weeks, several things had already changed.
First, there were more people coming and going than I expected. And they were all heading somewhere. I asked with a puzzled face.
"Where is everyone going?"
"Hmm..."
Brimdal, who had been thinking about something for a moment, shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, you wouldn't know, having done nothing but train without seeing how the world turns. It's better to see for yourself than to have it explained."
"Yes?"
What did he mean?
"Follow me."
I followed Brimdal, who had started walking with long strides, toward the heart of the capital. There, five ordinary-looking children were being led away in handcuffs. It was literally an arrest.
Though they wore handcuffs, the knights guarding them all had their swords drawn. They looked ready to cut them down at the slightest movement.
"Who are those..."
I was about to ask in confusion when I scanned them with Tide Sense, realized something, and my expression hardened. Mages—but the feeling was different. Brimdal spoke calmly, in a tone that suggested he knew I'd noticed.
"Hmm, it seems a fallen one can see them. They are your friends. Fated to live their entire lives isolated in some country village."
"That's quite a harsh way of putting it."
"Is it not the truth?"
The prisoners being escorted were all mages who had fallen into the heart-realm. Given their ages, it was more likely that it had happened to them rather than them falling on their own, but the reaction of the people around them was not favorable.
Everyone was either clicking their tongues or looking at them as if they deserved it, so I tilted my head.
"Are those people also Red Lotus?"
"No. Those ones are likely innocent souls that Red Lotus caused to fall."
"... Then what did they do wrong?"
"They fell."
"Ah."
I nodded.
"Right, the reaction to the fallen ones didn't seem good even before Red Lotus. My master told me that 100 years ago, if you were a fallen one, they would just kill you on sight."
"It cannot be helped. Their death is imminent, and in exchange, they suddenly gain immense power they cannot even handle properly."
"Are we to just leave them be? One must distinguish between what is pitiful and what must be done. Do you have anything to say?"
There was no flaw in Brimdal's words. The fallen are dangerous. Even aside from the possibility of becoming Red Lotus, they are like ticking time bombs.
Restrain them on sight. From the nation's perspective, that was their duty to the citizens of the Empire, and it was something that naturally had to be done. Therefore, I too shook my head.
"I have nothing to say."
"Then why aren't you dead?"
"You really hate me, don't you."
It seemed that even after rubbing shoulders for several weeks, the crazy dwarf who judged people as raw ore still didn't like me very much.
"Hmph, finish your business by three in the afternoon and be at the carriage. If you're late, I'll leave without you."
"Yes."
We had arrived early in the morning, so there was plenty of time. Since there wasn't a single shred of affection between master and disciple, I was about to leave without a word to do my own thing when Brimdal called out to me, looking thoroughly annoyed.
"... And, stop for a moment."
He pointed to the very front of the group of mounted knights escorting the prisoners and said.
"Do you see that knight?"
"Yes."
Black armor, sharp eyes, a gaze flashing with killing intent. Overall, he looked far more dangerous than the other knights.
"He is a member of a newly established organization for capturing and subjugating the fallen. They always wear black armor, so do not get caught. I have no intention of protecting you."
"He looks much scarier than the other knights."
"Of course. They are all Divine Punishment Knights. If you meet them, you will be spending a very long time with your friends."
"I'll be careful."
"See that you are."
Having finished his advice, Brimdal turned on his heel and left as if his job was done. I watched the procession of what I should call prisoners for a while. It was awful, but on a humane level, it was an improvement.
Aletus had once said that the Empire's stance was to hunt down and kill heart-realm mages immediately if they were discovered. Since it wasn't that severe, I wondered if Aletus had pulled some strings. As I was thinking that, I heard people whispering around me.
"My younger sister died in the city because of people like them...!"
"Tsk, lifelong isolation? Why on earth don't they just kill them?"
"I heard the princess used her influence..."
"... Ahem."
A princess? Lumia?
Or her older sister? It seemed more likely to be her older sister. Given Lumia's personality, she seemed like the type to live for her own greatness, so there was no reason for her to go out of her way to save the fallen.
I've never even met her, but I seem to only receive her help. As I was thinking that- My eyes met with the Divine Punishment Knight leading the prisoners. Those murderous eyes stared at me.
He was looking at me, and no one else. I didn't want to make a scene at a time like this. Like other children my age, I jumped up and down, waving my hands wildly.
"... Hmph."
The Divine Punishment Knight scoffed and shifted his gaze. It always worked.