Have you ever had an experience like this? You meet a friend you haven't seen in a long time and greet each other warmly, then you part ways, promising to meet again soon— Only to realize, awkwardly, that you’re both heading in the same direction. That was the situation right now.
“Karos, please take good care of Jern.”
“…Yes. I will follow your command.”
“You too, Jern!”
“…You mean me, Your Highness?”
Of all people, she had chosen Karos to escort the envoys. Sharmia looked at the two of us, who were studiously avoiding eye contact, with a puzzled expression before breaking into a bright smile and looking over the entire envoy party.
“Well then, please deliver my message. I’ve already sent word ahead, so you should receive a grand welcome.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“This is a transaction, after all. I’ll be counting on you next time, too, alright?”
She whispered the last part in my ear so the other envoys wouldn't hear— But that was the problem. Through Tide Sense, I could feel the eyes of the envoys, who had been standing stiffly before the princess, widen in surprise. The knights in the back row even started whispering amongst themselves.
[Has the princess ever been that close to anyone other than Sir Karos…?]
[That boy… the name she just called him, could it be…]
[No way. That’s just a rumor, isn't it? You must have misheard.]
It was a very strange conversation. Me, just a rumor. Careful not to let my thoughts show, I deftly leaped onto my horse.
“…Have you ever learned horseback riding?”
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
Karos, who approached as one with her horse, cleared her throat and asked. She probably wanted to pretend last night’s conversation never happened. I decided to play along.
“A little.”
“That horse will be difficult with just a little experience.”
Indeed, the horse I was riding, being from the Imperial Family, was so massive it made other horses look like foals in comparison. When a small eleven-year-old like me mounted it, my spurs didn't even reach past the saddle. But I answered nonchalantly.
“It’s fine. Giddy-up.”
“Giddy-up… You didn’t even kick with your spurs—” Before Karos could finish her sentence with a frown, the horse began to move.
Very smoothly.
So smoothly that even if I were holding a cup full of water, not a drop would have spilled. Her mouth fell slightly open in surprise.
“H-How…?”
“Hmm, it seems to have taken a liking to me.”
I had checked last time I rode a horse. By using Tide Sense to locate and slightly stimulate an animal's muscles, you can make it move easily. If there was such a thing as a status window, my horseback riding skill would probably be ranked SSS.
With that thought, I steered the horse toward the capital's main gate.
“Shall we go, then?”
“…Yes.”
Karos followed, and the other knights followed her.
[I think it’s him…]
[Th-Then… are we all going to die?]
Right.
It seemed I would have to ask about that story later.
Clip-clop, clip-clop!
The imperial horses were certainly a different breed, not just in size. No, it was less like riding a horse and more like being in an open-top sports car. To be precise, it felt like riding on the wind.
“Are you… alright?”
“Yes. I’m perfectly fine. Don’t worry about me.”
The wind had very little effect on my body. Karos, who had been staring in wonder at my hair, which kept its shape without being easily blown about in the wind, nodded and looked ahead.
“I thought it would take about a week, but it seems it won’t even take half that. I will increase my pace as well.”
“Pardon?”
I asked back with a bewildered expression. The knights, and even Karos, were barely managing to keep up with me. Remembering what happened yesterday, I asked with a slightly mischievous smile.
“Will you be able to keep up?”
“It is of course remarkable that you can maintain that speed despite riding an imperial horse for the first time, but we have been riding these horses our entire lives.”
Karos commanded the knights following behind her.
“That’s enough, follow me!”
“Yes!”
In an instant, the knights kicked up a cloud of dust and accelerated, pulling up alongside me. What is this? I asked, flustered.
“Uhm, if you could do this, why didn’t you keep up from the beginning?”
“My apologies. I had to confirm whether you were pushing yourself or if you could truly maintain that speed.”
“…Ah, I see.”
As she said that, Karos observed me with the eyes of a hawk. Her intentions were so transparent it almost made me sigh. She was trying to dig up any information she could about me.
It didn't matter. What use would information about me being good at riding a horse be, anyway?
“Then it should be fine to go a bit faster.”
Hee-heeeigh!
I leaned forward and scraped the horse’s leather. The startled animal shot forward at a much faster speed.
“…Hmph. I understand.”
Karos glared at me, then also leaned down low and galloped like mad to catch up. Our speed competition continued for a full thirty minutes.
“U-Uhm… Sir Karos?”
“Yes, envoy?”
Until the other knights were no longer in sight.
Honestly, I didn’t think she would keep up this well. I was using a cheat-like skill, being able to perfectly understand and control the horse's condition with Tide Sense— But Karos sometimes even overtook me, engrossed in a duel with no winner. The biggest losers were the knights.
They looked like they were on the verge of death, so I had no choice but to set up camp a little early. But Karos let out a satisfied hum.
“Hmm, at this rate, it seems it won’t even take three days.”
“…No, it’s fine if we go a bit slower.”
“It was the envoy’s command to go quickly.”
“Aren't we going to arrive earlier than the messenger we sent with the news? You said that wouldn't be good.”
I shrugged and walked over to help a knight who was setting up a tent.
“Ah, no. We’ll do this.”
They waved their hands in surprise. Ignoring them, I manifested my magic. Two stars appeared in my eyes.
At the same time, the pegs, canvas, and poles that made up the tent floated into the air and were driven into the ground.
Thud, thwack!
In an instant, eight large tents were pitched. It took less than thirty seconds. It would have taken the knights at least thirty minutes.
It was mostly currents. The magic was just a show, a light stir of the wind. I then waved a hand at the dumbfounded knights.
“No thanks are necessary. We’re just helping each other out.”
“…You really reached 2-Star at that age.”
“To be at the same level as Princess Lumia, as expected… Ah.”
“As expected, what was the rest of that sentence?”
I left Karos, who was shaking her head, and approached the knight who had clamped his hand over his mouth to ask. It seemed the time had come to dig into the strange things I had heard earlier. He turned pale and shook his head.
“I-It’s nothing.”
“What do you mean, nothing? It’s fine, just tell me. I’m just curious.”
“Really…”
“It’s fine. I may be an envoy, but it’s not like I’m actually treated like one. Getting on my bad side won't affect you at all.”
Only then did the knight hesitantly open his mouth.
“We received the imperial command last night, so we didn’t hear much about you, envoy. In the midst of that, the name the princess mentioned was strange… Is your name truly Sir Jern?”
“?" "Yes.”
At my words, the knights began to murmur. In the midst of it, I once again heard unsettling phrases like ‘as expected… so it’s true,’ and ‘are we going to die,’ so I frowned and asked.
“Do you all know me?”
“That is…”
“Jern, you are currently considered something of a secret weapon of the Empire among the knights—and some nobles.”
Karos walked over with a sigh and added to the explanation. For a moment, it took me some time to understand what she meant.
“No, why would I be…?”
“Your first appearance was when you suddenly showed up and saved kidnapped noble children." "An unknown, a boy claiming to be an orphan but stubbornly protected by a powerful noble. Who would believe that?”
“There are clear records of me growing up in an orphanage.”
“If you had remained an orphan after that, the rumors would have dissipated. But you suddenly became Dersia’s disciple, then entered the Black Magic Tower as an apprentice, also declared yourself Sir Brimdal’s disciple, and won several competitions. You even frequented the Imperial Palace, did you not?”
“…”
“An assassin created to be used hastily after the appearance of the Red Lotus, the princess’s Divine Punishment Knight, a war machine the Empire was hiding—there are many rumors." "However, because your actions are so bizarre and you are rarely seen, the accepted theory is that you are just a rumor and do not actually exist." "A theory that will disappear the more you act, of course.”
My mind went blank. To think such slander had been piling up in places I didn't know. I barely collected myself and asked about the last thing.
“Then. What’s this about dying?”
“Why would a weapon be deployed? They judged that a declaration of war, or a near-wartime situation, was about to occur. They mistook this as being mobilized for it.”
“What the— can this be cleared up?”
“You’ll have to endure it. And from now on, you should refrain from carelessly revealing the name Jern." "If it’s not a clear situation like this one, it will either be seen as the tantrum of a child trying to puff himself up, or as a death sentence from a ruthless killing machine.”
“But I’m only a 2-Star. Who would think of a 2-Star as a killing machine?”
“The problem is your age. At eleven years old, you’re not much." "At 2-Star, you’re not much either. But being a 2-Star at eleven is a completely different story." "Even mages or knights who could defeat you… wouldn't want to touch the future monster the Empire is pouring its heart and soul into raising.”
“This is a huge mess.”
“Indeed, it is.”
A battle to build up the practical experience of a ruthless killing machine. That’s what the knights thought they were being mobilized for. Seeing the fear still tangled in their eyes, I sighed and opened the door of the workshop on the carriage door.
“Aren’t you going to eat? No matter how worried you are.”
“I will eat. But not here, in the capital.”
“?”
“My Master said I can’t miss my training.”
The workshop was connected not to a workshop, but to my home. This was the result of a 9-Star mage’s help. She said she modified it to connect to the house like this just for the duration of the trip.
This meant I could return to the capital at any time during my journey. If something happened, I could escape, and I could wash up and sleep in a warm bed.
“…”
Feeling the indescribable emotion in Karos's eyes as she held her bowl of gruel, I felt a little pleased and asked.
“Should I bring you some bread?”
“…No, thank you.”
My homeland, as I (probably) recalled it, had some parts that were a little different from just a desert.
“Trees.”
“Life finds a way to grow even on sand.”
That's true, but… trees seem a bit much, don't they? I tapped on a dried-up tree. It looked dead, but apparently, this was its natural state.
The desert itself was the hellish place of sand, sun, and wind that I had expected. As I looked at the kingdom, slightly smaller than the capital, situated on the border separating that hell from the plains, a question arose in my mind.
“Why did they establish a country in a place like this?”
“Perhaps it’s the other way around. The desert probably pursued the country.”
“What do you mean?”
“Desertification, have you heard of it?”
“Ah, yes.”
I knew.
Wasn't that the same thing that was a problem on Earth? Karos answered while directing the knights, who were adjusting their clothes and assuming a solemn appearance.
“According to records, this kingdom was originally founded on the last stretch of grassland one passes through before crossing the desert." "Seeing it now situated between the desert and the grassland, one can infer that the grassland has turned into desert.”
“Hmm, won’t that be a problem?”
“Of course, it will. It would be stranger if it wasn't.” “I see.”
It must be hell for them, but the sight itself was mystical. The border between the desert and the grassland. A city situated in between.
I stared at it for a long time. Not just because it was mystical, but because I wondered if something might come to mind. But I could only think that this was truly the first time I had seen this place.
If it had been in my memories, I wouldn’t have felt it was so mystical.
“Ah.”
As I continued to stare intently, a gate opened. We were still some distance away, so the people looked as small as ants. Those people hurriedly laid out something like a long carpet in front of the gate and began to line up on either side.
They were preparing to welcome us.
“It seems we can start moving now. Maintain the posture of an envoy.”
“Even if you say posture, I don’t really know how.”
“Wear the most arrogant, condescending expression possible, and do not show any joy at the welcome while on horseback. You can even click your tongue occasionally.”
So this is an envoy of the Empire. What a wonderful job this is.
“Wait a moment, can I wear this?”
“That is…”
Karos looked at the mask I took out with a frown, then nodded.
“Do as you… wish. But will it be alright?”
“What do you mean?”
“Aren’t you meeting your parents? That’s what I heard. A first meeting should be done while looking at each other's faces…”
“They might not be. And what kind of parents are they when I have no memory of them? They might recognize me and do something strange.”
“…”
I put on the black mask. I couldn't feel any difference, but to other people, I would probably look like an adult now.
“Let’s go.”
I mounted the horse lightly and, unlike when we were coming, rode slowly. Karos and the other knights dismounted and led their horses. I was told this was to make it clear who the envoy was.
The moment we reached the laid-out carpet, a welcome so intense erupted that I forgot the advice I had just received.
“Welcome! O envoy of the Empire!”
“Welcome!”
Scantily clad dancers scattered sparkling powder, and hundreds of soldiers raised their single-edged swords to greet our procession. It looked less joyous and more pitiful. I could see their firm resolve to avoid displeasing the Empire at all costs.
“O messenger of the Empire, you have worked hard coming all this way.”
“…”
At the end of the line. A middle-aged man with black hair, dressed in less revealing attire, greeted me. He was beaming.
It was clear he was the highest-ranking person, so I dismounted to meet his eyes.
“I do not know what business brings you to this small kingdom, but you must first relieve the fatigue of your journey. Please request a meeting when it is convenient for you.”
“…I gratefully accept.”
It’s ambiguous.
He seemed to resemble me a little. Without much thought, I took the hand he offered.
And then.
“…Hm?”
It was the hand of an ordinary man. A wide, warm hand. The man, in fact, was about to let go without a second thought, but I couldn’t, and I held on with force for a long moment.
“Y-Your hand is smaller than I thought?”
“…Fucking hell.”
“Pardon?”
I whispered the last words so quietly they couldn’t be heard. I finally managed to let go of his hand and nodded.
“Yes. Please lead the way.”
“But of course! Guide the envoys to the palace!”
“…”
Fortunately, my words didn’t seem to have gotten tangled. The only one who noticed my strangeness was Karos. She carefully approached and supported my shoulder, whispering.
“What is it?”
“…It gave me the chills.”
I clenched and unclenched my hand, looking down at it.
“Were you attacked?”
“No.” I gritted my teeth, trying to shake off the feeling, and took a step forward on my own.
“It was a hand so familiar it gave me the chills. The size, the temperature, the shape." "I only realized it the moment I grasped something that had been engraved in my mind. It’s like lightly tracing a scar with the very blade that made it…”
“Hmm, which means.”
“Yes.”
I stared at the back of the man’s head as he walked ahead and quietly spat out my words through clenched teeth.
“It seems certain he is my biological father.”
It seemed Azrael had not been lying after all. Of all the scenarios Dersia and I had considered, this was the worst.