Chapter 5:Damn The Empire.
"Well then, shall we begin the meeting?"
Clack, clack.
The sharp sound of dress shoes.
The moment the Crown Prince made his appearance in the conference chamber, a heavy silence descended.
In terms of sheer combat ability alone, the Crown Prince couldn't hold his own against anyone in the room.
But beyond combat ability, the Crown Prince radiated a charisma and dignity that was difficult to put into words.
Wearing an easy smile, the Crown Prince instantly took command of the atmosphere in the chamber.
"……We greet Your Highness, the Crown Prince."
"Ah, please, none of you need to rise. That isn't why I came."
Cassian said with a smile.
He was, unlike what one might expect of a Crown Prince, neither authoritarian nor stiff in character. But that didn't mean he was merely easygoing, either. He also possessed the boldness befitting a ruler. It was precisely those qualities that had earned him the high regard of his retainers.
The Empire's 5 Swords hesitated briefly, then gave a collective nod.
And so the meeting began.
The first to speak was Adelia.
"……I'm sure you've all already heard, but Harkan, the Sin of Violence—one of the Seven Deadly Sins—died yesterday."
"I still can't believe it. That monster is dead? And in such an anticlimactic fashion?"
"It's the truth. We've already secured the body."
The most heated subject of debate was the death of Harkan, one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
True to his epithet as the Sin of Violence, Harkan had been something akin to the very incarnation of violence.
Superhuman reflexes. Skin like iron that deflected blades. And monstrous physical strength capable of tearing a man limb from limb with bare hands.
The man had been something closer to a monster than a human.
In terms of raw physical power alone, he would have been stronger than anyone in the Empire.
And now, a calamity of that magnitude had died in such an anticlimactic manner.
In the middle of an imperial city, no less.
"……Who in the world killed that monster?"
Every gaze in the chamber turned to Adelia.
Who could possibly have killed a monster that even the Empire's 5 Swords couldn't guarantee victory against?
This was a matter capable of sending shockwaves across not just the Empire, but the entire continent.
"……"
Adelia closed her eyes for a moment.
She had deliberated at great length.
Kael, the guardman.
He was a hero who had saved the lives of countless imperial citizens.
Had he not intervened, she couldn't even begin to imagine how many casualties there would have been.
His achievement was something all should know of, and he deserved sufficient reward.
Yes—Adelia was well aware that was the logical course of action.
And yet.
‘……I can't say it.’
The current Crown Prince, Cassian, was a dangerous man.
The moment Kael's name reached the Crown Prince's ears, Kael's safety could no longer be guaranteed.
That was the kind of man Cassian was. When he judged something to be of benefit to him, he stopped at nothing.
With the Emperor bedridden with illness and Balmung missing—already a situation rife with chaos—the emergence of an exceptional talent who had brought down a powerhouse like Harkan was nothing short of a golden opportunity.
There was no way Cassian would let prey like that slip through his fingers.
Adelia slowly opened her eyes and spoke.
"……By the time I arrived at the scene, whoever it was had already gone—only Harkan's body remained."
A heavy silence settled over the chamber.
"……So what you're telling us is that some unknown individual—no name, no background, no age—killed Harkan in the middle of the city and simply vanished. Is that it?"
When Adelia gave a nod, the red-haired man—the Knight of the Crimson Flame, Kaiser Baren—slammed the table.
Bang!
"You expect us to believe that nonsense?!"
Kaiser was, among the Empire's 5 Swords, the most volatile and belligerent in temperament.
His beast-like gaze looked as though it would bore straight through Adelia.
"I understand it's difficult to believe, but it is the truth. The continent is vast. Can you guarantee there exists no one in it capable of striking Harkan down in a single blow?"
"……Ha! Unbelievable! Do you take us for fools?!"
"Let's calm down for a moment, Sir Kaiser."
The Knight of Azure Light, Elena Valencia, fixed her gaze on Adelia.
"I don't believe Lady Adelia is the sort to lie about something like this. I also don't think she has any reason to. However……the fact remains that it is difficult to believe. As you yourself know, Lady Adelia, Harkan was a truly monstrous man. Even granting that somewhere on the continent there exists a powerhouse capable of killing such a monster in a single blow—the fact that they happened to be present at that exact location is a rather staggering coincidence."
Elena's eyes narrowed.
It was a reasonable point. Harkan had been one of the mightiest figures on the continent. The notion of someone killing him in a single blow……was not something easily imagined.
But the truth always exceeds the bounds of human imagination.
After all—the one who had killed Harkan was nothing more than an ordinary guardsman.
"Yes. That, at least, is how I assessed it. It is simply all that the scene I witnessed could tell me."
Adelia said evenly. Kaiser's expression contorted severely.
Just as the atmosphere was growing hostile, Crown Prince Cassian—who had maintained silence until then—opened his mouth.
"I see. It certainly is a difficult matter to believe. But I don't think it's appropriate to press Lady Adelia like this."
"……"
Cassian stroked his chin with an impassive expression.
"The death of one of the Seven Deadly Sins is itself a significant event, but isn't there something more pressing we ought to address? I've been told there were casualties."
Cassian probed in an unexpected direction.
"……Yes. 2 guardmen from the 3rd District Unit of the Capital Guard sustained injuries."
"Seeing as they were injured while defending the Empire, I would very much like for them to receive special attention. Regardless of rank, the heart that seeks to protect the Empire is second to none, wouldn't you agree? Naturally, appropriate compensation must be arranged as well."
At Cassian's words, everyone present nodded.
It was a matter they had all overlooked, too consumed with trying to determine who had killed Harkan.
"Let us bring the meeting to a close here. There is nothing to be gained by pressing further—we'll only end up with tempers running high."
"……Understood."
"I will also give separate consideration to the treatment of the injured guardsmen. Thank you all for your efforts."
Cassian was the first to rise from his seat.
Adelia watched him leave the chamber and thought.
‘……Did we get through this safely?’
Something unexpected had occurred in the middle of it, but the thing she had feared had not come to pass.
And yet—for some reason, the uncomfortable feeling that had settled in one corner of her chest refused to dissipate.
* * *
Kael and Balmung's standoff dragged on fruitlessly before settling into a brief lull.
Having sorted things out with Balmung for the moment, Kael left Adelia's estate and stepped out onto the street.
It was a sunny day without a cloud in the sky, but Kael's mood was overcast.
[……Have you found it in yourself to talk?]
‘Talk? What kind of talk? Is this the attitude of someone asking to have a conversation?’
[That……! Huff, I'll admit I let my emotions get the better of me. I apologize.]
‘An apology and that's it? What a comfortable life you lead. Meanwhile some of us are this close to having our heads cut off on a chopping block.’
Balmung bristled and snapped.
[Listen here! Who do you think you're speaking to?! If you could harness even half of my power—no, even a quarter—nothing like that would ever happen to you!]
‘Yeah, yeah, I'm sure.’
None of that mattered to Kael right now.
‘What a load of rubbish. Honestly.’
What good was a fine sword if he couldn't use it? If it was unusable, wasn't it completely worthless?
When death could come at any moment, talk of ‘hidden functions’ meant nothing to him.
And even if Kael somehow managed to use Balmung's power, that would create its own problems.
‘What, cut down everyone that comes after me?’
No. He wasn't some deranged killer.
All Kael wanted was to avoid being falsely condemned as a thief and executed. He didn't want to mindlessly cut down total strangers the moment they came at him.
He simply wanted to be rid of this troublesome nuisance standing before him right now.
If it hadn't been for that thing, nothing would have come to disturb his peaceful everyday life.
‘Can't you just go back quietly? The whole country is in uproar looking for you. Stop making people suffer and just……’
[Hmph. As I thought, you know nothing.]
‘I may not know much, but I can certainly tell that you're in desperate need of a toilet right now.’
[Enough, enough! Must you keep going on about toilets?!]
‘Then stop picking fights with me first. Just go to someone like the Crown Prince instead. From what I hear, he's been getting quite the good reputation lately.’
Working in the Imperial Guard meant all manner of rumors found their way to your ears whether you wanted them to or not.
And among all the topics circulating lately, the most frequently discussed was undoubtedly Crown Prince Cassian.
He was all but regarded as the next Emperor, and thanks to his distinctively magnanimous nature and abundant charisma, he had apparently earned the deep support of the Empire's citizens……
‘Not that I'd know.’
To a modern man dropped into another world—and a mere guardsman at that—the affairs of the imperial family were nothing more than news from a distant world.
Still, there was always a reason behind a good reputation, wasn't there? He'd certainly be a step up from a guardsman.
[The Crown Prince? Ha. How laughable.]
Balmung continued in an icy voice.
[You think a mongrel without a single drop of imperial blood in his veins could dare to wield me?]
* * *
There is a saying: ignorance is bliss.
Kael agreed with that saying deeply.
There are times when knowing less is better than knowing more.
This was one of those times.
‘I didn't hear that. Right—I'm going to treat it as something I never heard. That works, doesn't it?’
This was far too cruel for someone who had only just settled into life as a guardsman. Truly, sincerely—he wanted nothing to do with any of this.
‘Forget all of it. It's time to return to everyday life.’
Kael, who on ordinary days went around cursing these medieval savages, now found himself feeling that those days were precious and something to be deeply grateful for.
Was this proof that humans only learn to appreciate something after they've lost it?
Kael engaged his optimistic thinking as he made his way toward his home base—the 3rd Guard Station.
He arrived at the guard post and was about to report his return to the captain when—
You know that feeling, don't you? It happens every so often.
That hard-to-explain sense of wrongness. A peculiar dissonance.
For one thing, the captain's expression and reaction were deeply off.
The man who ordinarily wore his signature sour expression and did nothing but sigh heavily was now watching Kael with eyes full of pity.
Yes—rather like the look one gives a cow being led to slaughter.
"Hmm……Kael, how are you holding up? Now that I think about it, I feel like I've been neglecting you lately. It's been weighing on me."
……What the hell is wrong with this guy all of a sudden?
He was doing something he'd never done in his life.
A deep, creeping dread began to rise from somewhere within.
Don't tell me he's already scouted out burial plots.
They say when a person suddenly starts acting out of character, death isn't far off.
‘Oh.’
As the ominous premonition that had flashed through his mind grew and grew, Kael began to forcefully deny it to himself.
No, surely not. It must just be his imagination.
I mean—he'd only just returned to the guard, hadn't he? What could possibly happen now?
But the last thin thread of hope Kael had been clinging to shattered into pieces not long after.
"……Kael, guardsman of the 3rd District Unit of the Ascalon Empire Capital Guard—effective today, you are hereby transferred out of the Capital Guard and reassigned to the Nox Special Security Force. Pack your belongings immediately and prepare to depart."
……Damn it all.
The damned Empire had cast him out.