– STORY –

In the world of Dulmond, there was a mage who had spent his
whole life striving for the peak of power. A goal that he finally
reached after many centuries, until the point of starting to unite
with the stars: a thousand years long process which would
normally make one lose his sense of self, but this man, Bernst
Almadianos, had managed to retain his ego. However, that came
with the price of an unbearable feeling of boredom.

Despite his many attempts, he was ultimately never able to make

himself feel human again, or feel even anything at all. In his final
moments before becoming one with the universe’s
constellations, he decided to try one last thing; he created an
avatar of himself in a different world and granted it a mind of its
own. He then linked a part of his own soul to it so as to share its
emotions and experiences, in the hope that he would be able to
relive his younger days through the avatar’s eyes.

However, he would soon find out that his artificial creation and
himself would follow very different paths in life.
On the barren land that had been destroyed to the point where there wasn’t even any
rubble left, there was a young and slender boy with cold and emotionless eyes, looking
down on the demon king whose body was wounded all over.

“―――― Grand-loss.”

Without even chanting beforehand, the boy directly muttered a single word as if he
was spitting it out.

At the same moment, a dark and empty void that could even absorb light itself,
appeared from the boy’s right hand.

This enormous energy could swallow up the whole continent, let alone the demon king
who had fallen down and who was feeling death approaching him for the first time in
his life.

However, there was no deep emotion in the eyes of the boy facing him.

Even though he was still very young and was only in the first half of his teenage years,
his facial expression was that of a sage who had attained some sort of enlightenment
after growing old.

That expression made it seem as if he knew everything, even the result of this fight,
and it well showcased the overwhelming difference in power between him and his
opponent.

Even the word irrational seemed weak when describing this boy, who had now enraged
the demon king.

“You bastard! How dare you! You think you can kill me?! You think you can kill
Melchior, the demon king, the supreme ruler of this world?!”

“―― What a joke, your magic might as well be a party trick.”

The dark energy was so small that it could fit in the boy’s palm.
However, even the demon king himself knew that, although he was capable of using a
magic defense barrier that could repel the world’s armies, it would be as good as a
sheet of paper against this boy’s attack.

The demon king Melchior couldn’t help but realize that there was no use resisting
anymore.

The boy’s power was simply that irrational and overwhelming.

“Why? Why does a human being have this much power?”

Melchior, who had managed to become history’s strongest demon king and had finally
brought humanity to the brink of extinction, was going to be killed so casually?

Why? Why did such an insignificant human child have so much mana, and why was
his magic even more advanced than the demon king’s?

Melchior had no more room to be angry or scared, all that was left in him was
bewilderment, bewilderment from this situation that he could not understand.

But the boy did not offer even a single word in response to the demon king’s question.

The dark void instantly crashed against the demon king and swallowed him all,
turning him back into atoms without leaving any dust behind.

―― No one had ever been able to defeat this demon king, he was supposed to take
over the world in the end.

Be it the famous hero, the noble knight king, or even the mercenary who had risen to
become the legendary sword king, all of them had been beaten hands down and
trampled by Melchior; he was the strongest demon king.

And yet, a boy who was passing by had annihilated that same demon king by casually
casting a spell with a mere movement of his hand.

Over the red wasteland stretching as far as the eye could see, the only traces left of the
strongest demon king were the ground that he had destroyed and the mountains that
he had crushed.

No one else had been able to intervene in the fight between the two people, not the
demon king’s subordinates who were standing at a distance, nor the royal court mages
of the kingdom, who had used the art of clairvoyance to watch the fight.

“Is this a dream…?”

Due to the excessive difference in power, all the people who had witnessed the battle
were questioning their own sanity.

Just now, the world had been pushed into a new era, an era without the demon king.

◆◆◆

―― *snap*.

“…Humph, what a waste of time.”

As he said so with a hoarse voice, the old man, who had been playing with his long
beard that reached to his chest, erased the young boy, his own alter-ego, like he was
breaking an unfinished puppet.

This time, it had only taken him three days to exterminate the demons and the demon
king, and he achieved that without even having to put in any effort, it had been far
from a hard fight.

The enemy had been too weak to affect the old man’s spirit.

The battle had been completely insignificant, as if everything had been a simple,
preestablished scenario that was already set in stone.

The old man could not find any more appeal to the routine of making others submit to
his far superior power.

―― It had been perhaps a hundred years since he had started doing this kind of play.

The old man, who could no longer find any stimulus in his own world, was seeking it
in other worlds.

Obtaining an immortal body had cursed the old man into having an overwhelming
power that came together with an unbearable boredom.
That man was a part of the world’s elements, he was equal to a god, and his name was
George Bernst Von Almadianos.

Having attained the peak of magic, he was the strongest ruler of the Dormond world.

The play that he had come up with was to send his own alter-egos to different worlds
and to control them.

This old man, who had become an enormous existence in his own world, was
transmigrating to other worlds in order to satiate his boredom.

At times, he would become a demon king who ruled the world, other times, he would
become a hero who defeated the demon king.

So as to enjoy himself in the different worlds, he would limit his power to one
thousandth or less of the power that he had in the Dormond world.

Sharply reducing his power would make it difficult for him to achieve his duty in those
other worlds, but the old man believed that it would conversely give him the thrill that
he had not felt in a long time.

“……However, the problem is that I’m too strong.”

Even though he had sharply decreased it, Bersnt’s power was still out of norm.

While Bernst was called the elemental mage, and the magic king, he was also the
world’s best when it came to making use of his powers. He was not a god’s equal for
show.

And before long, even the stimulus of going to another world was not enough to move
his heart anymore.

Bernst dearly remembered his younger days, thousands of years ago, when he aspired
to become a mage and he had vowed to carve his name in the continent’s history one
day.

He wanted to taste the excitement of those days once again.

However, that was not possible due to the way things were in his world. At the end of
his quest of power, Bernst had partly joined his soul with a star.
Over the years, he had acquired the strongest power he could have hoped for.

Reverence, faith, worship, and yearning… He was receiving every form of adoration,
and he held the power to do and control everything he wanted, however, there was
one thing that he could not completely control yet: his own emotions.

“Perhaps I soon will not be able to think like a human being anymore…”

A thousand years had passed since he had forfeited his body’s senses and had started
losing his physical body.

Since then, he had never laughed out loud, not even once.

He had already accepted long ago that the end point of his quest of power would be to
completely unite with a star, or, in other words, to lose his sense of self.

Rather, it was close to a miracle that he had been able to keep his individuality as the
man name Bernst so far, even though he had lost his senses and was now a being of
consciousness only. If If he had kept being a normal human after that, he would have
become insane a long time ago.

Because of all that, he wanted to taste one last time the ambitions and the dreams that
he had in the days when he was craving for strength.

He wanted to taste the maniacal love of those days, so sweet yet painful to the point of
tearing his heart apart.

―― And above all, he was brimming with the hope of a future that wasn’t transparent,
a future that he could not predict.

However, as he got closer to becoming a god, those hopes were becoming more and
more distant, to the point where they seemed like fleeting dreams.

But Bernst had suddenly hit upon a way to grant himself that wish.

“Mhm. If I can’t personally experience these things, then maybe I can share another’s
feelings and experience them through him…”

As a final resort, Bernst decided to give up on living temporary lives through alter-
egos.
He had considered lowering the alter-egos’ power even further, however, as the
highest ruler of the Dolmond world, he refused to weaken himself to the point where
he would be forced to submit to others.

His pride could not allow that.

But what if it wasn’t Bernst himself who went to the other world?

If he were to give life in a different world to an alter-ego who had a high shareability
with himself, in a different world, and if he were to then give him an artificial
personality ―― then surely, that alter-ego would be able to develop various feelings
that Bernst himself could not.

And since that alter-ego’s personality would be different from Bernst’s, then even if
his circumstances were to be somewhat disgraceful, it would be no problem for Bernst
to close his eyes on that.

In that case, it was essential to adjust the alter-ego’s virtual personality so that it
would still stay active and independent even if he was possessed by Bernst.

Because if Bernst himself were to take over the body, in the end, he would merely
become unparalleled again and he would stay in the cycle of predictable futures. To
get any sort of feedback from sharing the alter-ego’s emotions, it was essential for the
virtual personality to hold perfectly.

“It’s a gamble.”

Despite everything, Bernst was still very anxious about not being able to control his
alter-ego.

Since he had obtained a nearly ultimate power, he felt a strong sense of crisis when
thinking of a situation where he would not be able to use said powers as he wished.

However, there was not much time left to think too far about this.

“I can’t just sit like this and wait for my unavoidable unification with the star…”

For Bernst, who had lived for an eternity, the temptation of living one last adventure
as a human being was too sweet to give up on.
Despite knowing the risks, Bernsts resolved himself to try one last play.

In order not to lower its shareability with himself, Bernst set himself as the base of
the alter-ego’s virtual personality.

Even so, if his upbringing and living conditions were different, there was no doubt that
the alter ego would develop a fairly different character form Bernst. Human beings are
creatures that adapt to their environment.

Because of all that, it was very likely that he would get to have a fresh experience.

As for the alter-ego’s power… Since Bernst’s power was too extraordinary, he set the
double’s power as one thousandth of his own.

“Don’t fail to live up to my of this expectation, my double!”

While he wondered whether this idea would succeed or not, Bernst was like a starving
man craving for food, he could not suppress his desire for the strong and intense
feelings that came with life.
“It’s here! The red eyed bear’s here!”

In response to his companion’s voice, Kurats started running on the mountain’s road,
which he had grown familiar with.

(―― It’s here! )

It had a huge body at a height of about 5 meters.

Originally, for the remote region’s villagers, it was a brutal monster that they could
only escape from.

It would be fine if the feudal lord’s troops were dispatched to fight together against
the monster, but given his bad financial condition, the feudal lord would choose to
leave the beast as is unless it caused some serious damage.

That was how brutal and redoubtable the red eyed bear was.

In spite of that, Kurats tightly clenched his fist with a smile on his face.

The villagers who had accompanied him were watching over Kurats with their eyes
full of expectations.

Kurats Hans Almadianos.

The young man would only turn 18 this year, yet he had already reached a height of
over two meters and a weight of over 100 kilograms. However, despite his large build,
he jumped forward soundlessly, like a wild feline.

His eyes did not have a hint of fear within them, they were only filled with the joy of
the hunt.

Watching Kurats approach, the red eyed bear thought that a prey had come to him
expressly to be eaten, and the beast drooled with anticipation.
As a human being, Kurats had quite a large build, however, he was as small as a child
when compared to the red eyed bear.

However, Kurats’ speed and strength were completely out of the bear’s expectations.

“――Guh!”

After accelerating and jumping at the monster’s bosom, Kurats pushed his fist towards
it.

A heavy shock ran through the red eyed bear’s abdomen.

And, the next instant, the beast’s body, which weighted several tons, flew in the air as
if gravity had no power over it.

Moreover, Kurats further pursued the flying bear and used his heel to knock it back to
the ground.

The red eyed bear’s internal organs were smashed, and after a moment’s delay, it felt
pain through its whole body.

Even though the beast was not able to understand what had happened, its instincts
naturally allowed it to guess that its life was in danger.

It realized that it was not a prey that had approached it, but it was in fact a human-
shaped monster, which had come to hunt it and to take its life.

“Guooo!”

The beast’s roar, which usually made its preys shudder, had now become a helpless
cry, it somewhat seemed as if it were imploring for its life.

Under the command of its own survival instinct, the red eyed bear used all of its power
to run down the mountain without turning back.

“Hey hey, you’ll reach the base of the mountain if you go that way!”

“It’s normal for strong monsters to react sensibly against a strong opponent, but they
usually aren’t that upfront about it” Added Kurats with a sneer. The bear did not look
like a mighty predator at all now.
But the red eyed bear’s dread did not end there, for it despaired even further when
Kurats came to blocks its way; the beast did not even know when he had caught up to
it.

“Alright, it’s time to stop!”

The small palms of the human’s hands tightly gripped the beast’s forelegs.

The enormous kinetic energy born from the acceleration of the enormous beast’s body
that weighted several tons was stopped very easily by the young man’s arms.

As if it was being attracted by a mighty magnetic force, the beast’s body stopped
moving and was twitching on the spot.

“Guooooooo!”

Believing that something so crazy was completely impossible, the red eyed bear
struggled.

The beast was so heavy that the ground would sink under it when it walked, but no
matter how much power it used, even when it focused all of its body’s strength in its
feet and tried to force itself out of the arms that were holding it, the young man still
did not move in the slightest.

“You’re quite strong. It’s been a while since I last used 30% of my strength like today.”

“Kuuuh”

The red eyed bear let out a nasal sound that sounded as if it had come from a pitiful
puppy.

And then, so as not to wound its precious internal organs, Kurats cautiously drove two
of his fingers inside the beast’s forehead.

Without any resistance, his fingers reached the red eyed bear’s brain, like two wooden
stakes penetrating soil.
And so, the king of the forest was made to go from the hunter’s side to the hunted side.
It released a short scream, muffled in the back of its throat, before it fell down to the
earth, making the ground tremble under its enormous body.

“He’s amazing as always…”

“I can’t believe he even defeated a red eyed bear…”

“Let alone the feudal lord’s soldiers, something like this would be impossible even for
the royal capital’s knights.”

“Rather, there isn’t actually anything left in this forest that can defeat Kurats.”

The young villagers who had witnessed the fight were in admiration of the man’s out
of norm power.

He had subjugated the king of the forest.

Yet another accomplishment was added to his heroic history.

No one knew how he came to have such power despite still being only 18 years old,.

However, when he went out to hunt with his father for at the first time at the age of
seven, he already was above the average hunter.

“This will be a nice souvenir for the village.”

Said Kurats as he lifted the red eyed bear’s pelt with a smile.

The fur was of a quite good quality, he believed it could make a fine rug for his home.

Given that the year’s wheat harvest had not been very good in the Gaura village, the
red eyed bear’s flesh and organs were likely going to be a very welcome extra source
of income.

With their village having obtained some unexpected gains, the young people, who had
been hiding so as to watch the fight, shouted with joy and gathered around the red
eyed bear.

Then, they skillfully extracted the monster’s blood and separated the flesh and organs.
The red eyed bear’s flesh and organs, especially its liver and heart, could be used as
ingredients to make medicinal drugs. Those materials would reap high profits if sold
to the peddlers that would sometimes visit the village.

“We’ll have another safe winter this year!”

After that, Kurats and the others returned to the village triumphantly, but what was
waiting for them there were the gloomy faces of the village’s adults, who were hanging
their heads with shame.

“Village chief! Please look! Just with this red eyed bear, we’ll have a peaceful winter
for sure!”

The village’s young people had no doubt that they would receive words of gratitude in
response.

The amount money earned from selling the bear would be considerable even after
being divided among everyone in the village, so it seemed natural that the villagers
would be permitted to be a little extravagant in the winter.

But, despite hearing such good news, the adults had grave expression on their faces.

“Everyone, what’s going on――”

As Kurats asked that, Ordreik, the village’s chief whose back had started becoming
crooked over the years, suddenly stepped forward in front of him.

“I’m sorry, Kurats. We have to hand over Cornelia to the feudal lord.”

That had come like a bolt out of the blue.

Kurats’ whole body started shaking as he felt a soul-burning anger welling up inside
him.

He was usually gentle, so it was rare to see him reveal his anger like this, but nobody
thought there was anything odd about that.

Because, clearly, his anger was completely justified.

“…So what? Are you telling me to quietly give up my sister to him? Is that what this is
about?”

Kurats tightly bit his lip from the anger, to the point where a line of blood ran down
his chin and fell to the ground.

If this huge man were to go mad, no one in the village would be able to stop him.

The adults who were gathered there could only apologetically lower their heads to try
to make him manage his rage.

“We’d never want to do such a thing… Please tell us if you have another solution, but
if not, then we have no other choice.”

As he said that, Ordreik kneeled down and lowered his head.

Ordreik was already very old, and he was known for his just and fair character. Since
he said that there was no other way, then that surely was the case.

After all, the one responsible for this was the son of earl Hazel, and he was famous for
being tyrannical.

Kurats’ beautiful and lovely elder sister, Cornelia, had unfortunately caught the eye of
the earl’s prodigal son when he happened to pass by the village.

(Maybe I should run away together with her?)

For Kurats, Cornelia was the only family he had left in this world.

Although she was only one year older than him, she had the tolerance of a mother
towards him, but at the same time, Kurats also felt the need to protect her, as if she
was actually younger than him.

And just imagining her being disgraced on the whims of some aristocrat was enough
to push Kurats into an unfathomable anger.

Confident in his success, Kurats was determined to escape right away, but he was
stopped from doing so by none other than Cornelia herself.

“―― Giving my body is a cheap price to pay for both you and the village’s safety,
brother.”
Her pure eyes created a clear atmosphere around her. Moreover, she had finely
chiseled and noble features that made one instinctively want to revere her.

Cornelia was standing in a dignified manner while holding her head high.

There was no hesitation to her words, they were filled with determination, which
conversely made the villagers feel even more guilty.

The siblings had lost their parents at a young age, but they stuck by each other’s side
and they grew up so well in the end, yet they had to suffer such a fate?

Kurats’ sister―― Cornelia, had become a woman with a beauty that anyone would
envy. Wasn’t this period supposed to be the time for her to find happiness?

Ordreik cursed fate itself.

Cornelia was like a daughter to Ordreik, he was desperately unwilling to give her to
some noble who would make her his concubine.

“…Don’t say that so easily, sister… There is no way I could be happy if I have to sacrifice
you for it.”

Said Kurats while desperately preventing his voice from become teary.

“Kurats, think about the village’s people who took care of both of us…!”

After their parents’ deaths, the two siblings started living frantically, and the only
reason that they were able to grow up safely when they were young was because
everyone, starting from the village’s chief, had been helping them from behind the
scenes.

In the first place, a child would not be able to live in any remote village if not for the
community’s help.

Since he understood that, Kurats closed his mouth and cast his eyes downward.

The Gaura village had never been wealthy in the slightest. It would be easily ruined if
the feudal lord were to have a grudge against it and to raise the taxes.

Neither Kurats nor Cornelia would be able to pursue their own happiness if the village
had to be destroyed in the process.

Kurats had never felt as helpless as he was feeling now, it was a torture to him.

He had trained his body more than anyone else so as to become as strong as possible
just for the sake of protecting his sister.

Others referred to him as the ‘mighty Kurats’ and the like; and, let alone the villagers,
he was confident that he would be able to defeat even the kingdom’s knights.

No, in a one-to-one fight, he was confident that not a single person in the world would
be able to defeat him.

However, despite this individual valor of his, he was still powerless when faced with
the authority of the nobles.

Even if he were to take his sister’s hand and to run away from the village, the two of
them did not have any money or relatives; Kurats could not imagine a future where
they would be able to live well under those circumstances.

Despair was dragging Kurats’ spirit to the depths of the abyss.

[Mhm… Don’t give up just yet…]

Suddenly, a voice, which did not seem to really be there, echoed within Kurats’ head,
to his own astonishment.

Kurats figured that his helplessness had ended up making him go mad.

[No, you haven’t gone mad ――Seriously, this is… How can you be this cowardly while
having my blood! I won’t allow this!]

For Bernst, who had always reigned as the greatest and strongest being, Kurats’
weakness was quite irritating.

He was anguishing about some remote region’s noble! He had the same genes as
Bernst, was it because he was brought up in a different environment that he was so
different as a person?

[Well, it’s fine. Now, be obedient and listen to me… if you want to rescue your sister,
that is.]

Despite being confused, Kurats still nodded to this silent voice.

Once he awakened, Bernst started scanning Kurats’ memories to gather information
about his world.

The Laistra continent was composed of many mixed up, small countries, centered
around five large countries.

Gaura was just a poor village located in the territory of earl Hazel within the
Jormugand kingdom, which was one of those five large countries.

This world seemed to have a lower level of civilization than Bernst had expected.

The reason why Kurats was not able to use any spells despite having received Bernst’s
basic attainments in magic was that, in the first place, there was no one who was able
to use magic in this remote region.

So, even though he was Bernst’s alter ego, there was no way he would be able to know
how to do something that he had never been taught.

(To think that he never actually got to see any magic. I made a mistake in my
calculations!)

However, this did not mean that there was no magic in this world since there seemed
to be some court mages in the royal capital.

It just so happened that Kurats was born in a bad place. Bernst could not suppress his
dejection regarding this matter.

Even some third rate mage’s teaching would have been fine. If only Kurats had been
given a chance, his talent would have immediately manifested itself.

Besides, Bernst did not like the fact that his own alter-ego was so weak: “Seriously, for
him to actually be flustered by a trivial matter like this one–!”.

As he extended his awareness around different parts of this world, Bernst was becoming
angry.
If Kurats wanted to protect his sister-in-law, then he should have just done so. He had
been given plenty enough strength for that.

Rather, he should have been strong enough to retaliate to the point of making that
noble regret the day of his own birth.

If he couldn’t do that because it would threaten the safety of his companions in the
village, then he should have just abandoned his sister from the get go.

And if that was not an option either, all he had to do was to obtain the power to protect
the whole village.

Wasn’t that a fitting resolve to have for a young man?

In any case, what Bernst was saying was that Kurats’ actions were half measures, he
wasn’t decisive enough.

However, the fact that Bernst was able to feel such indignation was likely proof that
Kurats’ feelings were indeed being shared with him.

Since the immortal Bernst could annihilate anyone who ever made him feel
displeasure, it was normally impossible for him to feel this kind of irritation and
frustration.

(……Mhm, for the time being, considering that he’s making me recall some of my
former human feelings, this is a success in a way. )

As expected, since this alter-ego had the same genes as him, Bernst had a high sense
of empathy towards him. That meant that sharing Kurats’ feelings was not far away
from actually having some sorts of emotions.

However, why did those emotions have to be so unbearably unpleasant?

Bernst had not come to a whole new world just to taste these kinds of disagreeable
feelings.

The great joy of living! The great uplift that came from fighting a worthy opponent
while gambling each other’s lives, making you instinctively shout and roar to the top
of your lungs!
That feeling of letting your carnal desires roam free when making a beauty your own!
That’s what Bernst actually wanted to taste again!

(I suppose they do say that the bigger the obstacle in your path, the greater the sense
of accomplishment once you get through it…)

The man named Bernst was the gods’ equal. Words like self-control, submission and
surrendering were completely foreign to him.

Saying that Kurats was simply a kind man might have sounded nice but the truth was
that he was simply weak. It was going to be hard for Bernst to resist the temptation of
using his own powers and to stay patient while coexisting with Kurats.

However, if he were to take over Kurats’ virtual personality, then his original purpose
of feeling raw emotions would obviously end up being a failure.

So, although he was quite irritated, Bernst had no other choice than to help Kurats
without intervening directly for the time being.

(…Keep entertaining me, my double! You are the strongest man! You are the successor
of the spirit of Almadianos!)

◆◆◆

Originally, Kurats and Cornelia were not born in this village.

When their father, Kemp, was young, he was apparently a mercenary with quite the
reputation.

As for their mother, her name was Frigg, she was the only daughter of a certain
mercenary who entrusted her to Kemp, who happened to be an old comrade in arms
of his.

After said mercenary died, Kemp ended up having a relationship with that daughter,
perhaps due to fate’s guidance.

“After I die, Rick will probably kill me for this in the next world.”

The siblings’ father used to laugh and say that back when he was still alive.
However, it was not hard to understand why their father had been unable to control
himself and had taken Frigg as his wife.

After all, Frigg possessed a beauty that anyone would envy.

Yet, she also had a cunning and single-minded personnality. In fact, she was the one
who had seduced Kemp, not the other way around.

And Kurats’ sister, Cronelia, had inherited her mother’s beauty.

She had the same graceful limbs with the same smooth curves.

She had the same black hair that sparkled charmingly whenever it got wet.

She had the same fascinating almond eyes that men could not help but be attracted to.

All in all, even if she did not exceed her, she was no inferior to her mother, Frigg, who
had been a matchless beauty.

―― Except, maybe, for Cornelia’s chest area, which was quite lacking, but that was
better not mentioned out loud.

And the most important point was that Kemp and Frigg were not Kurats’ actual parents.

When he was only a baby, Kurats had been entrusted to Kemp on a battlefield by a
strange young woman who has been about to die.

Normally, Kemp would not have taken such a baby, but not only was given a lot of
money for this, he had a mysterious feeling that he should not abandon it.

Moreover, Frigg had apparently been captivated by the sound of the baby’s healthy
laugh.

And so, by some miraculous coincidence, Kurats was welcomed by the family, became
Cornelia’s younger brother, and inherited the family name ‘Almadianos’. That was
certainly the principle of causality at work.

Ever since he had learned about this sorry at the age of 12, Kurats had been holding
an anguish which was rising day by day.
He did not want to hand his sister to any other man.

He wanted to forever live peacefully together with his beautiful sister, as siblings.

Although he was fully aware that that was an unnatural desire, Kurats could not help
himself from feeling that way.

Fortunately, due to the her personality, his sister had never shown interest to any men,
so the two siblings’ peace had never been disturbed, however ―― He never thought
that the worst person possible would fall in love with her at first sight.

“This means that my sister will…”

Kurats was desperately suppressing the taboo feelings that he had managed to keep
hidden within him for such a long time.

[―― When it comes to these kinds of opponents, all you have to do is kill them. What
are you hesitating for?]

Said Bernst matter-of-factly, as he knew how much power was isolated within Kurats.

“There is no way I could do that! And even if I could, do you how much trouble that
would bring to everyone in the village…?”

[You’ve grown up in a seriously troublesome way. Was it because I was too confident
in my genes or because I made light of the influence your environment would have
over you?… Either way, I just can’t allow this!]

“Why in the world are you possessing me? Are you a ghost? A demon?”

Bernst replied while sulking, with a voice that made it seem like he was really ofended.

[I’ll be bothered if you start comparing me to these sorts of puny things. I’m the
Dolmond’s world magic king, I’m another you from a different world.]

Of course, Bernst had no intention to speak the entire truth.

Even if Bernst told Kurats that he was a being made just for the sake of his play, it was
quite possible that he would not believe him. Even if he did believe him, Bernst would
be troubled on the off chance that Kurats would end up killing himself because of that.
“…That sounds like something that came straight out of dream, but for some reason, I
can believe you when you say that you’re another me…”

Kurats did not acknowledge this fact due to reason or to Bernst’ words, rather, it was
due to the unique feeling that came from sharing the same soul with him.

Just like Bernst was sharing Kurats’ human emotions, Kurats was also sensing Bernst’s
thoughts, which had reached a beyond-human balance.

But, as one would expect, it was impossible for him to read said thoughts in detail…

This was quite fortunate for Bernst, who had been prepared to have a hard time
convincing Kurats.

[As I said, in that other world, I’m the magic king, a god’s equal… Honestly, with only
one hand, I could scatter about all the forces of a rural area’s earl like this one. You
should be able to do that too, if you put your mind to it. ]

Kurats was Bernst’s alter-ego. As long as he was given a chance, there was no doubt
that he would become one of the top mages of the present age, without needing any
special training.

If Bernst had been in Kurats’ position, he would have been able remove every obstacle
in his way, be it directly or indirectly, by merely using Kurats’ current power.

“…That’s crazy talk. Even if I’m able to repel the earl’s forces, the kingdom won’t stay
silent, and they can ruin the village just by blocking the main road that leads to it.”

Kurats knew all too well how poor were the people living in his remote village.

Had he been the only one concerned by the situation, Kurats would not have been that
much troubled.

As said before, Kurats was convinced that he was capable enough to take on anyone in
the world.

So it would not have been impossible for him to take his sister and break through the
country’s borders.

The truth was that he had been determined to do it for a short time, and he likely
would have actually done it if not for his sister’s opposition.

[…But protecting all of those villagers and whatnot is pointless to you if it means that
you can’t save that all important sister of yours, isn’t that right?]

Bernst’ cynical words pierced right through Kurats’ vitals.

He was right.

Although Kurats was fully aware that this was an inhuman line of thought, the village’s
fate really did not have any value to him when compared to saving his sister.

The problem was that his sister, with her single-minded personality, would never
allow him to ignore them.

“I’ll just bear with my shame and ask you… Is there any method to save both my sister
and the village?”
Kurats was never the the type of man who would come up with a plan.

His nature was to break through his problems from the front, using only his strength
and endurance.

The same applied to Bernst ever since he had obtained a god-like power, however, in
the days when he was still an adventurer, he had experienced many situations that he
was not able to solve through using brute strength.

Back when Bernst was still learning and training, there were people who had used
their authority and influence to pressure him into compromising.

[Since you can’t fight him upfront, then you have no other choice than to appeal to
someone who’s even more influential than the earl. There should be no shortage of
people who’ll do anything to share in on an out-of-norm power like mine.]

“Well, there are aristocrats looking for power in every corner of the country, but…”

The problem was that there was no time.

Even if he were to find someone to collaborate with, it would be pointless if his sister
was already taken away by then. He did not have the time to introduce himself to some
nobles and to leisurely build a connection with them.

[For example, you could join a gladiator competition… or maybe save a young noble
lady secluded in her room due to some incurable illness. Also, you don’t have to
consider the time you’ll lose on the road, we can move instantaneously using my
transportation technique.]

Hearing Bernst’s words, Kurats had a flash of insight.

The first thing he recalled was the grape month’s tournament; winning this
competition was as great of an objective as becoming a knight of the kingdom.

However, he would need to wait half a year before the start of the tournament.
It was actually Bernst’s second suggestion, the one about the incurable illness, that
seemed the most achievable.

The second princess princess of the Jormugand kingdom, Lunaria Heinz Von
Jormugand, was currently ill in bed due to a disease of unknown cause. She had been
sick for nearly half a year, without any hopes of recovery coming up.

Kurats recalled that, in his anger, the king had declared that anyone who could make
the princess recover completely would be given any reward they wish for.

[I see, that’s convenient. Since she’s an actual princess, saving her will be more than
enough.]

[We’re going to transfer to the royal capital! Prepare yourself.]

Said Bernst casually to Kurats.

“Save her? H-how am I supposed to do that?! Wait, rather, what do you even mean by
‘transfer’?”

From the start, Kurats did not even know the concept of using magic.

In this poor, remote village, there was no opportunity to see magic in action, Kurats
had only heard rumors about magic from his parents, who used to be mercenaries.

[Ugh! I won’t allow you to be this ignorant while bearing the blood of a magic king like
myself! Anyway, this technique is not that difficult. First, you have to picture lights
gathering around your forehead.]

In response to Bernst’s displeased words, Kurats obediently closed his reddish brown
eyes, and focused his consciousness on his forehead.

This concentration method was not exclusive to magic spells, it was also a very basic
technique that was often used when training in fencing.

So, even Kurats, who had never trained his magic and had only trained his physical
strength ever since he was young, was familiar with the concentration technique that
Bernst had described.

The white light felt like it was mirroring his soul and submerging his body in water…
Kurats sensed it gradually becoming brighter at the center of his forehead.

[I see, as expected, you’re a fast learner… Now, keep concentrating and think of a
scenery that you’re familiar with within the royal capital. And then, imagine yourself
standing there.]

Seeing the tranquil and powerful mana that did not seem like it came from someone
who had never used magic before, Bernst nodded his head in satisfaction.

‘That’s right, that’s how it should be. Those bearing the name Almadianos cannot
possibly be weak… Still, it’s pretty frustrating that I can’t use my own techniques
myself’ Thought Bernst with a wry smile while feeling more irritated about the
situation than he had expected.

While Bernst was thinking about such things, Kurats’ magic power, which had been
building up, was reaching saturation.

[…Good, imagine your magical power bursting like a bubble!! Now, jump forward and
repeat after me!]

Coming from Bernst, a huge amount of knowledge and images flowed inside the brain
of Kurats.

That fantastic knowledge should have caused an a enormous burden on Kurat’s brain,
however, he was actually calm, to the point of surprising even himself, as he spoke a
spell’s chant.

[Port!]

“Port!”

Instantaneously, there was a white flash that seemed like it was covering the world in
front of Kurats’ eyes, and before he realized it, he was stepping on the familiar stone
pavement of the royal capital.

(This magic was done by me?!)

This instantaneous effect was nothing like what he had heard about from his parents,
Kurats could not suppress his astonishment as he felt a chill run down his spine.
Even court mages, who were the best mages of the kingdom, would have a hard time
using such an advanced technique.

Moreover, the one who had used this spell was none other than Kurats himself, which
made the matter even more astonishing to him.

He was not proud of this, but he was completely clueless when it came to magic, and
yet, by simply following Bernst’s advice, Kurats was now able to directly feel the mana
circulating inside his body.

From now on, he would be able to use the spell without the assistance of Bernst.

[Do you really have the time to be stuck in a daze like this?]

Thanks to Bernst’s words of ridicule, Kurats came back to his senses and immediately
rushed towards the guild, which should have been located around the entrance of the
royal castle.

There were probably less than three days left before his sister would get taken away.

There was not a second to waste. Kurats had to gain the power to oppose earl Hazel
as soon as possible.

“If I remember right, the reception should be around here…”

It had been around three years since the last time Kurats had come here.

He had not forgotten the excitement that he felt the first time he saw the capital when
he came there with his father, but it seemed like the streets had slightly changed in the
last few years.

In a way, it felt like people had a harsher atmosphere to them, which was perhaps due
to their kingdom’s princess having caught an illness of unknown cause.

Although he was guiding himself with his old memories, Kurats still somehow found
his way without getting lost, and spotted the impressive red roof of the old guild’s
quarters.

The guild’s counter had been quiet for quite some time today.
That was likely because there were only few adventurers looking for requests since it
was already afternoon.

Even so, there were about a dozen armed adventurers carefully checking out the
bulletin board where the requests were displayed.

Having no use for that bulletin board, Kurats directly stepped towards the guild’s
receptionist, who was sitting with a business smile on her face.

“…Sorry, is it still possible to take the request to treat the princess’ illness?”

“Huuuh?”

The receptionist, Hilda, whose cute smile was famous among adventurers,
unintentionally let her confusion escape from her mouth due to the young man’s
words that did not match his stature at all.

However, that was understandable.

Although he was a ‘young man’, he was over two meters (6’7) tall. He had an incredibly
imposing body, with a weight of no less than 100kg (220 lbs).

His bulging muscles were splendidly built, as if he was an experienced warrior.

Hilda did not recognize the young man, but when she saw him, she had been convinced
that he was an adventurer who was here to take a subjugation request.

“M-my apologies. What I meant was that the request to treat the disease of her
highness the princess has not been withdrawn yet.”

Hilda barely managed to speak that reply, but she still did not understand why a young
man, who was clearly more suited for manual labor, was getting himself involved with
such a high-level request.

Even if he was doing it as a joke, the target of the request was the princess of the
country.

She was not someone he could just try his luck with, nor could he feed her some
nonsense about using willpower or the like to heal herself.
If he were to somehow worsen the princess’ condition while treating her, it was very
possible that he would be decapitated on the spot.

And this was no mere conjecture, for it had actually happened to one of the royal
palace’s doctors, who had failed to cure the princess despite bragging about his skills
beforehand.

After that incident, the number of people trying to cure the princess had drastically
decreased.

“Then, I’d like to urgently relay what I’m going to tell you to the royal palace. My name
is Kurats・Hans・Almadianos… and I’m a mage.”

“Whaaat?!”

As the guild’s receptionist, Hilda was hardly ever flustered, however, Kurats’ line made
her unintentionally shout.

Was this what they meant when they said not to judge people by their appearance?

Hilda was at a loss for words as she once again looked at Kurats’ stunning physique
and young-looking yet graceful facial features.

Hilda figured that this could be her own prejudice, but from her experience, most
mages were slim and had gloomy features. However, this was indeed a prejudice, for
there were more than a few muscular mages in the world.

And technically, this sort of common sense did not apply here since Kurats’ magic was
not the same kind as the magic that was commonly known, but Hilda did not know
about such things at all.

In any case, these matters were beyond the reach of a receptionist like herself.

“Please wait for a while… I will go get the castle’s confirmation.”

Since there were no healers or doctors showing up to take the request, the guild was
being pressured by the royal palace to quickly find someone qualified for it.

So the truth was that the guild would really appreciate it if the request was taken by
Kurats.
That is, provided that he would not make too big of a mistake.

As he wondered if a commoner with no background like him would really be able to

enter the royal palace, Kurats was becoming more anxious in his mind, although he
did not let that show on his face.

This whole plan was based on the premise that Bernst’s advanced magic would be
able to safely save the princess from her disease.

However, if that prerequisite was not met, then the plan would be impossible to
execute.

[Don’t be so afraid… Did you not see that woman’s face? She was clearly relieved,
wasn’t she?… I’m guessing everyone else has already given up on this request, and it
has probably been a while since anybody presented himself to take it.]

Bernst’s guess was right on the mark.

“Hey, look, I’ll say it for you own good, you should this give up. You’re still young, you
don’t want to pointlessly throw away your life, right?”

One of the adventurers, who had heard the conversation between Hilda and Kurats,
stood up and came to talk to him.

This man was acquainted with another adventurer who had failed to complete the
request and was banished from the kingdom as a result.

And, in this man’s eyes, Kurats absolutely did not seem like he was more competent
than that veteran adventurer.

“Thank you for worrying. But, even though I don’t look like it, I do have my chances of
succeeding.”

Looking at the eyes of Kurats, who had a natural smile on his face, the adventurer
changed his assessment of him.

He could tell that Kurats was neither boasting nor bluffing.

So, was this young man greatly deluded, or was he truly capable enough to back up his
words?
“Well, if you say so, then I won’t stop you. Also, you don’t have to do it but if you don’t
mind, can you show me some of your magic?”

“Well, I guess I can―― How about this?”

The moment Kurats said that, his body appeared behind the adventurer.

Teleportation ―― This was not a type of magic that could be used casually without
borrowing the power of a magic formation.

If Kurats was also competent in hand-to-hand combat, that would mean that he would
have certainly been able to take the adventurer’s ilfe just now.

With a cold sweat, the man gulped down his saliva, as he was now convinced that
Kurats was no average mage.

“…I am Martin Harding. I have a bit of influence in the guild, so don’t hesitate to come
to me if you meet with any trouble.”

Martin the hero had acknowledged a newcomer; the whole guild became noisy as this
astonishing information was being spread.

Several adventurers, who knew of Martin’s excellent eye for people, stood up to get to
know Kurats, but at that moment…

“…Sir Kurats Hans Almadianos! I’m sorry to have kept you waiting!”

Having contacted the castle, Hilda had corrected her atmosphere and respectfully
bowed towards Kurats.

Although Kurats was perplexed by her sudden change in attitude, Bernst was not
perturbed, as he had figured the reason for this change.

This was likely because, when the country was about to give up on saving the princess,
some completely unknown magician appeared out of nowhere to save her life, so, in
their desperation, the castle’s people were tightly grabbing onto this last hope, and
they had therefore asked Hilda to be careful and courteous towards him.

It seemed like the princess was in quite the critical state. Even so, the more dangerous
this was, the more gratitude Kurats would get in return for saving her.
“I’ve been told to notify you to quickly go to the castle. Someone will come to guide
you there immediately. ““
Before long, a well-dressed man on top of a horse came galloping towards Kurats. He
was likely a knight of the royal palace.

“He’s huge…”

Said the knight with a click of his tongue as he saw Kurats’ big body.

He was planning to make Kurats hop on the horse’s backside and then return to the
castle, but he was now realizing that if he did that, the horse would surely end up be
being crushed and injured under Kurats’ weight. There was no such thing as a knight
who would not worry about his personal horse. Moreover, if his horse was rendered
useless due to an injury, he would have no other choice than to kill it.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to follow after you…”

“Then I’ll take you at your word, we have to go to the castle as fast as possible!”

Kurats braced himself as it seemed like he was going to be introduced to a quite high-
ranked person.

“I accept, of course. But I prefer running rather than going on horse, it’ll be faster that
way.”

“―― What did he just say?” Those were the exact words that went through the knight’s
mind.

However, Kurats did not have the time to take the man’s feelings in consideration. It
was meaningless to start arguing with him.

“Let’s hurry up. Won’t you anger your superiors if you take too much time?”

“J-just know that If you’re lying about your capabilities, you won’t get away with it!”

While still half in doubt, the knight jumped on his horse.

He then started galloping at a steady pace, but when he looked back, Kurats was
behind him, chasing after the horse with a nonchalant expression on his face.

“It’s fine, go as fast as you can, you don’t have to hold your horse back for me.”

“I, I know!”

The knight hurried up, going even faster, but even so, Kurats was still sprinting right
behind him, without a change in his expression.

Witnessing that surreal scene, the hero Martin, who had stayed in the guild’s quarters,
muttered in amazement.

“Can mages run faster than horses nowadays…?”

(―― It seems like, until today, he has been using body strengthening magic on himself
without noticing it.)

Bernst accurately analyzed Kurats’ abnormal stamina.

Kurats had probably been unconsciously using body strengthening magic while
training his body for many years, therefore granting himself these physical abilities
that were far beyond normal humans.

Perhaps Kurats’ high talent for magic had reacted to his desires and had affected his
body, albeit not perfectly.

“Seriously, and yet he’s so bad with the other types of magic. Well, these types of
physical capabilities aren’t worthless, but they don’t fit a magic king’s style, or rather,
they’re not elegant enough.” Thought Bernst in displeasure.

Without realizing what Bernst was thinking, Kurats pleasantly kept running at the
same pace as the horse that was going at full speed.

For quite a while after these events, there were rumors in the royal capital about
sightings of a ghost running at the same speed as a horse.
 ◆◆◆

Once the two men reached the castle’s gate, Kurats was entrusted to another knight,
who directly guided him towards the center of the royal palace, without giving him
any time to rest.

“…His majesty the king is the one who will question you. You must not be careless with
your words.”

“I’ll bear that in mind.”

Kurats would have never expected that the king himself would be the one waiting for
him, but he would have had to meet him eventually anyway to accomplish his own
goal.

Kurats took a deep breath, and opened the huge door in front of him.

“I, Kurats Hans Almadianos, am honored to be in the presence of his majesty, and even
more honored to have been called by you.”

“Good, you’ve come.”

King Christopher Heinz Von Jormungand looked down at Kurats with a deep wrinkle
in his brow.

“You are the mage who is here to cure Lunaria?”

As he gazed at Kurats to assess him, the king’s eyes were full of a bitterness that was
not fitting of the leader of a country.

He might have been the king, but when it came to his daughter, he was nothing more
than a father.

The king’s expression was equally divided between hope and a deep anguish, and after
he fixed his eyes on Kurats for a little while, his disappointment and despair seemed
to slightly take over.

“How old are you?”

“I am 18 this year.”
“Who in the world did you study under?”

“I was taught everything by my mother…”

“What is your mother’s name?”

“It is Frigg Hans Almadianos, your majesty.”

“―― I’ve never heard of her.”

This week, Lunaria’s condition had been rapidly deteriorating.

The royal palace’s court doctor had bitterly diagnosed that she would not survive for
more than a month.

Nevertheless, the king still wondered, was it really fine to entrust his daughter to some
unknown 18 year old boy?

“Are you prepared to deal with the consequences in case Lunaria dies at your hands?”

“He’s deeply mistaken if he thinks that he’ll able to return without taking the blame if
anything happens. No matter the method of execution, I won’t let him make it out of
here alive.” Thought the king.

Although Christopher knew that this was unreasonable of him, he was still determined
to do it.

It was perfectly fine to be unreasonable for those who had power. Those were the rules
governing this wicked world.

“Naturally, your majesty… However, if I successfully cure her, then I’ll have a certain
request, if I may be so bold.”

The king barely gave a passing mark for the words of Kurats, who turned out to be
more dignified and confident than he had thought.

It did not seem that his words were baseless or that he was saying this just for show.

“Should I gamble on this man…?” Wondered the king.

“I accept, I’ll listen to your request. However, we’ll talk about that only after you’re
done curing Lunaria, if you manage to do it.”

“…I am very grateful.”

“―― Although I went and said that, are you sure this will be okay?”

The truth was that Kurats was not as calm as he looked.

Although he had responded with a polite tone because he had been told to do so by
Bernst, Kurats felt shivers by just thinking of what would have happened if he had
faced the king alone.

And though Kurats had somehow gotten the king to let him examine the princess, was
he really going to be able to treat her illness?

From the look of things, it seemed like the king had been hinting that he would
immediately order a death penalty if the princess were to die, and that made Kurats
quite anxious.

Bernst would be able to turn a kingdom like this one into a vacant land with a single
hand, but Kurats was just an ordinary young man who had inherited Bernst’s most
basic attainments in magic.

Kurats’ magic was more than a million times weaker than Bernst’s. On top of that, he
could only use his physical abilities, and he did not even have any established fencing
techniques.

[If there is nothing that can be done about her situation, then we can just escape by
transferring our of here, but still… how dare you doubt the capabilities of a magic
king?! Unacceptable!]

Bernst did not appreciate that the abilities of a magic king like himself were being
taken lightly.

[Do you seriously think I can’t even cure a mere disease? I am Bernst George Von
Almadianos, a god-like being who has even transcended death itself! ]
 ◆◆◆

Although half a year had already passed since the second princess Lunaria had fallen
ill, the unmoving and beautiful face that she had inherited from her mother was barely
affected.

This was why her disease was considered to be strange.

At first glance, it did not seem like the was anything wrong with her body’s condition,
but she had been suffering from a continuous light fever and repeated comas, with her
life force gradually lowering with time.

At the start, she had been examined to see if she was cursed by someone, but no such
magic anomaly was perceived around her body.

However, lately, the princess had been spending most of her time in a comatose state,
and her life force had reached dangerous lows.

[……This is going to be amusing.]

Muttered Bernst with interest, after a single glance at Lunaria.

“You’ve figured this out already?!”

[But were this country’s mages really not able to see through this? Unacceptable!]

Said Bernst with a sneer as he realized the true nature of the princess’ nasty disease.

But he could see how, indeed, this was not something that a mere doctor, who was not
a mage, could cure.

The princess had a tender, and white porcelain-like skin, plump lips, long eyelashes,
and her hair was akin to a stream of gold, but as he looked at the her unique and
beautiful appearance, Bernst only had a complacent smile on his face.

[There seems to be more to this matter than I expected…]

Bernst was feeling something that he hadn’t felt for a long time, and he was unable to
suppress his delight.
This matter was surrounded by a very sweet and thick smell, the smell of conspiracy.

“This is a great development! The sorts of scum that would do this are extremely
satisfying to crush down!”

As Bernst was thinking that, Kurats grew impatient and asked him.

“…So… Bernst… What’s the princess suffering from in the end?”

For Kurats, failing to cure her would mean losing his own life. So it was only natural
for him to be worried.

Having been cut off from his good mood, Bernst felt quite displeased and he answered
Kyle with a snort.

[How shameful. You can’t perceive that there is something strange about her mana?]

“Yeah, and how am I supposed to know what’s causing that?!”

[If you can’t even see through something of this level, I don’t even want to think of how
you’ll handle yourself in the future.]

Perhaps it made sense for this world’s mages to have a hard time noticing the magic
anomaly since it had been fairly well camouflaged.

However, for Bernst, a camouflage of this level was nothing more than a child’s trick,
he easily noticed that there was an organic life form inside the princess’ womb.

The problem was that Kurats was far too inexperienced to reach that conclusion.

“I-In her womb?!”

When Bernst straightforwardly told him about the situation, Kurats spontaneously
blushed, like an adolescent in puberty.

He felt like that word was too raw to use it when speaking about the princess.

[Naturally, I don’t mean that the princess is pregnant. It’s just that there is a monster
inside her. ]
“―― A monster?”

Monsters were humanity’s natural enemies.

The red eyed bear that Kurats had fought was only one type of such creatures, but in
the areas that were out of humanity’s rule, monsters were actually the ones in control.

However, even in Kurats’ village, there was no more than one victim from monsters
every few years.

But, at any rate, that only concerned the people living in remote regions where the
monsters were not taken care of by the country, as for the princess, she hardly ever
left the royal capital, and yet a monster had still somehow entered her body, which
meant…

“Is there someone who wants the princess out of the picture?”

[That’s right. Otherwise, how could such a weak monster stick to her?]

This parasite monster’s ability to hide itself from its host was first-class, but in its
original state, it was so weak that even a child could kill it. There was no doubt that
someone had brought it to the princess from somewhere else.

Even the royal court’s doctors would be afraid of examining the genitals of the
marriageable princess without finding any positive proof beforehand. That was likely
one of the reasons why they had failed to discover the cause behind her sickness.

This monster was quite the nasty creature.

[Well, we’ll look into that later. For now, you have to save this girl. ]
Since this was a conspiracy, that likely that meant there would be some people who
would bring about some trouble if the princess was saved, but that was also a success
in a way.

Bernst had no intention of ending things after merely taking care of some remote
village’s feudal lord.

Regardless of Kurats’ personal intentions, Bernst was determined to send him into a
lifetime of thrill and excitement.

[You could just kill the monster as is, but I want you to keep it as evidence. I guess you
could make it sleep and then user the transfer spell on it…]

“Hold on. I can transfer myself but there is no way I could transfer an other living
being.”

[Whaaaat?! In that case, maybe you could change the parasite’s molecular structure
and remove it directly?]

“You only sent me the knowledge about how to do it, there is no way I could put that
into practice!”

[So that means you can’t even use multi-layered thinking and high-level techniques?!
Unacceptable!]

“Don’t ask for the impossible, today was my first time using magic, remember?”

[To think that my own alter ego’s brain muscles have been tainted to this degree…
You’re completely useless!]

Since Kurats’ consciousness was now lined with Bernst’s, there was no doubt that he
had inherited knowledge of the most powerful magic spells.

However, even if he had that knowledge and understood, whether he could put it in
practice or not was naturally a whole other story.
In the first place, it was indispensable to be able to use multi-layered thinking in order
to be able to use multiple spells at once, but Kurats could not even do that.

Since Bernst could do everything without having to think about it twice, he had
forgotten about these kinds of obvious matters.

[This is problematic…]

At present, it seemed like using two beginner spells at the same time would be Kurats
very limit.

“Since he can’t layer his thoughts, I guess I’ll have to think about the best method to
use.” Thought Bernst.

However, given the circumstances, just how far away was Bernst’s wish of having
Kurats use overwhelming magic and the like?

[You’re going to do some intensive training! You hear me? Intensive training!]

As Bernst shouted that like some sort of demonic sports coach, Kurats wiped his
forehead out of shock.

“Alright, I get it… but let’s take care of the princess first…”

[Regarding that, there is nothing to worry about on my part, this will be fine as long
as you don’t mess up!]

Unlike attack magic, which could be spread and scattered, healing magic required to
be delicately controlled.

Even if Bernst could do that intuitively, he figured it would be too difficult for Kurats
to do the same here, so this was not an option.

“Why is my own alter ego not even able to control his ow, techniques?” Thought Bernst
with an unreasonable feeling of anger.

[Since you can’t stop transfer it… I guess you’ll first need to use a clairvoyance
perception spell to find it. After that, you’ll be able physically do an incision and to use
a spell to fix her condition, as for healing… Wait, you didn’t bring the tools to do an
incision so…]
“Why would you need tools to do an incision?”

[Huh? You mean that you’re confident in using the Water Cutter technique to do a
surgical operation?]

If Kurats really had such an advanced control over his power, then that meant he
would be able to use other types of techniques.

However, Kurats’ answer went completely against Bernst’s expectations.

“What? Wouldn’t you normally use your hand as a sword to cut through flesh?”

[Normally? How is that normal?!]

Was Kurats that much of a musclebrain?

He had calmly declared that he could slice through human skin and muscle tissues by
using his hand only.

In Bernst’s Dolmond world, first-class martial artists could indeed cut through their
opponents with their bare hands by circulating their vital force through them.

However, there was nobody who could use that talent carefully enough in order to be
able to use it as a substitute for a scalpel.

This feat was only possible due tor the Kurats’ overflowing magic which had been
dedicated to strengthening his body for a long time.

[…I can’t believe that your magic pulse has actually fused with your muscles…]

Bernst once again realized how abnormal Kurats really was.

After years of training his body, the path of his mana, his magic pulse, had finally
penetrated every single corner of his muscles.

This was extraordinary, but as a magic king, Bernst could not help but feel like it was
not good enough, because it was not beautiful.

[Alright, we have not other choice so, first, use your clairvoyance to find the monster,
and use an electric shock to neutralize it. ]
“Got it.”

Kurats used his perception spell and once again looked at Lunaria.

Certainly, in Lunaria’s womb, there was a certain spot where her mana was mysteriously
vanishing.

It was most likely by absorbing her mana like this that the monster had managed to
escape from the royal mages’ clairvoyance spell.

The reason Kurats was able to discover it was thanks to the high accuracy of the
otherworldly technique that Bernst had proudly shared with him.

“‘Paralyze’ ““

Kurats carefully sent an electric shock to the parasite, while making sure not to kill it,
and the creature bent its head backward as it stopped moving.

“Well, now comes the real thing…”

Kurats once again focused in front of Lunaria’s abdomen.

It was absolutely beautiful. She had a youthful skin which was full of vitality.

Perhaps it was because Kurats was at the peak of his youth, but when he looked at her
radiating, fascinating skin, he could not bring himself to imagine that there was
monster absorbing her mana to the point of putting her on the brink of death.

Kurats suddenly remembered of Corenlia’s white body that he had seen when he was
younger, but he shook his head to get that thought out of his mind.

[Will you focus already?!]

“My bad.”

Kurats concentrated his mind on the tip of his finger. For Kurats, this was an ordinary
technique which he had been using on a daily basis.

Some crimson blood started coming out of Lunaria’s white skin, like it had been sliced
by a sharp knife.
[You need to use your fix spell on her or she’ll die of blood loss.]

“I know! ‘Fix’ !”

His experience of dismantling his hunting spoils on the spot when running about on
the mountain was coming to use here.

Although it was Kurats’ first time ever seeing human organs, he did not affect nor
damage them as he tried to catch the parasite inside Lunaria’s womb.

“And… here it is. To think that a monster could look like such a small insect…”

Kurats picked up the monster prudently in order not to kill it. It was shaped like a
small insect of about 5 centimeters (2 inches).

For the time being, Kurats threw it into a water jug nearby and he once again
concentrated his mind.

“‘Full healing’ !”

As he used the spell, the dreadful cut on Lunaria’s abdomen was going through a rapid
cellular regeneration as if time was rewinding itself.

To cause such a cellular regeneration, a court mage would have needed over ten
helpers to supply him with their mana, but thanks to Kurats’ extraordinary reserve of
mana, using the spell did not make him feel any big burden on his body.

But, of course, he also had the help of Bernst, who was giving him advice.

In only a few minutes, Lunaria’s body had regained its flawless beauty.

[―― This is bad. ]

“What’s going on?”

Confused, Kurats tilted his head in response to Bernst’s words that seemed quite
serious.

Kurats himself was quite astonished by how satisfying the results had ended up being,
which only served to make Bernst’s words all the more confusing to him.
[She seems to have exhausted more vitality than expected… The way things are, she
won’t survive for more than five minutes.]

“W-w-what are we going to do?!”

[All you have to do is replenish her vitality! Stop getting flustered over things like this!
]

Bernst sharply scolded Kurats, who was panicking.

Although Bernst knew there was no going around it, he could not help himself from
being irritated by Kurats’ inexperience.

“H-how do I replenish it?”

[Well, the best method would probably be to do it through contact with the mucous
membrane… But that won’t do since it would be akin to abusing her. So you have to
pour your vitality into her through lip contact!]

“T-the lips?”

As an inexperienced young man who had never even kissed anyone, Kurats was
bewildered.

And as he was considering following Bernst’s advice, for some reason, Kurats could
distinctly picture his sister contemptuously looking at him as if she was looking at a
worm.

[If you don’t hurry she’s probably going to die.]

“I get it! I’ll just do it damn it!”

Lunaria’s consciousness was on the verge of being swallowed by a darkness that was
akin to a bottomless swamp.

Her awareness was instinctively able to guess that this darkness was death itself.

Therefore, the moment she would be swallowed by the darkness, that would spell the
end of her life.
While she was exposed to the freezing coldness emanating from that void, she
instinctively hugged herself with her arms.

“I don’t want to die…”

The princess could not help but feel like it was unfair for her to die as a maiden who
had never experienced love.

But she still cherished the days she had spent dedicating her time to learning and
training in order to become a martial artist, as unfitting of a goal as that might have
been considered for a lady.

She felt it was too regrettable to simply yield in to some disease even though she had
yet to even reach her teacher’s feet.

“Somebody, somebody save me…”

“I cannot get through this hopeless situation through my own power” Thinking so,
Lunaria stretched her right arm towards the empty space in front of her, seeking for
someone’s help, anyone’s.

―― And at that moment…

A large rugged hand, that seemed like it belonged to one of the titans that legends
spoke of, gently wrapped Lunaria’s supple and thin fingertips.

(I am being saved! )

A warm sensation was transmitted to the princess through that large hand while she
clung onto it in her daze. It was giving her a sense of security, like it could protect her
from any difficulties.

As she used both of her arms to cling to the hand and embraced it with all of her body,
a young person’s face came into her view, but she could not distinguish it well due to
it being wrapped by light.

Lunaria felt relieved from the bottom of her heart, for that person made her feel an
unconditional sense of security; he made her feel like all she needed to be rescued
from her plight was to leave everything to him.
(It’s this person! This person is my ―― )

At that moment, Lunaria was suddenly invaded by an unbearable feeling of yearning,

and she gave her lips to that young stranger.

――’It’s so warm’.

She unconsciously swallowed some of the warm magic power that was coming to her
through her lips, as if she was drinking the finest of nectars.

That small amount alone was enough to warm her chest and to make her feel like her
mind was melting.

Wanting even more of that magic power, Lunaria started stretching her tongue to
reach the warm nectar.

She was able to feel how agitated and bewildered the person in front of her was as she
entwined her tongue with his. And at the same time, her muddled thoughts were
gradually becoming clearer and clearer.

‘This strong sense of security that I’m feeling has to come from a man. But, in that case,
then who is he… and why in the world am I entwining my tongue with his?’
Lunaria’s big eyes were wide open.

The man’s face was so close to her that it was entirely covering her field of view.

Moreover, their tongues were still entwined and burning hot.

“N-noooooo!”

Lunaria used all of her body’s power to push the man’s chest, but her slender arms
were not able to move his large body.

“Did you come back to consciousness, your highness?”

Saying that, the man slowly separated himself from Lunaria, showing her a smile of
pure relief.

“There is no need to worry anymore, princess Lunaria. How are you feeling?”

“Huh?”

Only after Kurats said those words did Lunaria notice that that washed-out feeling
which been haunting her, and that feeling of despair which come from losing her life-
force, were both completely gone.

She wondered, how long had it been since she had last felt this refreshed?

“―― Did you cure me?”

Forgetting about the kiss from earlier, Lunaria looked at the man with great delight.

His extraordinarily big body was refreshing to look at, like seeing a lone large tree in
an empty prairie.

And while he couldn’t be said to be the handsome type, he still had good features, and
his eyes were filled with a tranquility that had captivated Lunaria at first sight.
Lunaria was confident that this man was the real source of the sense of security which
she had felt before waking up.

“Although I did what I did earlier because your vitality was dangerously lacking, it was
still due to my own lack of ability. I deeply apologize.”

“Earlier… Ah!”

As she said that word, Lunaria finally processed the fact that she had been kissed a
little while ago.

Lunaria’s face became boiling red as she recalled the sensation of putting her warm
tongue through those lips to reach that mysterious and sweet saliva.

Moreover, she recalled how ever since she was a child, she wished to have her first
kiss with her husband after marriage.

(So this means that this person… No, wait! What in the world am I thinking?!)

“―― T-there is no helping it since you did it for the sake of curing me. So, what is your
name? I’d like to know how I should address my savior.”

“I am Kurats Hans Almadianos. Moreover, you have no need to worry about any after
effects, so let’s go show the king how healthy you’ve become, if you don’t mind.”

“Excellent! Then, Kurats, lead the way! And from here on out, it’s fine to call me Luna
when we’re alone.”

Lunaria stood up with a cheerful laugh.

This cheerful and bright personality was Lunaria’s charm, it was the trait that sustained
her popularity.

Experiencing a womanly charm different from that of Cornelia, Kurats barely managed
to keep his facial expression from falling apart.

Since he had the initiative, he could not allow himself to be put at a psychological
disadvantage right now.

“Then, please take my hand, your highness Luna.”

Of course, Kurats would not be able to spontaneously treat a woman like this.

The truth was that Kurats’ lines were not even his own, he was merely repeating the
words that Bernst was scripting for him.

However, he was not just repeating those words in a monotone, on the contrary, it
seemed like he might actually be surprisingly talented when it came to acting, but even
so…

(This is going to be terrible, isn’t it…)

Bernst sighed deeply as he worried about his alter ego’s future.

◆◆◆

“―― Father!”

Seeing his daughter with a good complexion and a healthy appearance for the first
time in a long while, Christopher stood up with a feeling of great relief.

“Ooh! Lunaria! You can already stand?”

Lunaria was one of Christopher’s only two children.

While Lunaria was the popular one due to her innocent and cheerful personality, she
also had a less popular elder sister, Felbel, who was more reserved.

But Christopher doted on both of them, and they were the apples of his eyes.

Therefore, one could only guess how deeply chagrined he had been from seeing his
daughter lose her vitality day by day for unknown reasons.

His heart was slowly being crushed as he was resigning himself to the fact that he
might never be able to see her in a healthy condition again.

But now, as he looked at Lunaria’s face while hugging her, all of those worries were
completely wiped away.

“Thank goodness―― thank goodness you managed to recover safely, Lunaria”

“No, Father… This would not have been possible if not for mister Kurats’ treatment.”

When Lunaria said so, Christopher finally noticed Kurats, who was standing three
steps behind while watching over the scene pleasantly.

It seemed like he was being considerate so as not to interrupt the father and daughter
who were hugging each other.

“You did a splendid work. As a father, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

“It is my pleasure to have been able to help.”

Kurats had been under the threat of being decapitated in case of a failure, but some
things were better left unsaid.

However, not that everything was dealt with, Christopher was starting to feel like
something was amiss as he looked at Kurats who did not seem too proud nor too
humble about his success.

Even the kingdom’s doctors and mages were not able to find out the cause behind
Lunaria’s condition despite doing everything in their power to bring results.

Being able to make her recover completely in a mere moment was no trivial deed.

The king wondered, just how had a mere 18 years old boy become this skilled?

“You said you were taught by your mother?”

“Yes, your majesty.”

“Have you ever heard who your mother studied under?”

Even if Christopher had not heard of the name of Kurats’ mother, Friggs, he figured
that perhaps he would know the name of her teacher.

After all, it was impossible for an ordinary mage to be able to suddenly acquire a
power that surpasses that of the whole country.

“I heard from my mother that she was taught by my grandfather. My family is a family
of sages who transmit their techniques from generation to generation.”
“Sages?”

“Yes, I heard that our magic is from a completely different lineage than the magic that
is commonly known in society.”

The magic system that was currently in use in the Liastra continent was the Arthurius
Sorcery magic system.

The mere existence of another system would already be astounding, but if that
system’s techniques exceeded the Arthurius skills, then that would change the world.

“…You said there is something you wish for, right? Well, now is the time to take your
reward. You’re free to ask for anything.”

“In that case, your majesty, I would like to be granted a title and the authority to rule
over the village of Gaura.”

“The village of Gaura?”

Christopher wracked his brain as he searched through his memories.

But as one would expect, even the king of the country would not remember the name
of some small, remote village.

“It’s a small village of only about one hundred people, and it’s governed by earl Hazel-
sama.”

“Why do you want that small village?”

Christopher was quite curious about the reason behind this anticlimactically trivial
wish.

With the powers he had, Kurats would be destined for a successful career if he came
to work for the government in the royal capital, without having to care about any
village or whatnot.

“Our house’s creed obligates us to conceal the magic that is handed down in the family,
and that’s why I’m in somewhat of a bind.”

Then, Kurats informed the king that the son of earl Hazel, Joshua, had taken his sister
Cornelia as a pretext while actually aiming for the family’s magic.

“Our family has been protecting its doctrines for a long time, but that’s not worth
sacrificing the purity of my sister. She’s my only living relative. Therefore, I’d like yo
ask you to please grant me your honorable consideration, your majesty.”

“Does that man think nothing of a maiden’s purity?! Even if the king is going to forgive
him, I won’t!”

Lunaria, who had also heard the conversation, shouted with rage.

Christopher had a dumbfounded, wry smile on his face. Even though, just like her, he
had deemed that this story was a scandalous one, his daughter had told him off in her
anger.

“Then, accept this reward. I appoint you as the Gaura village’s feudal lord, and as a
baron of the kingdom.”

Regardless of the actual circumstances behind the matter, it was not an option for
Christopher to dissociate himself from Kurats.

That unknown magic system that Kurats was using was simple that fascinating.

That being the case, it was necessary to reward him, and by the same occasion, to tie
him to the Jormungand kingdom.

“Thank you, your majesty, I am not worthy of such a reward.”

Although Bernst had been thinking that it would be good if Kurats had been made into
a knight, it seemed like Christopher had an even higher opinion of Kurats than expected.

There was no doubt that was because of Bernst’s magic.

(This is a good omen.)

“Well then, I’ll return immediately to take care of that wrong-doer, however, may I have
some sort of proof to show my status?”

One would have to be crazy to directly believe a commoner like Kurats if he told them
that he had just become a feudal lord on this day.
In order to silence the earl Hazel’s family and keep them from raising objections,
Kurats would need a proof that they would recognize at the first glance.

Christopher felt something akin to a feeling of relief upon seeing Kurats finally show
a kind of impatience that was fitting of a young man like him.

Having felt the charisma and patience of an old monarch from Kurats earlier, the king
smiled wryly as he wondered if that had been due to being manipulated by some
unknown technique or if it had just been an illusion.

“Take this insignia. This is proof that you’re acting under the king’s direct orders. If
someone goes against this proof, you can punish him in my name.”

The king presented Kurats with an insignia which he was originally going to give to a
retainer who served directly under him, to take it on an urgent mission.

The king did this because believed it would take too much time now to go through the
process of sending a government official with a notification to inform the earl about
the situation.

“You have my sincere thanks for trusting me.”

Kurats bowed his head while pushing both of his hands forward to receive the insignia.

“Well then, forgive my discourtesy, but I need to leave now. This shouldn’t take much
time. I’ll come back to ask your highness about how your search for that criminal will
go from here on out.”

“Hey, what are you――. ““

Christopher called out to Kurats but his words returned to the back of his throat before
he could finish his sentence.

That was because Kurats’ body had disappeared in an instant.

“Impossible!”

This should have been impossible.

There was strong magic-prevention barrier installed around the royal court.
If people were really permitted to teleport to and from the palace so easily, the royal
family would never know when they could be attacked by assassins and they would
always be on the lookout.

It seemed like Kurats had indeed been talking about a magic system that was different
from Sorcery.

“―― Also, a criminal? What was that man talking about, Lunaria?”

It was no longer possible for Christopher to brush off Kurats’ words as being some
plebeian’s nonsense.

Christopher had no doubt that that man would not have said those words if he did not
have some confidence and reasoning to back them up.

“It’s just like he said. There is someone who put a monster on me, aiming for my life.
And it seems like he’s planning to find that person.”

As Lunaria said that, her face was blushing beautifully, like a young lady yearning for
a knight in shining armor.
Although it had only been half a day since Kurats had transferred to the royal capital,
the gloomy atmosphere surrounding the village had clearly changed, becoming
sorrowful instead.

As Kurats started feeling uneasy, his childhood friend, Roy, cam running to him with a
ghastly pale face.

“Kurats, where the hell were you?! Cornelia-san has been taken away!”

Roy bitterly cast his eyes down.

A vein appeared on the temple of Kurats’ forehead.

He seemed to have completely lost his temper, having not expected that his sister
would end up being taken on this day.

“―― I’ll go bring her back now.”

“Hey! Are you planning to waste Cornelia-san’s good intentions?”

Roy figured that if Kurats really could do it, he would have already run away with
Cornelia.

Because nobody in the village would have been able to stop him.

“Don’t worry. It’s probably hard to believe, but I just became the feudal lord of the
village today. I’m not gonna let earl Hazel do whatever he wants.”

“What the hell are you talking about――?”

Roy started wondering if his childhood friend had been driven to madness by the
shock of the situation.

However, currently, Kurats had neither the time nor the will to continue his conversation
with Roy.
The only thing that in his mind was that he had to save his sister as soon as possible.

Roy was about to mutter something, but before he could do so, Kurats vanished like a
gust of wind.

Kurats was in a quiet fit of anger when he instantly appeared on a slightly elevated
hill, around 2 kilometers (1 mile) away from the castle of earl Hazel.

Right now, he felt like he could do anything, regardless of the fact that he could not use
the multi-layered power control that Bernst had mentioned before.

[Don’t be stupid. Anger might raise your power but it’s not going to raise your control
over them! These kinds of nonsensical assumptions are unacceptable!]

Bernst calmly rebuked Kurats.

If Kurats failed to control his power near the earl’s residence, he could accidentally
reduce the small castle to dust, together with his sister, Cornelia.

“――In that case, I’ll just go there on foot and take her back. ““

Saying that very calmly, Kurats began walking towards the gate of earl Hazel’s castle.

“Stop! Which village did you come from, peasant? The likes of you are not welcome
here!”

Seeing Kurats’ large body, the gatekeeper flinched for a second and then prepared his
spear in a false show of power, as if to hide his moment of weakness.

“Get out of the way if you don’t want to die. Blame your bad luck but I’m in an awful
mood right now, I won’t be able to go easy on you.”

“Huh, are you resisting?! Know your place, you plebeian!”

Without giving the soldier a glance, Kurats was about to keep walking forward. But
despite having been mentally overpowered, the soldier still barely managed to push
out his spear to block the road.

However, Kurats only glared at him, and raised up his fist.

“…What do you think you’re doing?”

The soldier inclined his head to the side in confusion as Kurats prepared to swing his
fist at the castle’s gate, which had an iron frame and was made out of thick oak.

The soldier was wondering what was the point of this as the only result he could
imagine was Kurats damaging his own hand.

Bam!

That was not the sound of a collision or a burst.

Rather, what the soldier heard was the clear sound of an object being crushed by an
impossible force.

“Aaaaaaaaaah!”

Falling on his backside from shock, the soldier let out an unintelligible shriek while
pointing at the castle gate which had been mercilessly forced open and destroyed.

Just how much strength had this taken?

Kurats’ right foot was buried up to his shank in the stone pavement under him. As for
the castle’s gate, its lower half had completely disappeared, as if it had been torn off
by the hand of a giant.

Since it was located at the forefront of the territory’s frontier, the gate of the Hazel
castle had been built in a way that it could hold out long enough for reinforcements to
come; it was supposed to be able to resist for quite a while even under the attack of a
battering ram, and it should absolutely not have been possible for one man to destroy
it with his bare hands.

“Y-you, you monster…!”

Putting his whole mind into escaping out of fear of what had just happened right
before his eyes, the soldier used both of his arms to desperately crawl away on the
ground, with a wet and warm substance around his nether region.

If Kurats’ fist had hit him, the soldier’s body, which was far more fragile than the castle
gate, would not have stood a hint of a chance.
“―― What’s going on?”

“The castle’s gate is broken… is the enemy attacking?”

Facing the soldiers who had come one after the other, Kurats indifferently asked a
question.

“Where is my sister?”

Despite Kurats’ large build, there was no way the soldiers would listen to the words of
a man who looked like a commoner.

“Who the hell are you?”

“There is someone suspicious here! You, surrender now!”

Nobody had realized how the castle’s gate had been destroyed.

They could not possible imagine that a single unarmed young man had reduced the
gate to its current state with one hit.

“If you don’t answer me, I’ll just get your bodies to answer instead, no hard feelings,
okay?”

◆◆◆

In the same castle, a short while earlier.

Joshua Patrick Hazel, the third son of earl Hazel, was observing Cornelia with a vulgar
smile on his face.

Cornelia was a truly beautiful woman.

She had magnificent, sparkling, obsidian-like black hair, which would likely not be
found anywhere even in the royal capital.

Joshua also quite liked the beautifully shaped bridge of her nose and her attractive
almond eyes.

However, there was one thing that he deemed to be intolerable about her, it was the
strong determination which was radiating within her eyes.

“Change your clothes to the ones over there. Of course, I’ll be watching.”

“Understood.”

Even after Joshua threw some very exposed, dancer clothes in front of Cornelia, she
did not show a single hint of agitation.

Although Joshua was fond women, what he liked even more was making people
surrender to him.

Perhaps this was the influence of the cloud that had been following since birth,
because, as the third son, he had no rights to ever become the head of the family.

Without showing any embarrassment, Cornelia, who was now wearing only
undergarments, quickly but dignifiedly started wearing the seductive costume she
had been given.

‘Shit, how is she so calm, this isn’t seductive at all’

Joshua cracked his finger joints out of irritation while watching Corenelia who now
looked like a dancer in a brothel.

“Come here.”

“Yes.”

Like she was told to, Cornelia stepped in front of Joshua.

There was no near nor shyness in her eyes, her face was completely expresionless, as
if she was a doll.

―― “I want to defile her.” Thought Joshua eagerly.

He wanted to witness the moment when this pure and untouched girl would yield and
drown in humiliation and pleasure.

“Let me see your chest.”

“Understood.”

Cornelia did not lose her firm attitude and exposed her chest without any hesitation.

Laid bare in front of joshua’s eyes was a pure white chest that was full of appeal and
softness despite being quite small.

Faced with that sight, he used his teeth to bite at the cherry peaks at the the top of said
white chest.

That should have been painful to the point of making Cornelia scream.

However, she only frowned a little bit as she endured the pain.

Like Joshua feared, Cornelia was ready to do anything, she had such a resolve that she
would likely even be willing to give up her own life if circumstances demanded it.

As things currently stood, she would probably endure any pain and humiliation until
death.

“There is no way I’m letting such a first-rate prey die with her pride intact” Thinking
so, Joshua got his determination back.

But the problem was that, with her excessively solid resolve, even if he were to ask her
to exhibit herself without any garments, she would still calmly comply for sure.

Did Cornelia really not have any weak points that could be used to agitate her…?

“Come to think of it, you have a younger brother, don’t you?”

Raising his eyes, Joshua could not help himself from snickering as he saw Cornelia
being taken aback.

For the first time, there was a crack in the defense of the indestructible fortress called
Cornelia.

Joshua was not generous enough to ignore the weak point that he had found at last.

“Oh… You’re worried about your brother, aren’t you? Then, shouldn’t you answer my
expectations for his sake?!”
“―― As you wish.”

After that, Cornelia quickly recovered her spirits.

To begin with, it was only for the sake of her precious younger brother that Cornelia
was submitting her own body.

She would be losing her actual goal from sight if she were to fail to play her part
properly, taking the risk of incurring the displeasure of the earl’s son and having her
brother be condemned for it.
‘Alright, what should I do now?’ Thought Joshua.

‘Even if I bring her younger brother and torment him in front of her, that won’t get her
to mentally yield to me.’

‘Or, maybe――.’

“Maybe I should make that little brother of yours embrace his own older sister.”

“Huh??”

Those words brought an intense change in Cornelia.

Her expressionless face instantly turned red, and her pupils glistened and started
wandering around as if she was gazing afar.

Even Joshua could do nothing but be bewildered by this reaction.

“…C-could it be you have that kind of immoral relationship with him already?!”

“T-that’s not true! Kurats and I have a pure and normal sibling relationship!”

Joshua did not know exactly what a pure and normal sibling relationship was
supposed to be, but it was clear to him that this elder sister was one that completely
deviated from common sense.

“Then, would you mind being nude in front of him?”

“What are you saying! That would be so embarrassing!”

“And yet you don’t mind showing your chest in front of me?”

“Why should I care about being seen by some complete stranger?”

“Wouldn’t it normally be the opposite?”

“But it’s something like, my mother did not mind being in the nude when swimming
with her friends, but she was really bashful in front my father, you know what I mean?”

“What are you on about?! Anyway, your logic is completely messed up!”

Cornelia’s mother, Frigg, was a skilled mercenary by nature. Since being a mercenary
was a mainly male profession, she had grown to be a woman with little to no
bashfulness.

However, in front of Kemp, who was her foster father as well as her husband, she
would become very shy and meek as a lamb.

Cornelia had long believed that that was how married couples normally worked.

“W-whatever, that’s fine. I’ll teach you and your bother how true siblings should be.
Then, he’ll understand that his elder sister was always destined to be taken away by
other men.”

“Someone go bring me that girl’s brother from that village and――”

As Joshua started speaking, his voice was erased by a deafening, thunderous roar.

◆◆◆

“Stop! I told you to stop!”

Kurats kept walking forward like there was no one around, as if the castle’s soldiers
had not entered his eyes at all.

Boiling with rage, the soldiers surrounding him tried to stab him with their spears.

While killing an unarmed person would normally be considered quite shameful, this
was the front line of the territory’s frontier, and there were a lot of hot-blooded
soldiers here.

Kurats dodged the spears coming from his left and right by merely twisting his waist,
and he thrust his fist towards a spear that was aimed at his chest.

‘What the hell does he think he’s going to accomplish by punching the spearhead?”
As the soldier in front of him scorned at Kurats’ nonsensical behavior, he could already
picture him dying after both his body and his fist would be pierced through together.

But the sound that followed was one that should not have been.

It sounded as if the thin spear had been crushed by the overwhelming mass of an
enormous lump of iron.

The soldier felt a numbing pain in his hand, as the head of his spear was mercilessly
smashed and its butt end pierced the wall behind him.

“If you don’t want to die, how about you stay docile until I bring my sister back?”

While saying so, Kurats pulled out the spear that was planted in the wall.

“What the hell are you doi-…”

Before the soldier could finish his question, Kurats swung the spear at an unbelievable
speed.

Going faster than the eye could see, the spear he was holding made a a high-pitched
shriek.

Then, Kurats threw the spear with all his strength, and it smashed the wall in front of
him with a plosive sound that was painful to the ears. From the hole that appeared in
the wall, he could see the sky which was starting to turn red.

Even the thinnest part of the thick walls of the castle were 30 centimeters (11 inches)
wide, they were supposed to be able to handle the attacks of mages and catapults alike.

Breaking through them with a human’s physical strength should never have been
possible.

“Monster!”

As if taking this thunderous roar as a signal, the surrounding soldiers immediately

escaped in all directions, running from this monster that was beyond the limits of their
comprehension.

[This is so disappointing…]
Bernst would have easily frozen soldiers of this level, or burnt them to nothing.

Or, he would have used a thunderbolt to destroy the castle’s walls, which would have
been even more effective to threaten the enemy.

‘So why did this have to be settled through physical strength, with these musclebrain
methods?’ Wondered Bernst, irately.

“Sister!”

Without listening to Bernst’s complaint, Kurats used the perception magic that he had
learned from the knowledge Bernst had transferred to him, and he then started
running towards Joshua’s private room, where Cornelia currently was.

“――It’s over there!”

Kurats used all his strength to kick the room’s door open.

Maybe because he failed to measure his own strength properly, to say nothing of
smashing the door, he even blew it away from its frame, generating a shock wave that
crated cracks on the wall around it.

But, fortunately enough, nobody had been standing in front of the door.

What appeared in Kurats’ view in the next instant was his own sister, who was wearing
a suggestive outfit with her chest exposed, and Joshua, who was standing still, shocked
by this sudden happening.

“…This is… a peasant?!”

“Why is Kurats here?”

Looking at Kurats who was boiling with rage, Cornelia was flabbergasted.

Why did he have to appear right after being targeted by Joshua’s wicked plan?

At the same moment, Cornelia screamed and her whole body turned red as she
recalled that she was half-naked.

“Aaaaaaaah! Don’t look this way, Kurats!”

Seeing Cornelia on the verge of crying, encircling her arms around her body to hide
her exposed skin, Joshua forgot about the current situation and shouted sadistically.

“Hahaha! Getting so embarrassed from being seen by her brother! Such a twisted
woman! To think that towards your own brother, you would feel…”

“Yaaaaaaaaah!”

Joshua thought he heard the sound of a vein bursting on Cornelia’s forehead before
her flexible and trained knee struck his lower jaw.

A crack instantly appeared on the floor under the foot that she had kept down. The
martial technique she had used was one that transferred power from the ground itself
to her knee.

“Wow… It’s been so long since I last saw sister’s flying knee strike…”

Although she looked refined and innocent, Cornelia had inherited all of her mother’s
killing techniques, and she was, in fact, the second strongest of her village, right behind
Kurats.

“Gu… Aah!”

With his broken Jaw, Joshua was not able to utter a single word, all he could do was
writhe in pain while letting out groans of resentment.

‘How dare you do such a thing to a noble like myself! Your whole village will pay for
this!’ That was what Joshua tried to say, but to no avail. His teeth were broken, and his
mouth was full of blood.

“―― How could I do such a thing!”

At last, Cornelia realized what she had done.

The truth was that, contrarily to her gentle appearance, she was well known for rushing
to physical violence whenever she panicked.

“The intruder is here!”

At that moment, earl Hazel and the veteran knights in charge of protecting his territory
rushed into the room, ready for battle.

Earl Hazel Antos was bewildered.

At first, he thought that the castle was being attacked by a monster.

That was because he could not bring himself to imagine that one man, by himself,
could destroy the castle’s walls and defeat the castle’s soldiers with his bare hands.

He believed there was even a possibility that a very intelligent, high grade monster
had appeared.

Following that train of thought, he gathered skilled knights, and rushed towards the
room where the monster was… But what the earl saw there was his own son with a
broken jaw, as well as a young woman who was covering her chest with both of her
arms as if she had almost been assaulted, and a man with a big body who was
protecting her behind his back.

It was only natural that Anton, who had been ready for battle, had a hard time believing
his own eyes.

“Everyone, don’t move… Alan, go heal that foolish son of mine.”

“Understood.”

Alan, the only mage of the knight troupe, used recovery magic on Joshua.

This was the frontier of the territory, there were rarely more than a few mages here.

Since he was specialized in attacking, Alan could only use lower-rank recovery magic,
but he still barely managed to make Joshua recover enough to be able to speak.

“Over here! Kill these plebeians! Torture them to death!”

“Why is that commoner in your room exactly?”

“N-no reason, just――”

Hearing the dangerous tone in his father’s voice, Joshua found himself at a loss for
words.
As one would expect, he could not just say that this was a woman that he had
kidnapped from some village after she caught his eyes.

“Putting that aside, this ruffian not only trespassed in the castle, he even raised his
hand against me, please capture him!”

Seeing his son try to change the subject, the earl was able to make a rough guess about
the situation, but he could still not afford to ignore the man who had attacked his
soldiers and destroyed his castle.

Anton did not know how this man had done it, but this was still a person who had
destroyed a solid, stone wall. There was no doubt that he was a threat.

“Are you ready to pay for the crime of trespassing in my castle?”

Having decided to punish his son later, Anton carefully encircled Kurats together with
his troupe.

“―― The only one who’s charged with a crime here is your son. If you don’t want to
become rebels, you’d better promptly drop down your weapons.”

“What did you just say?”

Hearing Kurats’ dignified tone which was clearly different from that of a commoner,
Anton was not able to conceal his growing confusion.

“After I achieved the meritorious deed of curing her highness Lunaria, I’ve been
granted the rank of baron by his majesty the king. Don’t believe you’ll be able to evade
the issue of messing with the sister of someone of my standing.”
“After I achieved the meritorious deed of curing her highness Lunaria, I’ve been
granted the rank of baron by his majesty the king. Don’t believe you’ll be able to evade
the issue of messing with the sister of someone of my standing.”

Joshua furiously glared at Kurats.

“Stop lying! As if a commoner like you would ever get to meet the princess!”

Perhaps because his wounds were still hurting, Joshua was frowning whenever he
spoke. Still, he was yelling powerfully, like he was going to jump at Kurats’ throat.

The reason he refrained from actually jumping at him was simple, it was because he
was afraid of Kurats’ huge body.

“I am also the Gaura village’s feudal lord, a messenger will come from the royal capital
to tell you about it in a few days, earl Hazel. You’ll be given another territory in
exchange.”

“Like hell you are! After what you did to me, my mind won’t rest as long as you’re still
alive!”

Kurats proceeded to dismiss Joshua’s angry words.

“And just what kind of authority you’re supposed to be? What makes you think you
can speak these words?”

“What kind? I’ll have you know I am earl Hazel’s――”

“I don’t recall giving you the authority to hurt my territory’s people.”

Anton coldly interrupted Joshua’s objection, making him visibly shocked.

After all, he was borrowing his father’s influence, but if even his father turned his back
on him, then Joshua would become nothing more than a powerless youth.
Anton returned his line of sight towards Kurats and asked.

“Well then, about you, why should I believe you exactly?”

“Because, apparently, if you go against me, I can retaliate in the king’s name.”

“T-that’s!?”

Seeing Kurats’ insignia, Anton was astonished.

The insignia showed that Kurats was a representative of the country’s royals. In the
old days, it was said that this insignia was initially given to executioners to allow them
to take off the heads of rebels by the orders of the king.

One would first need the resolve to rebel against the whole kingdom before disobeying
the owner of that emblem. This was no laughing matter.

“What do you think showing some stupid insignia is gonna do?”

Not knowing the meaning of it, Joshua laughed scornfully at the insignia that did not
seem to have much value.

However, Anton suddenly struck his son’s shoulder and pushed him to the ground,
making him respectfully kowtow together with him, as if he was facing the king
himself.

Joshua was burning from humiliation as his forehead rubbed the floor.

“Father, what are you doing?!”

“Anyone who holds that insignia is the king’s representative. That’s not someone a
local feudal lord like myself can face directly.”

Joshua shook his head as much as he could in denial.

He did not want to understand. He did not want to accept the truth.

Because if he accepted it, that would mean admitting to himself that the only thing
waiting for him in the future was despair.
“H-he could easily have made a counterfeit of an insignia like this one! Otherwise,
there is no way a plebeian like him would have it!”

“Fool! The insignia has been filled with the mana of his majesty the king, it’s
impossible to counterfeit it. So this is undoubtedly the symbol of the king’s proxy!”

“Everyone! Put down your spears and fall back! This person is a representative of his
majesty the king!”

Faced with a representative of the king of the first time in their lives, the surrounding
knights hurriedly dropped their weapons.

“Damn it! Who are you?! Who the hell are you?!”

As he realized that no one was going to help him now, the only thing Joshua could do
was to throw a tantrum like a young child.

“―― Please be forgiving sir baron and allow me to disinherit him and expulse him
from the territory to make him pay for his crimes against you.”

“I appreciate your consideration, earl Anton.”

“N-no! Father! Are you going to abandon your own son? You can just eliminate a guy
like him on the spot, he’s nothing, there won’t be any evidence to prove you did it!”

“It’s precisely because you’re my son that I want to end this without having to kill you.
Stop wasting your breath.”

Feeling rejected by those words that he could not refute, Joshua started crying out
with no shame and no care for his reputation.

“How is this man more important than your own son?! I promise I’ll be more obedient!
I promise I’ll work more seriously for the family! Father, please!”

As he watched his son beg for forgiveness, Anton felt sad, thinking “In the end, he really
doesn’t understand anything.”

Anton believed that this was undoubtedly the result of his own mistakes, for he had
neglected Joshua and had favored his eldest son instead, simply because he was his
heir.
“Take him out.”

“Damn it all! I shouldn’t have taken this woman! This crazy whore who likes her own
b-…”

“Yaaaaaaah!”

“Oh, that spot is too much!”

Foam started coming from the mouth of Joshua, whose crotch had definitely been
crushed, and he fainted on the spot.

As a fellow man, Kurats could not help himself from feeling some pity for the earl’s son.

“Please accept my apology, I’ll take the responsibility of punishing him for his
impertinence.”

“It’s fine. Well then, we’ll be taking our leave.”

Acting like he had not seen his sister’s violent attack, Kurats left the castle of earl Hazel
together with Cornelia.

[―― So disappointing. This wasn’t even worth being called a comedy.]

Thought Bernst while feeling indescribably frustrated. However, at the same time, he
was feeling a chill running down his spine, the source of which was Cornelia.

That was likely due to sharing the unconscious feeling of fear that Kurats had held
towards his sister since his early childhood days.

Based only on the martial arts she had displayed, Bernst assessed that Cornelia had
for sure been overwhelmingly superior to Kurats before he grew up.

[And she’s been mentally taming her brother ever since. This woman, could it be that
she’s the strategist type?]

Unaware of Bernst’s doubts, Kurats reservedly took Cornelia’s hand, and returned to
the village of Gaura.
 ◆◆◆

“Oooh! Kurats! Cornelia is safe? You didn’t attack the earl, did you?”

Although the village chief, Ordreik, was relieved to see Kurats and Cornelia safe and
sound, his complexion changed drastically as he wondered if the siblings had made
enemies of the earl.

That may have not been the case for the villages close to the royal capital, but in a
remote village like the Gaura village, the feudal lord basically had the power of life and
death over the villagers.

The villagers were very important for the provision of food to the territory, but there
were many feudal lords who did not understand that and treated them like cattle.

Therefore, excluding Kurats, if any normal villager opposed the country’s higher ups,
they would have no other choice than to be killed by the territory’s soldiers.

“…What? Did Roy not tell you?”

Conversely, what disturbed Kurats was the chief’s panicked behavior.

“Was he always this small?” He asked himself.

In the village, nobody was more reliable than the chief, but he was still completely
powerless in front of the nobles’ power.

Within a single day only, the relationship between Kurats and Ordreik had dramatically
changed.

That was because Kurats had already obtained the power to easily deal with any
remote territory’s noble.

“An official will be sent from the royal capital to tell you about it later anyway, but
today I became the feudal lord of this village. There is no need to be afraid of that noble
anymore.”

“I, I wasn’t told about any such ridiculous story!”

There had indeed been precedents of commoners getting promoted in rank after
reaping some achievements in war, but the village chief could not believe that a
commoner had suddenly become a feudal lord in a single day, that seemed like a mere
delusion to him.

[This is annoying. Just show them.]

(Alright!)

“‘Dancing flame’ !”

A fireball of about 2 meters manifested in the sky and then split into several small balls
that fell down like petals while dancing wildly in the air. All the villagers were
fascinated by the scene.

Moreover, despite the distance that separated them from the flames, they could feel
that every single one of those small and beautiful fireballs had enough heat to kill a
human being.

“Y-you’re a mage…?”

“You thought I could kill a red eyed bear with my bare hands without using any magic?
I was planning to keep hiding it, but that was not an option anymore, so I cured the
kingdom’s princess from her illness and I was granted the rank of Baron.”

“Huuuh?! A baron?!”

Unlike low-ranked nobles such as clerics or knights and their families, a baron was a
full-fledged noble.

Ordreik was aware of how big of an honor it was to just speak directly to someone of
such standing.

“You’ve looked after me for a long time and I am grateful for that, but please keep my
status in mind.”

“O-of course! Yes, anything for you, sir new feudal lord!”

Kurats did not intend to be overbearing like the other nobles. Rather, he intended to
give the village a preferential treatment when it came to their taxes and their hard
labor.
Within this village were the friends who had grown up with him and the adults who
had raised him. He had to, at the very least, repay their kindness.

However, through this time’s events, the commoners’ powerlessness and submissiveness
had become quite clear to him, and Kurats had no intention to get any share of those
weaknesses.

But if he did not want to be unjustly stepped on, he had no other choice than to become
even more powerful.

There was also one more thing in his mind ――.

(With this, my sister is an aristocrat now, and no one in the village will be worthy to
get his hands on her anymore!)

[…You’re one twisted man.]

Having obtained a pretext to shield his sister from the hot glances she usually received
from the single men of the village, Kurats made a decision while taking a heroic pose
within his mind.

◆◆◆

Kurats was at a loss for words when he and his sister came back to their home, the
inside was in a complete mess.

“That bastard must have resorted to violence and abducted Cornelia by force because
she put up a resistance to wait for me to come back.”

“Maybe I should have punished him a little harder.” thought Kurats, while feeling
ashamed for having felt any pity for Joshua after his crotch had been hit.

“―― When that man took me away, I though I would never get too see you again.”

Cornelia entrusted her body’s weight to Kurats’ back, and pushed her forehead against
him.

She had yet to let go of his right hand.

Feeling the heat coming from Kurats’ hand and from his wide and strong back,
Cornelia’s chest became hot as she once again realized that he had saved her life.
She did not know when it started, but Cornelia had come to feel a tightness in her chest
whenever she saw Kurats’ tempered body and his idle facial expressions.

When she was young, she thought of him as her cute little brother.

However, that cute brother had outgrown her in the blink of an eye, and had now
obtained a giant and strong body.

She used to be stronger than him up until the age of eight, but now, if she fought him
seriously, she would not even be his opponent.

Ever since the death of their parents, the two siblings had been living together, and
Cornelia could not help herself from wishing that the relation they had would keep
going forever.

“―― Thanks for saving me… you were pretty cool back there.”

“What?”

Asked Kurats in a confused manner, having failed to heard Corenlia’s voice since it had
trailed off when she spoke her last line.

“―― I said that you’ve become stronger!”

Aware that she was starting to blush, Cornelia turned her back in a huff and rushed
towards the kitchen.

“I’ll make you a treat to thank you for today!”

Cornelia smiled happily while speaking loudly to hide her embarrassment.

It seemed unbelievable that just earlier, she had resigned herself to becoming that
man’s mistress and to letting her body be dirtied by him.

Although she did not know how long it was going to last, Cornelia swore to protect
this ordinary life that she cherished.

Because in this world, all these two siblings had was each other.

Afterwards, a mountain of Kurats’ favorite dishes appeared on his table. Needless to

say that he started grinning from ear to ear while smacking his lips.

“Aah… I ate so much! I’m gonna sleep like a rock today!”

[What was that?! Do you seriously intend to casually go to sleep? Unacceptable!]

Bernst interjected with all his power as he saw Kurats head towards his bed with a
satisfied look on his face.

“Yeah, I’m worn out from today, so I wanna hurry and go to bed.”

[What are you, dense? What did you do all of this for, exactly? Am I missing something?
Isn’t there something else you should be doing?]

“To think that this good for nothing is my own alter ego” Thought Bernst, feeling
ashamed to the point of almost tearing up.

“Well, I managed to save my sister already, so I shouldn’t have anything else to do,
right…?”

[Are you fine with merely helping her? Is that really all you wish for?]

When he thought about it, Kurats could not claim that this was the only thing he
wanted.

The feelings that Kurats felt towards his sister were more of a romantic love rather
than what one would feel for a sibling.

While thinking of that, Kurats simultaneously recalled Cornelia’s splendid bare skin
that he had caught a glimpse of in the castle, and he involuntarily let his lust turn his
cheeks red.

[Or rather, you don’t understand anything about women, do you? No matter how you
look at it, she clearly gave you the ‘ok’ sign, didn’t she?]
“Ok sign?”

[It’s the sign a woman gives when she wants to show a man that she accepts him! How
do you want to seduce anyone without knowing these kinds of things?]

“Oh c’mon, how was I supposed to know that? Also, what if you’re wrong?”

[No matter what, doing everything in your power to make a woman yours is what
being a true man is about!]

(What’s this good for nothing’s problem?! This is why he is still a virgin!)

Kurats’ extreme weak-mindedness made Bernst feel indignant from the bottom of his
heart.

Back when he reigned as the magic king, Bernst had formed a harem of countless
women, although that was a long time ago.

But even if not for that, he had no doubt that it would have been easy for anyone with
a little bit of experience to see through Cornelia’s affection towards Kurats.

[Any worthy man should be able to read a woman’s silent signs and to give them the
one last push they need. You just have to hold the woman tight and whisper your love
to her, and she’ll fall in your arms in no time.]

“You mean, even my sister…?”

Kurats swallowed his saliva with a gulp.

Now that he was told about this, he remembered that when he saw Cornelia’s skin,
although she looked like she was about to cry, she had also turned somewhat red in
the face.

As he imagined himself embracing Cornelia’s slim body, Kurats could not stop his
blood from rushing to his lower half.

However, prehaps because he was weak from love, or perhaps because he had been
brainwashed from a young age, he seemed to have instinctively rejected the idea of
being more assertive with his sister.
“B-but, my sister didn’t say anything about that…”

[Can you not kiss a woman unless she explicitly tells you to do it?!]

From his own experience, Bernst knew it was rare for a woman to confess her love
upfront.

After he became his world’s supreme ruler, women started flocking to him without
him having to say a single word, but before that, when he was still an adventurer in
pursuit of knowledge, he had a hard time seducing anyone.

Thousands of years ago, there was a time when even Bernst was as green and passive
as Kurats.

This was why he was so annoyed and irritated by Kurats’ behavior, because to Bernst,
this felt like seeing his own self from back when he was still inexperienced.

But even if that had not been the case, he was currently sharing Kurats’ feelings.

So, even though he was not feeling things as clearly as if he had experienced him
himself, Kurats’ strong love for Cornelia was still transmitted to Bernst.

The anger Kurats felt towards Joshua, and the boiling passion he had experienced
when seeing Cornelia’s bare skin had both stimulated Bernst’s forgotten memories.

[Being swayed by strong men is a part of a woman’s survival instincts! Isn’t getting
your hand on your sister the main reason why you sought power?!]

Power was not the only thing Bernst had been seeking in his youth.

In those days, when he was still nobody, Bernst also wanted the strength to protect his
woman.

“But if you’re just misunderstanding her intentions, it’s going to be really

embarrassing… Plus my sister’s scary when she gets angry.”

[You are still green, Kurats! You will regret this for sure once you become an adult!]

“Well then I guess I’ll think about that after I become an adult.”
While feeling somewhat regretful, Kurats hid his whole body under his futon and
closed his eyes.

Rather than his carnal desires, his priority was his sister’s happiness.

And he could not tell if he belonged anywhere within that happiness.

[I, I need to take this frustration out on something, right this instant!]

While Bernst was squirming from irritation, Cornelia was rolling around in her bed
with blushing cheeks.

“―― Did he see it? I know he saw it.”

She was drinking her morning milk every day, she was regularly eating chicken meat
because she had heard that it was good for the breasts’ growth, and she was never
negligent in doing her chest growth exercises.

So, she wondered, why had her chest not grown by a single millimeter despite her
persistence?

Her mother’s genes had done wonders for Cornelia’s appearance, stature and athletic
capabilities, but when it came to her chest, it seemed like those same genes had
refused to do their work.

“To think he saw my child-like breasts… Alright, tonight, I’m doing three sets of
exercises!”

With a firm resolve, Cornelia silently started doing her chest growth exercises,
simultaneously asking herself “Will my efforts pay one day?”.

If her mother Friggs had been here, her answer would likely have been “I’m sorry, but
you should just give up.”

◆◆◆

There were some domestic troubles within the kingdom of Jormungand.

That was because the king had never had a son, his only two successors were the
kingdom’s two princesses, hence why there were some concerns that the country’s
influence would weaken in the future.

But there was an even more critical matter at hand, which was the fact that two
distinct factions had formed around the two princesses. Said factions had started
fighting in order to lead the princesses that they respectively supported towards the
throne.

The country’s important nobles mainly supported the first princess, Felbelle.

She was a quiet and beautiful woman who looked like a doll with her silver hair and
purple eyes. Although she seemed fragile, she had a captivating charm that was second
to none.

Within the high society, there were many men who used to flock towards her in the
past, trying all possible means to seduce her.

But one who won her favor in the end was the Marquis of Strasbourg, Albert.

He was handsome, he had great influence within the country’s high society, and he
was highly esteemed for being good at politics despite his young age. By getting
married to Felbelle, he had suddenly become one of the most prominent political
forces of the kingdom.

It could be said to be thanks to Albert’s power that the first princess’ faction still
dominated the royal court even though she was married now.

In contrast to Felbelle, her sister Lunaria was not very popular among the court’s
nobles, but she was quite popular among the country’s people and the military’s
important figures.

That was largely due to the fact that Bayard Cellvis, the kingdom’s minister of war, was
her guardian.

Therefore, outside of the royal court, the popularity of the easy-going and physically
competent Lunaria had overwhelmed Felbelle.

Each of the sisters had her merits and demerits, and king Christopher had been
unsuccessfully trying to choose between the two of them.

It was at such a time that Princess Lunaria fell to a strange and mysterious disease.
“Your highness! Is it true that her highness Lunaria has recovered?!”

Cellvis was running in the castle, gasping for breath with sweat running down his
forehead. And as soon as he saw Cornelia and the healthy smile on her face, tears
started overflowing from his eyes.

“Waaaa! Your highness!”

“I-it’s fine already! P-please don’t cry so much, uncle Cell!”

Seeing the old Cellvis cry openly and being so unlike his usual self, Lunaria kindly
hugged him with an embarrassed smile.

“Your highness! Thank goodness, you’ve recovered…!”

“Thank you, Rosberg.”

Right behind Cellvis came the leader of the royal knights, Rosberg.

Rosberg was the man who taught the way of the sword to Lunaria.

He was a man in his prime, in his mid-thirties, whose name was renown both inside
and outside of the country.

Both of these important leaders of the country’s fighting forces loved a certain
matchless girl like their own daughter.

That girl was the second princess of the kingdom, Lunaria.

“The two of you… you are the same as ever. Let me remind you once again, just in case
you have forgotten: Lunaria is my daughter, not yours.”

Said Christopher, with a thoroughly annoyed face, as he looked down on his two
trusted subordinates.
Somehow, this sight felt to him like his precious daughter was being tarnished by the
closeness of the two overly-manly and smelly warriors. The king could not get used to
this now usual sight no matter how many times he saw it.

“I heard that a mage cured the princess in the blink of an eye but―― Where in the
world is he?”

The king had tried everything, even inviting reputed doctors from other countries, but
they had failed to find out the cause behind the princess’ disease.

Even Cellvis had used all of his personal connections for this, and yet the princess’
disease had kept on getting worse. He was greatly ashamed of himself for that.

So he could never have imagined that the princess would completely recover from her
disease in less than a day.

And since the court mages had failed to bring any results so far despite being in charge
of the princess’ treatment, it did not seem likely to Cellvis that they had suddenly
managed to cure her by this point.

“Apparently, he’s some kind of unsung sage. Well, you wouldn’t guess that from his
looks though.”

As she said that, Lunaria recalled Kurats’ tall and strong body and giggled to herself.

At that point, Lunaria’s two doting ‘parents’ sensed some faint feelings of affection
coming from her, which even she had failed to notice.

“But, well, is he really trustworthy?”

“It seems like we’re going to need to meet him and have a talk with him.”

Not knowing the inner thoughts of Rosberg and Cellvis who nodded at each other,
Lunaria started wondering how much of a fight Kurats would be able to put up with
Rosberg as his opponent.

Kurats’ body was not only big.

He had tempered himself to the utmost limit, until he became solid like steel, but when
in an actual fight, he was also nimble as a cat.
If Kurats fought seriously, then he would likely be an equal match to Rosberg.

However, that would only be the case if Rosberg refrained from using his trump card.

“I am delighted to see that you’ve recovered well, your highness Lunaria.”

“Yes, sorry for worrying you all this time!”

The next person to appear in the room was the kingdom’s prime minister, Eustache
Wingard.

Although he was entering his sixties, he was still a vigorous man, with a straight back
full of dignity, which was fitting of the prime minister of a kingdom.

Like the skilled politician that he was, he had already started a political maneuver
which was all based on the assumption that Lunaria would die soon, but he seemed
sincere on the surface as he congratulated her on her recovery.

(―― Good grief, I suppose things are going to get rough again.)

“Maybe we could have avoided some unnecessary strife had she just succumbed to her
illness.”Thought Eustache.

Afterwards, the minister of domestic affairs, the minister of industry, the finance
minister, and all the other authorities who were involved in the country’s politics,
came in the room one after the other to offer their greetings.

Lunaria’s elder sister, Felbelle, and her Husband, Albert Strasbourg, were among the
last people to turn up.

“I’m glad you’re healthy again, Lunaria.”

“Thank you, elder sister.”

Although she showed a gentle smile on her face, Felbelle had lifeless eyes.

Others found that those eyes only enhanced Felbelle’s cold and beautiful face, but
Lunaria hated them.

“I was looking forward to the day of your recovery. ““

“Sorry for worrying you like so, brother in law.”

(――Even though you’re probably thinking the opposite inside…)

Albert had a stereo-typically handsome face, with blond hair and blue eyes, and a tall,
well-balanced body.

He was highly famous as a feudal lord, and as a politician, he was deemed to be capable
enough to become the next era’s prime minister. And ever since Lunaria’s elder sister
had been tied to this man, she had become completely dependent on him.

For that, Lunaria hated Albert more than anyone else in the world.

Even though the two sisters were being reunited after a long time, they only exchanged
fake smiles.

As Cellvis turned a suspicious gaze towards him, Albert baldly hugged his wife’s
trembling shoulders.

“Thank goodness. You’ll be able to sleep peacefully from tonight on.”

“You’re right, dear.”

Seeing the warm sight of the couple acting just like newly-weds, Lunaria’s heart only
grew colder.

“If it were me, I’d never…” The moment Lunaria thought so, she recalled Kurats’ face,
and she flusteredly hid her own reddening face.

After suddenly having an ominous prediction which already surpassed a doting

parent’s instinct and was entering the realm of psychic abilities, Cellvis and Rosberg
closely checked Lunaria’s current state.

As for Albert, he took a step back and started observing the conversations between
the statesman who had come at the same time as him to visit the princess.

(As I thought, everyone here’s bewildered by what happened. If she had just quietly
died, then things would have proceeded just fine but…)

If Lunaria had died, then it would have been decided that Felbelle would be the next
ruler of the kingdom.

Albert had heard from many neutral factions that they were already thinking of
switching sides, but now, the battle for the throne was back to its starting point.

(Even so, the wind should still be blowing my way. But, there is one problem…)

Thought Albert, before his cogitation was interrupted by a man’s high-pitched voice.

“So, your majesty, may I ask who was the one who cured her highness and what kind
of technique did he use?”

Said a skinny man with dark and thin eyes. This expressionless man, who looked
somewhat like a reptile, was the head of the royal court’s mages, Mordred.

The current situation had put all of the royal court mages to shame.

Despite using outrageously expensive medicine and tasking more than a few healing
mages with the mission of curing the princess, they had still failed to identify the cause
of her illness, so it would not be strange if the kingdom started looking into who was
to blame for this lack of results.

Along with the death of the old mage Doran, who had been in charge of the kingdom’s
mages, Mordred had managed to take his place at last and he was already in his mid-
fifties.

Hence why he was desperately hiding his impatience in order to try to somehow keep
his current position.

“His name is Kurats Hans Almadianos. He says he’s a sage who lives in the Gaura
village, which is governed by earl Hazel.”

“Huh? So he’s just a commoner?!”

The field of magic was quite the secretive one. It was not so simple for just anyone to
mimic magic skills through hearsay and pondering.

In almost 100% of cases, the only way for anyone to learn magic skills was to have
mage parents or to be taught magic by a legitimate educational institution.
That was the reason why the number of mages was so limited, not only in the
Jormungand kingdom, but also in the whole world.

Therefore, there was no way to learn any decent magic in a remote region like earl
Hazel’s territory.

“―― Isn’t it suspicious? He lives at the national border, which happens to lead directly
to the Bifuregast kingdom. Could it be that he’s a spy sent from that country?”

“That man saved my life. I’d like you to refrain from making such thoughtless claims.
And isn’t what you’re saying the same as saying that our magic is inferior to that of the
Bifuregast kingdom?”

Mordred had no comeback to Lunaria’s retort.

He had merely been trying to take a jab at an outsider, but there really was no particular
basis behind his words.

“Besides, I’ve given Kurats the position of a baron of the kingdom. You’ll only have
yourself to blame if he ends up challenging you to a duel for speaking poorly about
him.”

The King’s words were a big shock not only to Mordred, but also to the other nobles
in the room.

Giving Kurats the position of a baron seemed like too big of a reward for merely curing
the princess.

“Your majesty ―― this is my first time hearing about this.”

Said the prime minister Eustache, while slightly glaring at Christopher, who answered
with a hearty laugh.

“Ahahaha! My apologies. It’s just that I had never seen a man as strange as him before.
He is probably going to come back tomorrow, I’m sure you will see what I mean once
you meet him, Eustache.”

“Please try to stay moderate when amusing yourself like this, your majesty.”

A baron was a full-fledged, high-grade noble, and that position was not inferior to
Mordred’s position as the head of the royal court’s mages.

‘Surely, the king cannot be thinking of appointing this unknown stranger as a mage of
the royal court, right?’ As Mordred asked himself that question, his flustered face
turned completely pale.

“Besides this, the mage also said that Lunaria’s symptoms were not caused by a
disease but by an external factor. And I am looking forward to finding out what was
the real reason behind her condition.”

Though he did not show it, Eustache was greatly troubled by the king’s words.

He figured he might be guessing wrong, but Eustache could easily imagine the dispute
for the throne turning into complete chaos if it ended up being revealed that someone
had aimed for the princess’ life.

And if that was how things were going to turn out, then having princess Lunaria die
would be a much better turn of events.

That was what Eustache truly believed behind the facade that he showed on the
surface.

Looking at king Christopher, who was laughing out loud in a seemingly great mood,
Albert’s eyes became cold as ice.

(Seriously, this impulsive man is absolutely not fit to be the king; the sooner he dies,
the better! )

While suppressing the anger that was lurking inside his stomach, Albert was working
on his next plan of action within his mind.
It was the next day’s afternoon that Kurats came back to visit the royal castle.

Although he had intended to come earlier, he was delayed by Cornelia who started
lecturing him when he was about to go.

“Saving me was more than enough. All this story about you being a noble and whatnot
is not like you, don’t push yourself.”

Cornelia had always been together with Kurats, so she was afraid that he would go to
places that were beyond her reach.

However, Kurats could not allow himself to stay confined inside the Gaura village.

The criminal who had put the parasite on Lunaria was still at large, and although
Kurats was a noble now, it couldn’t exactly be said that he was safe.

There were many strains that came with becoming a noble.

When Kurats thought about it, he knew there would be some serious hurdles in his
path to marry his sister if there ever was a higher ranked noble who also wished for
Cornelia to become his wife.

Therefore, in the future, Kurats needed to have more power, more strength, and above
all, more determination, so that there would be no complaints even if he were to marry
Cornelia himself.

(Do you really want to finish your days in such a dump?)

It was needless to point out that Bernst had a biased and slightly self-righteous advice
to offer regarding Kurats’ thought process.

But in the end, Kurats managed to convince Cornelia, and teleported to the royal
capital, where he was greeted by a skinny and somewhat old man.

“You… Are you ‘that’ mage? You just teleported without any magic formation… How?
As I thought, you work for the Bifuregast kingdom, don’t you?”

“Why should I answer? Who are you supposed to be?”

Perhaps because his pride was hurt by Kurats’ question, a vein appeared on the man’s
forehead as he shouted.

“My name is Mordred Beauvoir, and I am the head of the royal court’s mages! You’re
going to answer my question right this instant!”

The king had said that Kurats would show himself on this day, so Mordred had been
waiting for him since early morning.

In a certain way, it could be perceived that he was wasting time doing nothing, but
Mordred was only being very diligent.

Because he had gone through a lot of trials to get his position in the kingdom, and the
man before him was someone who could snatch that away.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am baron Kurats Hans Almadianos de Gaura. I

have been ordered to report something to the palace, so I’d like you to please keep
your questions for later.”

“You were a mere commoner only a few days ago! Know your place!”

Having been rejected so flat out, Mordred barely managed to stop himself from using
magic.

Although he was the head of the royal court’s mages, he would not escape from being
punished if he used magic to kill or harm someone in front of the royal palace.

“I have a report for his majesty the king. Head of the royal court’s mages, if you have
any business with me, I will have to ask you to postpone it for another occasion. For
the time being, if you’ll excuse my rudeness, I’ll be taking my leave.”

As Kurats started going forward like he thought nothing of the man in front of him, the
last bit of self-restraint that Mordred still had was reduced to dust.

“Surely, you jest! You are not going anywhere without answering my questions!”
Mordred figured that if he merely threatened Kurats without actually causing him any
injuries, he would likely be able to explain the situation away. Right now, he could not
let off this impolite man.

Following that reasoning, Mordred started gathering his mana, but at that moment,
Kurats spoke up.

“―― I’ve been told to use force to eliminate anyone who interferes with my duties, so,
let me ask you, do you really have the resolve to get in my way?”

Mordred unconsciously took three steps back as he felt like Kurats’ body grew to twice
its size.

He was sensing a thick aura of death, as if he was he facing a huge bear.

Mordred felt like he would be killed with a broken neck for the mere act of touching
Kurats.

He gulped while finally realizing how abnormal Kurats really was.

At the same moment, he reinforced his own determination, for he was now even more
convinced that this man was a threat to his position and that he would have to get rid
of him.

“Humph, I cannot let a rude fellow like you wander off alone in the palace. I’ll guide
you to his majesty.”

“As you wish.”

◆◆◆

“―― Oooh! Did sir Kurats finally come?!”

In contrast to Lunaria, who showed a wide and bright smile, Rosberg was displaying
his grumpiness with a frown.

“I understand that that man cured her highness, but isn’t she trusting him too much?”

For this day, Lunaria had put on some light makeup and was wearing an extravagant
wide dress that was completely unlike her usual lightweight training outfit.
On top of that, she was uncharacteristically wearing some osmanthus perfume.

Given those facts, it was only natural that Lunaria’s self-proclaimed guardian, Rosberg,
was having a hard time keeping his calm.

(Besides, aren’t you going to ask me to go train today for the first time after everything
that happened?!)

Rosberg was Lunaria’s martial arts teacher, and he had been charmed by her talent in
combat and her strong character back when she was still very young. Therefore, it
seemed strange to him that she didn’t get back to the sword right after her physical
condition returned to normal.

He wondered, had her sword skills grown dull when she was asleep? And, in the first
place, would Lunaria even mind if that was the case? Would she not get back to
training regardless?

In a certain sense, that reaction would actually have been stranger for a woman in this
society, but Rosberg was too much of a dotting ‘parent’ to be able to think of that.

After seeing how cheerful Lunaria had gotten while waiting, Rosberg hardened his
resolve to see through Kurats’ true colors.

It was impossible for him to entrust Lunaria to a mediocre man.

Or at least, that man would first have to cross the wall that was the magic swordsman
Rosberg.

(But of course, I am the kingdom’s sword, I’m not an easy barrier to cross!)

Thinking that, Rosberg, the kingdom’s most outstanding swordsman, held the handle
of his favorite sword, which was hanging at his waist, waiting to be pulled.

Those two were not the only ones waiting for Kurats.

In another room, the elites of the country had gathered. Not to mention the king, even
the prime minister and Albert, the marquis of Strasbourg, had come. This was a sight
to behold.

But when faced with these heavyweights who carried the kingdom on their shoulders,
Kurats’ calm demeanor was not affected.

“Thanks to your majesty’s kindness, I was able to protect my sister. Never in my life
will I forgot this favor.”

“That’s good, but do not worry about this matter, baron Kurats. After all, I was making
up for my own retainer’s mistakes.”

(Mhm, it looks he really went to the Gaura village and came back to the royal capital in
a single day…)

The king was already aware that Kurats had used teleportation magic, but that spell’s
power was simply too shocking.

Normal mages could teleport across a few kilometers at most.

Even top grade mages could only teleport within a twenty kilometers radius at
most(12 miles).

So, as one would expect, Kurats’ ability to teleport himself across hundreds of
kilometers (62 miles) did not disappoint the king’s expectations.

“Well then, yesterday, you spoke about quite the worrying matter.”

“You mean about the monster that caused her highness Lunaria’s illness?”

At those words, a small, dark sparkle appeared in the eyes of the prime minister.

That was because Kurats’ words could quite potentially spell the end of many aristocrats.

“―― Please wait. I’ve left the monster in her highness Lunaria’s custody.”

“What? Is she alright?!”

The king never could have expected that Lunaria herself was the one safekeeping the
parasite that made her ill.

What if that monster had ended up hurting her again?

“I apologize, father. Kurats told me to keep it a secret.”

As if she had been waiting for Kurats’ words as a cue, Lunaria appeared in the room
with a broad smile on her face.

“You are too capricious! It’s good that nothing bad happened, but on the off chance
that it did, believe me when I say I would have cut his head off on the spot!”

This mater was most distressing to the king, especially after he had let himself be so
delighted, thinking that his daughter had finally been cured for good.

With the playful expression of a child proud of her mischief, Lunaria turned towards
Kurats.

“You entrusted me with this and now I’ll return it to you, sir Kurats.”

“Thank you very much. I made sure to seal the parasite carefully, so there was no
danger really.”

“I figured as much.”

“It seems like they both have some quite troublesome personalities.” Thinking that,
king Christopher spoke in a taken aback manner.

“I am glad that you’ve become so energetic, Lunaria… But I wish you would settle your
tomboyish ways just a tiny bit.”

“Oh? But I believe I’ve actually grown to become quite ‘ladylike’.”

“And I believe you should look up that word in a dictionary.”

Said Christopher with a laugh and a slight wave of his hand. And that marked the end
of the father and daughter’s conversation.

Right after that, Christopher suddenly narrowed his eyes.

“Now then, tell me the details of the situation, baron.”

“As you wish.”

Kurats bowed very respectfully to the king.

Despite his uncommonly big body, his well-trained action still felt light and dignified.

“The monster that I locked up inside this water jug is a parasite that can mimic the
mana of its host and then absorb it until said host’s death. From its appearance, I
assume it’s an aquatic type of monster.”

“I see, it can mimic the person’s mana, so that’s why it wasn’t caught by the mages’ mana
scan.”

“I-if so, then how come YOU managed to notice it!”

If Mordred had stayed silent, that would have been the same as acknowledging that
the royal court’s mages were useless.

The truth was that Kurats―― or rather, Bernst, had implied that the court mages’ lack
of ability was at fault.

[Hmph, this is all because they have grown so cocky about their childish techniques.]

But it was simply impossible for Mordred to approve such a claim.

“―― I managed to notice because I am special, so to speak.”

“T-that’s nonsense!”

“Both of you, behave yourselves. You’re in the presence of the king.”

With a sour expression on his face, the prime minister Eustache stopped Mordred who
was starting to lose himself to his rage.

And while Mordred was acting quite immaturely, Eustache believed Kurats was also
to blame for provoking him.

“I am deeply sorry for offending you. I have mentioned this to his majesty already, but
the magic spells I use do not belong to the same system as the one that is currently
known in the world.”
“There is a system other than that of the magic saint Arturius-sama in our world?!”

Although Mordred had calmed down after being reprimanded by the prime minister,
Kurats’ words still made him shout on the spot.

Magic used to not be much different from the tricks a street fortune-teller would pull,
it could not even be called art, and Magus Arturius was the genius who had managed
to systematize it and turn it into a first-rate academic discipline.

After that, not only did magic rapidly become more powerful, but it also became
possible for many people to use it through studying. And so, magic turned into an
indispensable field for all continents.

Now, the number of mages in a country’s forces was what determined their military
strength.

The magic saint’s system was considered as sacred by the every mage in the world,
there was no way any of them would just admit that there was another magic system.

“Then, let me ask you, did magic not exist before the magic saint’s system appeared?”

“It did exist, but it was primitive and useless!”

“――Maybe. But still, my point is that there already was magic at that time. The magic
saint’s system only sublimated it by allowing everyone to study and learn it. So why
exactly would it have been impossible for my ancestors to sublimate it in a different
way?”

It was the Arturius system’s accessibility that allowed it to take over the world,
because, after all, anyone could learn it as long as they had mana.

As for the old forms of magic that were too difficult to teach to those who did not have
special talent, they had ended up disappearing.

“In my home, we called our form of magic the sages’ laws, and concealing it from the
world was considered as a duty. With our family’s system, the parents transfer their
abilities directly and entirely to their children, from generation to generation, so it’s
only natural that it never spread to the world, right?”

“But what happens if the parents or those children die before their abilities can be
passed down?”

Toward Christopher’s doubts that could only be said to be natural, Kurats answered
with a wry smile and a shrug of his shoulders.

“Not to mention the children, if the parents were to die before passing down their
abilities, that would be the end of our lineage.”

“Primitive! This magic system is much too primitive!”

Mordred showed a triumphant scorn.

Certainly, Kurats had to admit that these conditions for inheritance were too severe.

“But it’s thank to this that our sages’ laws become stronger after each generation.”

As Kurats let out that remark under his breath, Mordred’s eyes open wide from shock.

It had been nearly a thousand year since the magic saint’s system had become actively
used.

And so, Mordred wondered, if that sage’s laws system had been accumulating power
since that time period, then exactly how strong was the man standing before him?

As for Kurats, he was careful not to alter his facial expression as he asked Bernst a
question in his mind.

“Is this setting really okay?”

[If not for this setting, it will probably seem too unnatural for them that you can use
such powerful magic at your age. And these people have no way of verifying your
words anyway.]

Mordred could absolutely not accept that Kurats was far more capable than he was.
As he felt ashamed for having been afraid of Kurats for even an instant, Mordred’s face
took a shade of red. But after shaking his head from side to side, he came right back to
arguing.

“W-well, let’s say you do have some slightly special powers. Wouldn’t that also be
problematic? Because of the high-grade defense magic surrounding the castle, there
is no one who could have attached that monster to her highness Lunaria.”

“You’re insinuating I was the one who did so that i could heal her later on?”

Mordred snickered proudly.

“You’re denying it? Isn’t it true that you can teleport through the royal palace’s magic
barrier without being affected by it?”

“Your suspicions are as baseless as they are shallow.”

“H-how dare you!”

Mordred was a man who had no resistance to adversity.

He was pushing himself into becoming more irritated all on his own because his
newfound threats had been of virtually no effect on Kurats.

“Mind yours words, Mordred. This person saved my life, and I have a high opinion of
him.”

Lunaria gave Mordred a warning while keeping her voice low in order to hide her anger.

Not having expected the princess’ objection, Mordred frowned bitterly and spread
both of his arms wide in an exaggerated manner as he spoke again.

“But think of who had the most to gain from this incident. A man who used to be a
mere commoner from a remote region has now joined the upper ranks of aristocrats.
How could all of this possibly be a coincidence?”

Normally, what should have been considered was who would have benefited from the
princess’ death, not her survival, but Mordred dared to disregard that.

And looking at the final results, it was an undeniable fact that Kurats had gained a lot
from the situation.

However――.

“No, it truly was a coincidence. That man wished for a single thing in exchange for
saving Lunaria, and it was only to be able to govern the small village of Gaura.”

“Huh…?”

The king’s crucial statement made Mordred’s speculations crumble on the spot.

“Then, how come he became a baron?”

Asked Mordred, while seeking for a ray of hope.

“I did it so that I could evaluate the power of this man whose powers differ from magic
as we know it. Well, I do admit that my decision was partly driven by a whim of mine.”

In short, it was due to his unusual talents that Kurats had acquired his current
position.

Even if the princess’ case hadn’t happened, with his power, Kurats would likely have
been able to rise in prominence anytime he liked.

At the very least, he would not have needed to target the princess to show his worth.

Sweat started appearing on the forehead of Mordred, who was starting to have a hard
time keeping up the conversation.

“B-but, isn’t it too convenient that a magician who had been keeping himself in hiding
suddenly appeared just when her highness reached a critical state?”

“He aimed for that precise timing, there is just no way he didn’t. The world isn’t that
convenient, it’s not some folk’s tale. And that’s precisely why I’m going through such
a hard time.” Thought Mordred.

“Although the chances of these speculations being true are certainly low, the fact is
that we do not have any evidence to completely deny the doubts of the head of the
royal court’s mages.”
At that moment, the marquis of Strasbourg, who had been staying silent for a while,
intervened in order to help Mordred.

As the first princess’ husband, he felt the need to interfere so that the king would not
be able to trust Kurats completely.

“I see, then I have no other choice than to find the criminal responsible for the whole
incident in order to dispel all of your doubts.”

Kurats smiled impudently, as if the heavy pressure coming from the marquis of
Strasbourg had no power at all.

“Can you really do it?”

Christopher was evidently glad.

He felt it would be quite interesting if this ended up revealing just how powerful
Kurats’ sage abilities really were.

“In the first place, monsters don’t just appear anywhere at random. I might have a plan,
but it will require her highness Lunaria’s cooperation, if she doesn’t mind.”

Those words made Lunaria visibly cheerful as she broke into a smile.

“Then, let’s get right down to business! Follow me!”

◆◆◆

Looking at the back of Lunaria, who was smiling merrily, Rosberg was still feeling
grumpy.

(Your highness, how could such a suspicious man…)

Rosberg could not help but feel like Lunaria, his favorite student that he had taught
using all of his expertise and care, had now fallen into behaving like the young girls
from the capital.

“So, Kurats, what do you think? Was the person who put the monster on me someone
who wanted to see my elder sister take the throne?”
“Jeez, how am I supposed to know that? I’m not omniscient, you know.”

(S-she’s addressing him by his first name―― and without honorifics?)

Even Rosberg himself had needed to put in a lot of time and efforts before the princess
started addressing him as “Rosberg”.

As for Kurats, even though he was addressing a princess, his facial expression was
completely natural, like he was not nervous in the slightest, which made Rosberg
furiously angry.

“I see, you’re right. Then, although I might trouble you since I’m out of shape, can I still
follow you in your investigation?”

“Princess, please don’t make such worrisome jokes!”

As one would expect, Lunaria’s words were unacceptable to Rosberg.

She was still in convalescence, but more importantly, Rosberg could not let her be
careless around such a suspicious man.

Or rather, how could Rosberg possibly leave his precious highness in the care of this
youngster, who had been laughing frivolously since earlier and talking without being
intimidated in the slighest?

“Your highness, I do not believe this man is worthy of approaching you!”

“―― Do I need your permission to get close to others now, Rosberg?”

Although Lunaria kept the volume of her voice to a low level, the will that was carried
by her words was sharp as a knife.

Had she not been addressing a tough man like Rosberg, her fiery spirit alone would
likely have been enough to make him lose his nerve, grovel, and apologize.

“I will never withdraw when your safety is on the line, your highness.”

“So stubborn…”

The two of them looked at each other’s eyes for a while, but Lunaria ended up averting
eyes, having lost to Rosberg’s persistence.

Was Rosberg a warrior like any other? How many times had he saved Lunaria who
was always putting her life in danger?

Lunaria herself knew the answer better than anyone else.

“Come to think of it, mister Rosberg, aren’t you the best swordsman in the kingdom?”

Rosberg instinctively started doubting the sanity of Kurats, who complimented him as
if he could not read the mood at all.

“They call me the kingdom’s sword, so you could say I’m not worse than average.”

“I see.”

Things were not going as Rosberg expected.

The truth was that Rosberg had not been provoking Lunaria all this while, he had been
provoking Kurats.

If Kurats was using Lunaria for his ambitions, he would have somewhat protested
Rosberg’s behavior.

When faced with the feeling called anger, it was too difficult for people to hide their
true nature.

In case Kurats’ true nature turned out to be evil, Rosberg was planning to use the
confusion of their altercation to get rid of him, but things did not go his way.

As Rosberg felt dejected and disappointed that his provocation had failed, Kurats kept
talking.

“Then, say, how about with drop the words and let our swords do the talking instead?”

“…Oho. I’m the kingdom’s sword, Rosberg Conrad Von Blankenheim. You already know
that and yet you still want to duel me, huh.”

It was completely beyond Rosberg’s expectations that he would be challenged to a

duel by a youngster who was most likely not past his teens, and who, on top of that,
was not even a knight but a mage. This ignited Rosberg’s fighting spirit.

Roughly thirty years had passed since the far away days when he was still a young and
came to knock at the door of the kingdom’s knight school.

He had grown older, but even now, when he stood on the front line of a battle with his
armor covering his throbbing muscles, it did not feel like the passing of time had
weakened him in the slightest.

On the contrary, his exquisite swordsmanship had become even sharper with age, and
to say nothing of fighting a mage one to one, it was said that Rosberg would be able to
face a mage accompanied by an army of a thousand soldiers.
The man named Rosberg was the strongest soldier of the kingdom, both in name and
in fact.

“My father was a mercenary…… While I learned magic from my mother, my father
taught me the sword. Despite the appearances, I’m still quite confident in my sword
skills. So, if you don’t mind, sir Rosberg, I’d like to offer my greetings through a match
of swords.”

It was said that only a swordsman could truly understand a swordsman.

A person’s personality, habits, and discipline were all reflected through their sword.

To Rosberg, it certainly seemed like crossing swords would be the only way for him to
truly get to know the man named Kurats.

“Is this really alright with you? You’re aware that, in a match of swords, I won’t be able
to go easy on you even if I want to, right?”

In reality, that would only stand true if Kurats was an above average swordsman.

But either way, if Rosberg felt like it, he would easily be able to kill Kurats during their
fight and pretend that it was an accident.

He was actually asking Kurats if he still had the resolve to fight despite the risks.

That was what wielding a sword meant for Rosberg.

If Kurats was thinking of solving things in a diplomatic way or through bargaining,

then Rosberg would not let him leave with his life.

“Of course. Actually, I’m better at fighting hand-to-hand than using magic.”

[This is just deplorable.]

Kurats smiled broadly without paying any heed to Bernst’s sincere anguish.
For as long as he could remember, he had never lost a single fight against anyone in
his village.

And ever since he had defeated his father, Hayate Kemp, at the age of ten, Kurats had
never struggled in a fight, not even against monsters.

“Even among the kingdom’s knights, there probably isn’t anyone who can face you.”

Kurats wondered if those words that his father had offered him with a laugh were
really true.

And wasn’t the current situation his chance to confirm it?

The prospect of fighting a worthy opponent like Rosberg gave light to a blazing fire
within the core of Kurats’ body.

[Humph, you really have muscles for brains.]

“……Alright. Then, I’ll let your sword tell me how reliable you truly are.”

Due to his heavy experience, Rosberg instinctively knew that the young mage in front
of him had not challenged him on a whim or to show off.

Top-class swordsmen could sense the true strength of their opponents.

Rosberg’s intuition had been continuously ringing alarm bells since earlier, warning
him that Kurats represented a first-class danger.

“―― Interesting.” Thought Rosberg.

Kurats was a mage whose abilities were so remarkable that he could mock the mages
of the royal court, but if his capabilities as a swordsman were enough to raise a sense
of crisis within Rosberg, then to him, that meant it was worth considering how he was
going to treat him in the future, no matter how dangerous he was.

Or rather, the real danger would be to antagonize such a man.

(He can’t be thinking that I’m a normal person just because I’m not wielding a magic
sword, right?)
As Rosberg felt the coming of an exciting battle after a long time, his lips curved into a
faint smile without him realizing it.

◆◆◆

The plain training grounds of the knights covered a surface of about fifty square
meters (550 square feet), but for some reason, there was not a single knight to be seen
there.

“Besides, it’s a little too small to use for knight training, isn’t it?” Thought Kurats, while
cocking his head in puzzlement.

“This place is quite special. Even if you use high-grade magic here, the surroundings
won’t take any damage.”

“I see. I thought these were training grounds, but they’re more like dueling grounds,
huh.”

Even if these were training grounds, they would mostly be used for one to one training
bouts.

Moreover, Kurats was aware that there was a magic barrier here which would not
move an inch even if he used siege magic against it.

“You have my gratitude for saving her highness Lunaria. However, as her highness’
guardian, I must eliminate any evil person that comes by her side.”

“You’re one exemplary loyal subject, aren’t you?”

“Words don’t have any value at this point. We’ll let our swords do the talking now!”

“Then I, Kurats・vans・Almadianos, will be your opponent!”

Suddenly, the two men’s sword intents started moving like whirlwinds, making Lunaria
swallow her saliva from shock.

(How strong are they exactly?!)

It felt as if there were invisible blades flying together with the wind.
This was first time Lunaria witnessed a sword intent that gave off such an odd feeling
of pressure.

Which meant that she had never seen Rosberg actually being serious in a fight.

(Has he been holding back until today?)

Lunaria was surprised but she also felt irrationally angry from the fact that Rosberg
had not been fighting her seriously during training.

As for Rosberg, he was rethinking his evaluation of Kurats, who had yet to show even
a speck of agitation.

(Oho… Even a full-fledged knight would have a hard time enduring this sword intent,
and yet…)

If a man with little resistance like Mordred was exposed to Rosberg’s sword intent, it
would likely be enough to make him faint.

That was because the human survival instinct would bring a feeling of terror when
faced with an excessive difference in power.

“Seems like your confidence in your abilities wasn’t a bluff after all.”

Immediately after he finished speaking, Rosberg casually attacked Kurats.

His explosive power and the control he had over his movements were both incredible
――it was almost as if he had teleported himself.

Many swordsmen would have been knocked down by this attack, not realizing what
had happened to them.

But Kurats calmly caught the blow.

“Still, you shouldn’t get conceited over this level of skill!”

Rosberg realized that Kurats did have good eyes and strength as he rethought his
opinion of him, but the kingdom’s sword was not sweet enough to be satisfied with
that only.
Rosberg kept attacking again and again, not giving any time for Kurats to take a breath.

“What’s the matter? You’ll never win if you just keep defending, you know?”

Those with inferior abilities would always end up losing the initiative in a fight, then
the only thing keeping them from losing would be how persistent they could be while
being gradually driven into a corner.

Perhaps because of the influence of his father, who was a mercenary, Kurats’
swordsmanship was geared towards real combat, but even so, it was still self-taught.

And Rosberg would never lose against that kind of opponent in this sort of duel.

Nevertheless, Rosberg rather appreciated Kurats’ self-taught swordsmanship even

though it was not suited for duels but for real battles instead.

“――However, know that there are some walls you cannot cross on your own!”

Rosberg used a light feint while simultaneously rotating his sword, making Kurats’
sword rotate with it and fall down.

―― Or rather, he tried to make it fall.

Human joints had a limited degree of motion.

This characteristic was the basis of many self-defense techniques that consisted of
locking an opponent’s joints. Rosberg’s rotate and fall technique made use of that
same characteristic, as well.

Even children could easily knockdown an adult after locking his joints.

And yet, Kurats had withstood the rotate and fall technique, despite being in a state
where his joints were locked and he could not fully use his power. This incredible
strength seemed like a lie, like a mere joke.

Even though the technique could be overturned, Rosberg had no recollection of that
ever being done through sheer strength.

Rosberg once again realized how abnormal Kurats’ strenght was.

“―― Like I thought, my swordsmanship just can’t match yours.”

Kurats shrugged his shoulders with a wry smile.

“As expected, this is the limit of self-taught skills.” He thought.

He had narrowly managed to keep his sword in place, but with how things were, if
Rosberg’s previous technique had succeeded, it would have been difficult for Kurats
to deal with the attacks that would have followed.

If possible, Kurats wanted to surpass Rosberg using the swordsmanship that he was
taught by his father, but reality was never that sweet.

To his regret, his capability with the sword was only average.

Kurats took a breath before sheathing his sword and asking Rosberg a question.

“Can I switch weapons?”

“Pick whatever you want, a spear, an ax, it doesn’t matter.”

As long as he was fighting in a one to one duel, Rosberg was confident that he would
be able to crush any weapon.

“Then, I’ll pick this.”

“Wha… You bastard, are you looking down on me?!”

Looking at the weapon that Kurats had picked up, Rosberg opened his eyes wide out
of indignation.

That reaction was to be expected, because Kurats was currently holding a battering
ram: a heavy weapon which was used to destroy castle gates.

Among the kingdom’s knights, there was a certain giant man whose pride lied in his
strength and who had barely been able to lift the battering ram by using his whole
body’s power, but even he was only able to swing the ram in a downward motion. The
only value of this weapon was its weight.

It weighted more than 200 kilos (440 pounds). No matter what, it would be impossible
to use such a weapon in a one to one duel, because this kind of fight required one to
move freely and fast.

“Yup, this is perfect.”

“What the hell?!”

The surrealistic scene that was taking place before Rosberg’s eyes made him
speechless, his mouth was wide open from shock. This was the first time in his lifetime
that Rosberg had ever showed such disgraceful behavior.

Currently, Kurats was casually wielding a huge battering ram, as thick as his torso, like
it was a mere twig.

[―― This bloody meathead!]

Bernst could not condone this method of fighting.

These sorts of uncivilized physical fights were an embarrassment to a mage, however,

Bernst was also aware that it was impossible for Kurats to use advanced spells as of
yet.

[You could at least try not to look so barbaric!]

(Yeah yeah, whatever you say, oh great magic king)

With a loud noise, the battering ram attacked Rosberg.

It was impossible for him to intercept it with a sword because of the too big difference
in mass and kinetic energy.

Moreover, due to the wide area covered by the strike, even when Rosberg dodged, he
needed to move at a considerable distance.

Despite all the experience that Rosberg had amassed over the years, he had no
experience fighting against such a massive weapon.

“You… Just what kind of body is that?!”

Obviously, wielding a battering ram of over 200 kilos and moving it faster than a sword
was quite abnormal, to say the least.

The reason Kurats had been having a hard time using his sword’s power earlier was
actually the fact that it was too light; who in the world would believe such a thing?

Each time the battering ram hit the ground, the stone pavement caved in while a heavy
and loud noise resounded.

Rosberg tried to take advantage of the gaps that Kurats left each time the ram missed,
but the issue was that, due to its volume, the huge weapon could also act like an
enormous shield.

“This is so damn troublesome…!” (Rosberg)

What did it mean to fight with a sword? In general, it basically consisted of clashing
against the enemy’s weapon using swordplay, and to slash through the gaps within his
armor. Even if the opponent had a large shield or armor, there was no need for a
swordsman to directly strike there.

If Rosberg used his trump card, the magic sword Gerlach, he would easily be able to
burn any shield or the like to ashes in a single blow, but he believed that would not
count as a win.

The fire magic sword Gerlach was passed down from generation to generation in
Rosberg’s family.

Using this magic sword, he had become a top tier fierce god of the sword, but even
when he did not wield it, his title as ‘the Kingdom’s sword’ was not an exaggeration in
the slightest.

“I didn’t expect any less from you. Well then, how about if I use two?”

“Huuuh?”

This time, Kurats picked two battering rams, one in each hand, and he started
swinging them in an insane display of dual wielding.

Witnessing this scene where nonsense came to accompany absurdity, Rosberg could
only laugh.

“This is fun! Rather than a duel, at this point it feels I came to subjugate a dragon!”

The two massive and long iron beams that could take a life with a single blow were
coming from every direction, raising sparks as they powerfully knocked on each other,
but Rosberg kept dodging while still laughing.

However, that did not mean there were any room for him to take a breath.

The proof of that was the sweat which was running down his back, slowly wetting his
knight clothes.

The battering rams then came from the left and right at the same time, as if to applaud
Rosberg’s efforts by striking him in the middle, but he dodged by lowering his posture
as he chanted a spell.

“‘Impact’ ““

Although wind spells were not showy, they were quite difficult to defend against,
however, with the battering rams being used as shields, the wind spell that Rosberg
used was pointless and only ended up creating a dry metallic sound.

“―― Well, it was worth a try.”

Only advanced magic would be able to break through the huge mass of a battering ram.

From the start, given that Kurats was a mage, Rosberg did not believe that his own
magic woud be of much use, but if he could not even use it as a diversion, it was going
to be extremely difficult for him to fight.

(If that’s how it is, then I’ll just force my way through with my sword!)

As Rosberg thought that, there was a slight shift in his center of gravity, which did not
escape Kurats’ perception.

(I wonder what he’s gonna show me now…) Thought Kurats.

Kurats believed that, given Rosberg’s status as the swordsman who received the title
of the kingdom’s sword, there was no way he would be limited to this level only.
Moreover, Kurats knew that when it came to the sword, no matter how hard he tried,
he would never stand a chance against Rosberg.

Because of that, Rosberg was high in Kurats’ esteem.

“You’re not gonna die from what’s coming, are you?”

“I don’t feel like it, so I’m gonna have to say no.”

“Then prepare yourself. I’m going to show you a tiny bit of what it looks like when I
get serious…”
The second Rosberg muttred that, his sword was swung with a clear ‘shiing’.

A moment after, there was a loud metallic sound as a massive lump of metal slipped
off to the ground.

There was a skill that allowed outstanding swordsmen to cut through steel even with
a wooden or blunt sword.

It was called Zantetsu ―― Using this technique, Rosberg’ sword stopped the battering
ram that was coming at him by slicing it in two.

(So you’re finally showing your true strength.)

“The battering ram’s whole worth is in its mass and thickness, I’d never have imagined
that you’d actually manage to cut it in two perfect halves…”

Kurats could not help himself from smiling wryly as he looked down at the battering
ram which had been sliced in half.

(To think he’d be able to use Zantetsu with a blunt training sword, this is incredible.)

Kurats was not one to talk, but he still sincerely admired Rosberg’s extraordinary means.

“Even without the Gerlach magic sword, you’re still the kingdom’s sword. I’m very
impressed.”

“Praising me is not going to make me go easy on you.”

“The duel’s not over though, right?”

The two men, who recognized each other’s capabilities, found great delight in gaining
a rival against whom they could use their full power.

It was rare for those who reached Kurats’ and Rosberg’s level to find a suitable training
partner.

The two smiled fiercely at each other, having completely forgotten about Lunaria’s
matter.

“―― Here I come.”

“Go ahead.”

Kurats once again brandished his battering rams and approached Rosberg.

Although one of the iron beams had been cut in half, it was still extraordinarily heavy.

If a weight this heavy hit a human being directly at a high speed like a falling rock, it
could easily split their body apart.

But Rosberg saw through the direction that Kurats’ lethal attack would take and
dodged at the very last second before closing in on Kurats.

The battering rams were moving at an incredible speed while still having a large range
of attack, but when Rosberg got close enough, he could see that, as he expected, the
two weapons were quite fragile.

“Hum!”

With a flash, what was left of the first battering ram was cut right in half, starting from
its base.

And as Rosberg’s sword returned, it also sliced Kurats’ second battering ram.

Kurats no longer had massive shields protecting him, and all that was left in front of
Rosberg was an unarmed man.

“I got you!”

With that conviction in mind, Rosberg prepared to thrust his sword towards Kurats’
throat, ready to declare his own victory.

But, faster than the eye could see, Kurats punched away the body of the sword and
closed in on Rosberg before driving his elbow at his unguarded abdomen.

Kurats had held back plenty enough, however the hit still blew Rosberg ten meters
away. (30 feet)

“Oh, I forgot to tell you one thing… When I said that I was better at hand to hand
combat, I meant with my bare hands, not weapons.”
Kurats’ outstanding body granted him incredible physical abilities, making him so
powerful that he could easily smash bed rock to pieces with his hands.

Even if he did not use any weapons, his whole body was a strong means of attack in
itself.

The battering rams and the like were only tools that allowed him to display that
physical strength.

“…I guess he got me, huh.”

Rosberg stood up while holding his abdomen where there was still a dull pain circulating.

If Kurats had been serious, Rosberg’s upper and lower body would surely have gone
their separate ways.

But strangely, Rosberg felt neither vexed nor angry.

Rather, he was thinking that he would like to have a serious fight against Kurats one
day, a fight where he could use his Gerlach magic sword.

Besides, Kurats’ strength was clearly sufficient to protect Lunaria.

“I have failed, so I suppose I have to allow him to stand by your side, your highness.”

Although Kurats lacked experience as a swordsman, his swordsmanship was not vile
in any way.

At the very least, he would never abduct or assassinate Lunaria.

(But that doesn’t mean I believe he’s worthy of being her highness’ man.)

Although Lunaria did not seem to have noticed yet, Rosberg sensed faint traces of an
awakening love within the princess’ reactions.

However, as the princess’ guardian, he absolutely could not believe that a mere mage
would be suitable for her.

If he wanted Rosberg’s approval, Kurats would have to, at the very least, pile up a
streak of achievements that would make him worthy of being praised as a hero.
“I see! So he even won your approval? I didn’t expect less from Kurats!”

Looking at Lunaria’s delighted and broad smile, Rosberg once again made a vow to
himself.

‘If he ever has any wicked desires towards this lovely princess, I’ll make him taste
Gerlach’s blade on the spot.”

◆◆◆

“…The places where I’ve immersed myself in water? How would knowing that help the
investigation…?”

“The parasite was aquatic so it definitely attached itself to you underwater, your
highness.”

Kurats figured the parasite had likely taken Lunaria as its host in a situation where she
was naked or close to naked.

The monster was troublesome due to its parasitic traits, but like an insect, it had no
fighting strength to speak of.

In normal times, such a small fry would never have been able to enter Lunaria’s body,
she was not that weak, she had been trained by Rosberg after all.

“I’m trying to ask you about the places where you’ve taken baths or the like. I have a
hard time believing that a monster could enter the royal palace’s baths, but still.”

“While there are many influential nobles in the first princess’ faction, the royal palace
itself falls under the strict management of his majesty the king. Otherwise it would be
impossible to protect the royal family. In the first place, there is no way anyone could
bring a monster inside the palace, let alone inside the baths.” (Rosberg)

“―― I guess you’re right. ““

The defense barrier and the security breach net protecting the castle were quite
advanced, despite being useless against Bernst.

Even for Kurats, it would be difficult to break through those protections due to his
current lack of experience with magic.
“Then, your highness, wasn’t there any occasion where it happened elsewhere, outside
the castle? For example, maybe you went to the river for swimming practice or
something along those lines.”

If she had had swimming practice with the knight group in the river at the east of the
royal capital, then perhaps the parasite could have attached itself to her at that
moment.

“You think her highness would expose her delicate skin to those uncultured beasts?!
You fool!”

Maybe because he pictured the scene in his head, Rosberg’s cheeks turned red as he
showcased his indignation.

During swimming practice, the knights stayed in their underwear, basically half-
naked. No matter what, it was impossible for a young single woman of the royal family
to participate in such a gathering.

And that was regardless of the fact that Lunaria herself was very interested in
participating in the swimming practice.

“Did you visit any other country as a diplomatic envoy?”

“I did go to the the Schwartzvald kingdom, but it was more than a year before I fell ill.”

There had probably been a gap of around half a month between the time the parasitic
monster attached itself to the princess and the time when the symptoms of the mana
depletion appeared.

It would not have been possible for the parasite to stay hidden for more than a year
without doing anything.

“Then, did you step outside the castle anytime in the month prior to the time when
you were bedridden?”

“Y, yes… Well, I went out of the castle many times back then. But I don’t remember
being submerged in water at any point in that time frame…”

As she said that, Lunaria lowered her head in shame while Rosberg glared at her. She
had likely left the castle stealthily, without informing him.
“Mhm” Said Kurats, while folding his arms and looking down to the ground like he was
considering the information he had just gathered.

But naturally, Kurats was not actually doing any thinking.

He was merely pretending to be lost in his thoughts while faking a serious facial
expression.

(What do you think?)

[If it turns out that the crime happened inside the royal palace, that would mean the
whole palace is already under the enemy’s control.]

As previously mentioned, the royal palace was the most secure location of the
kingdom since it was the king’s residence.

If someone had the power to bring a monster in this kind of place, it would be no
exaggeration to say that that person could assassinate Lunaria at any time.

[But that’s quite unlikely considering the fact that, even though she fell into a coma,
the princess was still alive. It’s safer to assume that the princess just doesn’t remember
the occasion when the parasite could have attached itself to her. ]

(I see, you’re right.)

[Do I have to do all the thinking for those muscles you call a brain?! Unacceptable! ]

(M, my brain isn’t made of muscles, okay?… I think…)

Kurats was sounding very unreliable within his thoughts, but on the surface, there was
no change to his serious facial expression.

Lunaria was very impressed as she looked at Kurats; his magic was like that of no
other in the kingdom, he was strong enough to defeat Rosberg, and on top of that, it
felt like he was radiating with intelligence.

She felt like if she followed his words, she would have nothing to worry about.
“――Yeah, I just can’t imagine the crime happening in the royal castle. For now, let’s go
outside to search for the scene of the crime based on what we know of her highness’
memories.”

Although Kurats intended to go investigate by himself, Lunaria was not of the same
mind.

With a cheerful luster in her eyes, she took Kurats’ hand and declared.

“Yes, if you’re going to escort me, I’ll be able to walk at ease for sure!”

“―― Huh?”

Even Bernst, with his high intellect, had not been able to perceive that Lunaria had
intended to personally go to the scene of the crime that was committed on her. He had
completely failed to realize exactly how tomboyish this princess was.

Lunaria had a bewitching smile on her face, but Kurats could not answer right away
due to his mouth being still wide open from amazement.

“What’s the matter? You told his majesty the king that you need my cooperation,
right?”

“I guess that’s right but… Your highness, you’re actually enjoying yourself right now,
aren’t you?”

Lunaria unapologetically stuck her tongue out, as if admitting that she had been exposed.

She still had the dignified behavior of royalty, but the sweetness of a young lady had
added itself to that, which made Kurats’ facial expression loosen up without him
noticing.

Needless to say that Rosberg was even more affected.

The princess had quite the devilish charm to her.

“Y-your highness! Your cannot expose yourself to such risks!”

“I am but a sad princess whose life is being targeted in the shadows. How could I be
punished for wanting enjoy myself just a little bit?”

“Your highness, you always say these kind of things to stealthily go out of the castle,
but I will not be tricked anymore!”

“This is unbelievable. You’ve already put Kurats’ abilities to the test, and yet you still
cannot put your faith in him?”

“That’s… It’s not that I don’t have faith in him…”

Although they had both concealed their trump cards, they still both recognized each
other’s abilities.

And Rosberg knew that when Kurats fought seriously, even a whole troop of the
kingdom’s knights would not be able to lay a single finger on him.

“If my life’s being targeted anyway, I might as well enjoy it!”

“Pfft!”

Lunaria’s heartily spoken line rendered Kurats unable to suppress his laughter.

The carefree girl’s brightness was quite amusing to him.

“Oh? Looks like Kurats can also make this kind of face, huh.”

Noticing the laughing expression that spontaneously appeared on Kurats’ face,

Lunaria felt like he looked younger than his age. It was hard to imagine that this was
the same man who had fought with his life at stake against Rosberg.

“So, is it okay if I rely on you?”

As he saw Lunaria’s cute gaze that did not leave any room for objections, Kurats raised
both of his hands like he was surrendering.

“Yeah, don’t worry, I’ll protect you with my life.”

 ◆◆◆

Without delay, Lunaria and Kurats left together towards the outskirts of the castle.

Although the displeased facial expression on Rosberg’s face still did not change up to
the very end, he still ended up being driven away against his will by the explanations
of Lunaria, who kept claiming that it was all for the sake of the investigation.

Kurats sincerely sympathized with Rosberg’s anxiety.

“Be it when I was training in the royal castle, or when I was being taught by my
teachers, I used to stealthily slip out of the castle whenever I could find an opportunity,
save for when I had to take care of my official duties.”

“Stealthily, huh.”

Although the princess was wearing knight training clothes so as no to stand out, she
could not hide her noble dignity and her beautiful face that made everyone’s heads
turn.

So, while she did sincerely intend to hide herself, any onlooker could immediately tell
that she was the princess.

Lunaria’s popularity among the nation’s people certainly had to do with the fact that,
whenever she hiddenly went out of the castle, they could tell it was her.

“By the way, do you have any coins on you, Kurats?”

Lunaria’s big eyes were filled with curiosity and shining with anticipation as she gazed
at Kurats.

“I don’t think I have enough money to be able to satisfy you, your highness.”

Lunaria had never carried money on herself.

As the princess, all she had to do was ask and what she wanted would be bought for
her, but it was actually the ministry of economy that would take care of paying.

So, when she traveled incognito, it was impossible for her to do any shopping,
however, that was a whole other story now that Kurats was here. Lunaria’s heart was
throbbing with excitement.

Failing to meet such expectations would have been quite uncouth of Kurats.

As Lunaria cutely glared at him with inflated cheeks, Kurats showed a wry smile and
corrected his earlier statement.

“Alright, let me treat you, your higness Luna, but only a little bit, okay?”

“―― Yes!”

[…Did you notice?]

(How could I not notice such blatant killing intent?)

As soon as Kurats and Lunaria left the castle, multiple sources of killing intent
surrounded them.

Even if he did not use magic, Kurats was a hunter by nature. Although the other side
did not know they were being hunted, for Kurats, they were nothing more than easy
prey.

By now, he had already made the spontaneous decision to look for a chance to crush
them all together.

[……Most of them are small fry, but there a few fellows stronger than the rest.]

(They’re mages, aren’t they? They might be thinking they’re hiding pretty well, but I can
tell…)

Bernst was surprised that Kurats had managed to notice the presence of the mages
without having to use any kind of magic.

[Is that a concealing technique from this world? It certainly does have the effect to
isolate the user’s presence and yet, why…]

(Oh, what are you talking about? Is there really such an unnatural hiding skill out there?)

By the age of ten, Kurats was already hunting the wild beasts and monsters which
lurked in the mountains of Gaura.
In some cases, wild animals could hide their presence even better than mages.

From Kurats’ perspective, compared to the mountain’s beasts which he fought against
with his life on the line, the mages, who could move around with peace of mind thanks
to the trust they placed in their concealing techniques, only seemed like they were
hiding their heads without noticing that their backs were completely exposed.

[Humph, this savage kid is just too much!]

Bernst believed Kurats was quite dependable for having the talent to detect his
enemies without fail, but on the other hand, he was dissatisfied with the fact that the
source of this ability was not magic but merely a sixth sense developed through the
accumulation of years of experience.

Bernst believed such methods were too unrefined and inelegant for the alter ego of
the magic king.

Without a single clue about the conflict that was going on within Bernst’s mind,
Lunaria took Kurats’ hand and started running.

“A maid said there is a famous fortune teller in the plaza over there!”

“It’s perfectly fine to be in high spirits, but please just try not to stand out too much.”

Despite being close to reaching a marriageable age, Lunaria was taking a man’s hand
without a single worry or care. Kurats could not help himself from smiling wryly at
that.

Lunaria’s feet came to a stop in a street that was lined with stalls, in order to buy some
succades which she proceeded to quickly toss into her mouth, like a small hamster.

“Ooh! This kind of food can taste great, too!”

While it was different from the refined deserts that she ate in the royal palace, this
junk food’s unhealthy sweetness was quite refreshing for Lunaria.

“Looks like you’re really enjoying those sweets, miss. You have to try some of this
kuzumochi cake!”

After seeing the rice cake that was strongly recommended by the pushy square-faced
shopkeeper, Lunaria turned a glance full of anticipation towards Kurats.

Of course, there was no way Kurats could resist that look.

That was because Lunaria had a disposition that made older men want to protect her.

It was likely due to this enchanting disposition of hers that she was able to ensnare
Rosberg and the others.

“Mmm! This one has a refined but quite peculiar sweetness!”

The cake contained a sugar substitute made by boiling down a type of ivy plant called
sweet kudzu, which had a flavor beloved by the masses since ancient times. Depending
on how it was boiled, it could be as sweet as honey or ever sweeter, and there was also
a refreshing acidity to it.

This was not inferior to the pastries made by the royal palace’s workers.

After eating the kuzumochi cake with gusto, Lunaria once again headed towards the
fortuneteller she had heard about.

Kurzts felt a wriggling sensation as the air around him became denser.

There was a presence that both Kurats’ sixth sense and Bernst’s magic had failed to
perceive earlier.

Had this been an assassin, even Kurats would have inevitably struggled against him.

Or at least, the presence in front of him was mighty enough to make him think so.

“Oooh! Over there! We’re lucky, it seems like there is nobody else there.”

“That probably has nothing to do with luck, I feel like it was done completely on
purpose” Thought Kurats, but he was aware that saying it out loud in front of the
fortuneteller would have been tactless of him.

In the first place, he did not even know whether this presence was hostile or not.

“―― May I ask you to read my fortune?”

As she sat in front of the fortuneteller whose facial features were hidden by a hood,
Lunaria grinned to herself with excitement.

It was a lovable and contagious grin.

Even the fortuneteller, who was female judging by the blonde hair peeking through
her hood, let a corner of her blood-like lips curve into a smile.

“Oh, you were born under a very mighty star, young lady.”

“Really? I don’t know about that.”

“Yes, I can see the sparkle of the star that protects you. Such a sparkle would never
accompany an ordinary person.”

Lunaria was at a loss for words.

As the country’s princess, she certainly was destined to be protected by many

followers and retainers.

But the fact that this fortuneteller had been able to to feel this in a mere moment
showed that she was far from being simple; the only other explanation would be that
she already knew about Lunaria being the princess.

“―― You shouldn’t make that kind of expression, young lady, you’ll spoil your pretty
face. Now then, what do you want to ask me about today?”

“W, well… I am just a young girl at the start of her youth but… Still, I want to know
about love!”

Although she was acting evasively at first, Lunaria pulled herself together and made
her request to the fortuneteller with a firm nod.

“But, isn’t the man behind you your lover?”

“Aaah!”

Lunaria let a ridiculous shriek escape her mouth despite herself.

“That’s not how it is! Kurats and I… don’t have that kind of relationship.”
Judging by the delay it took for Lunaria to finish her sentence, the fortune teller
understood the unclear feelings in the girl’s heart.

She could tell that Lunaria had yet to notice who the contender for her love was, or to
even notice her own awakening love at all.

“Then, as you wish, I will predict the direction that your love life is going to take. Let
us take a look at your future.”
Without touching anything, the woman made a fortune telling card rotate like a
whirlpool until several of such cards lined up in front of Lunaria.

This was undoubtedly a technique that made use of magic. “This woman is much more
skilled than those annoying royal court mages.” Thought Bernst to himself.

As for Lunaria, her heart was jumping with excitement.

Or perhaps that feeling was her instincts telling her that the fortuneteller was not as
harmless as she seemed.

“The sun card―― This shows your ambition to reach the future that you seek, it also
shows that you will face a difficult confrontation in the near future, and that future of
yours will depend one the strength of your determination. However, if you find
yourself at an impasse, please do not doubt that you have the power to break through.”

[Interesting… Do the Arcanas exist in this world, too?]

Bernst recalled a barmaid who used to do this type of fortunetelling to pass the time.
Nostalgic memories were resurfacing in his mind.

It was the first time in hundreds of years that he was recalling such memories.

(Are Arcanas popular?)

[Were there no fortune tellers in your remote village? It was quite a widespread
practice in the Dolmand world. I am not sure about this world, but it seems like it’s
similar on that aspect. ]

“…the strength of my determination, huh…”

The fortune teller’s words appeared to have triggered strong feelings in Lunaria.

“Depending on the circumstances, I believe you will be forced to make the hard
decision of casting aside a closed one.”
“But as long as I am determined enough, I will have the power to overcome that ordeal,
right?”

“Yes, that is for sure.”

“Good.”

Lunaria’s reaction was characteristically clear-cut and direct.

She had the resolve to take full responsibility for the decision that she would come to
make.

As a member of the royal family, that was her duty, but it was also her pride, a pride
she simply could not lose.

“That’s a nice expression in your eyes. Now then, the second card…… is the lover’s card
―― but it’s following the sun arcana?”

“Does that mean something bad?”

Asked Lunaria while leaning forward, having noticed the hesitation in the fortune
teller’s voice.

“It does not have a bad meaning for your love life. As long as you put passion in your
actions, I believe the results will follow. It’s simply that, since the lover’s card and the
sun card are connected, that might mean that your partner will associate with more
than one woman.”

“You mean, he’s going to have a concubine?”

“Well, I don’t exactly know if this is about a concubine, a close mistress, or just a
woman he’ll associate with in a brothel.”

“―― As long as I’ll be his legal wife, that will not be a problem.”

Even though the fortune teller had seldom shown any facial expression so far, her jaw
dropped at Lunaria’s words that contained hardly any hesitation.

She had not expected this kind of answer from a young lady in love.
“Are girls these days so tolerant that they don’t mind sharing their man with a
mistress? How did things turn out like this?” Thought the fortune teller. But the truth
was that she was not much older than Lunaria.

Meanwhile, Bernst was secretly snickering to himself.

For the sake of Bernst’s ambitions, it was very important to know whether Lunaria
could tolerate a concubine or not.

“The last card is… the mage.”

The fortune teller glanced at Kurats like she was examining him.

She could not possibly imagine it from his appearance only, but from the movement of
the magical power in the young’s man huge body, she was able to perceive that he was
actually a mage.

“What does this one mean?”

“As long as you make your intentions clear, the one in your heart will allow you to fulfill
your love, no matter the obstacles. He is the mage that controls love, nothing is
impossible with his power.”

“Oho… In other words, you’re saying my lover will reach my own status all by himself?”

“Yes, I must admit even I am surprised by these picks… just how loved by fate must
you be be to be able to draw so many strong cards in one session?”

The fortune teller could not help feeling like such luck and such powerful picks could
not happen through a mere matter of probability, she felt like some higher power was
at play.

She had a presentiment that the young girl before her eyes and her future lover would
undoubtedly bring great chaos and glory to the country.

“This was a wonderful session. Miss fortune-teller, how long will you be staying in the
royal capital? I’d like you to read my fortune again if an opportunity presents itself.”

“I am a Miko who serves Gnochiss, the goddess of fate and judgement. The reason I am
doing this fortune-telling work is to obtain study material for the church, and to tell
you the truth, I was thinking of going back home tomorrow.”

“I see. That is too bad, but you have my gratitude for reading my fortune today.”

“May god allow us to meet again.”

The fortuneteller deeply bowed her head, and Lunaria showed her a refreshing smile
before turning towards Kurats with a pleading facial expression.

“Look, the fortune-telling was really great so I just… Sorry…”

“I understand, I understand. I’m okay with being your wallet for today, it’s fine by me,
Luna.”

“Aaaah!”

The only reason Kurats called Lunaria without any honorifics was to avoid revealing
her identity in front of the fortune teller, he did not expect Lunaria would be this
shaken by that.

Seeing Lunaria become flustered and gain many shades of red on her face, the fortune
teller grinned mischievously before adding some fuel to the fire.

“That gentleman’s fortune and magic power are very far from ordinary. You have to
hold onto him tightly, don’t let him go. ““

“Hiiii?!”

Steam seemed to be coming out of Lunaria’s head as she kept on muttering nonsense
such as “That, that… I’m not planning to… This is… B-but, but I…” and the like. It was
going to take a while for her to manage to recover her senses.

“Geez…” Kurats shrugged his shoulders and took Lunaria to the shade of the trees of
some park. As for the fortune teller, she looked at his retreating back with serious eyes,
her expression having completely changed from the one she had earlier.

“What an interesting man… Maybe this means that Jormungand is not quite doomed
yet? If possible, please don’t fail at such a crucial point.”

Then, the fortune teller turned her eyes towards the black shadows that were starting
to surround Kurats and Lunaria, with a look of scorn and contempt.

◆◆◆

(H-h-hold onto Kurats? Even is she says that, I was never taught about such practices…
No, I did hear about this from the maids, however… I would be embarrassed to death
if I did that! B, but if that comes to be necessary then… No, no, no, I am thinking way
too much ahead! )

From Lunaria’s perspective, Kurats was a man whose arms would make her feel
comfortable, a man who was flexible, and who would let her enjoy herself, unlike her
mentor, Rosberg.

And perhaps, in the depths of her subconscious, she had been considering him as a
member of the opposite sex.

Because of that, the fortune teller’s words had touched a vital point, making Lunaria
extremely flustered.

(Wait a second, I technically still have the right to inherit the throne. And just
yesterday, he became a baron… An earl rank would have been enough, let alone now…
So, if he just achieves a great feat at the right moment, then there is a possibility that…)

Before she noticed, Lunaria started to consider the prerequisites that would be
necessary for her to marry Kurats. When she became aware of her own thoughts, she
once again became greatly flustered.

(What in the world have I been thinking of since earlier? It’s like I am really――)

“…Luna”

Lunaria’s heart jumped in her chest.

Even Lunaria, who had no experience with love, instantly knew the meaning of the
impact and the suffocating uplift that had she suddenly felt.

(When did I…)

While she had been immersing herself in her bittersweet daydreams, her shoulder
had been held by Kurats who then proceeded to drag her towards him. Lunaria’s heart
was throbbing and her face was bright red.

However, Kurats’ facial expression did not show any hint of sweetness.

“We have some visit. Stay close to me.”

Observing the two from about a hundred meters (yards) away, Mordred stayed hidden
whilst snickering to himself.

That was because the assassins surrounding Kurats and Lunaria had started moving.

(All you have to do is to suffer an unsightly death, fitting of you. Then I’ll come to save
the life of her highness Lunaria! )

Having absolute confidence in his concealment, Mordred never bothered to consider

the possibility that he had been discovered.

To begin with, the quantity of his mana and his magic skills alone could never have
allowed Mordred to reach the top, it was thanks to his concealment techniques, which
gave him a great advantage in intelligence gathering, that Mordred managed to
become the head of the royal court’s mages.

He was also counting on his talented associates, who were burried in the dark, ready
for a sneak attack. In another life, Mordred could have very easily become an
outstanding assassin.

Meanwhile, Kurats and Lunaria were at the corner of a park, resting on a bench in the
shade of some trees.

This place was very convenient since it was difficult for the human eye to see much
within a dense group of trees.

Having continuously followed the two targets ever since they had left the castle, the
assassins could not possibly miss this opportunity.

Of course, the truth was that Kurats was enticing them to come to him on purpose.

“……”

Silently, three assassins attacked Kurats’ back together.

Kurats figured that they wanted to neutralize him before attacking their target, Lunaria.

“Go ask the forest’s black wolves to teach you before trying to sneak on me!”

Although his back was being attacked, Kurats did not throw a single glance behind
him, he merely swung his left arm.

The blow looked casual, but contrarily to its appearance, its power was extraordinary.

Weapons still in hand, the assassins’ bodies were bent and sent flying tens of meters
(yards) away. Once they reached the ground, they twitched a little before they became
completely silent and stopped moving.

The three men’s attack was a mere diversion, but since Kurats did not move his glance
at any point, he was able to see yet another assassin, who was coming to attack him
from the front.

While he had likely been shaken by this, there was no change in the assasssin’s
expression as he rushed forward while putting up a blade that was given a purple
shine by the poison that had been smeared on it beforehand.

“Sorry, but my skin is actually made of muscles. This kind of blade can’t wound me.”

[Your skin is made of muscles? You do know that does not make any sense, right?!]

Bernst reflexively and understandably put his everything into retorting.

As for Kurats, he thrust his fist forward faster than the eye could see.

The punch’s destructive power was obvious considering the current state of the three
men who had attacked Kurats from behind earlier.

But the assassin did not avoid the fist, instead, he stabbed his sword inside Kurats’
now defenseless arm. Or rather, he tried to stab it inside.

“Impossible!”

Despite the very long and tough training that he had likely gone through to reach his
current level, the assassin still could not help himself from shouting out loud by
mistake.
Kurats’ skin did not seem to have any protection whatsoever, and yet it had ended up
repelling the blade with a solidity akin to that of a steel armor.

The assassin despaired, he had failed to leave any cut, scratch or even redness on the
enemy’s arm, but his thoughts were soon interrupted by the fist that finally reached
him and blew him away like his associates.

“Aargh!”

Kurats deemed that he had held back enough, but upon landing a direct hit in the
abdomen, his attack was guaranteed to make the enemy’s internal organs rupture.

Perhaps if Kurats had not held back, the hit would have ruptured the enemy’s whole
body at once, and he would have suffered less in consequence.
As soon as it became clear that the pincer attack had failed, several arrows came flying
from Kurats’ left and right.

Then, a man whose presence was clearly different for the other assailants, started
running towards Lunaria while wielding a two-handed sword. He was likely the
commander of the assassins.

Perhaps he had judged that he could no longer afford to start by neutralizing Kurats.

“Hey, c’mon, you can’t switch opponents in the middle of a fight, that’s just rude.”

Normal arrows without any mana in them were absolutely not a threat for Kurats.

However, the two-handed sword of the man who seemed to be the commander was
radiating with mana.

Although there was no telling what kind of effect was added to the sword by the mana,
this was undoubtedly the enemy’s last remaining trump card.

[If you can, try to catch him alive and make the best use of him. If there is anyone
among the assassins who has communicated with their employer, it must be this man.]

(Alright, alright… Hmm?)

At that moment, a strange power twined itself around Kurats’ foot.

(―― Now’s the time! )

Thought Mordred, who was clenching his teeth as he watched the progress of the fight.

Even though Kurats was a mage, it looked as if he was even stronger than knights in
physical combat. In Mordred’s case, the first surprise attack alone would have been
enough to end him.

Since he was well aware of that, Mordred’s irritation and jealousy towards Kurats was
growing more and more.

With the way things were, it seemed like the battle could end without Mordred having
any time to intervene.

But Mordred’s inner-crisis had only lasted a few moments before he saw the head of
the assassins rush towards Lunaria.

For a brief instant, he hesitated.

(Should I defeat the assassin now and save the princess?)

However, as soon as Kurats moved Lunaria towards his back in order to protect her,
Mordred made his decision.

―― “He came to the palace out of nowhere and suddenly obtained the rank of baron,
he’s a mere commoner and yet he ended up becoming a close retainer of the king, like
myself… as long as he is alive, this frustration and this hatred that seems to be fated to
burst out of my chest will never disappear!”

“‘Bind’ ““

With a low voice, Morded whispered the incantation of a spell.

Although he was lacking, Mordred was the still the head of the royal court’s mages,
and his “bind” spell was so powerful that it could even bind a top-notch knight.

“I’ve never tried it but I’m sure even the leader of the knights, Rosberg, would never
be able to get rid of my bind spell without using his magic sword Gerlach” Thought
Mordred.

However…

“And there it goes.”

Kurats only had to use a little bit of extra strength to get rid of the magic net that was
binding the lower half of his body.

To Kurats, who had not been using more than 10% of his strength since the beginning
of the fight, Mordred’s magic restraint was no trouble.
After that, Kurats caught the assassin’s sword with his thumb and index finger, and
then drove a merciless low kick towards his lower leg.

The kick was so nonsensically powerful that at the moment of impact, the man’s leg
did not simply break, it was torn off and sent flying.

“Woops, sorry. I didn’t hold back properly ’cause a certain fellow did something
unnecessary and distracted me.”

Kurats smiled wryly at the man who was feeling an intense pain and had fallen to the
ground after losing both his leg and his balance.

[The head of the royal court’s mages is pathetic. Is a restrictive pressure spell the only
thing he can use in a range of at most a few hundred kilometers (miles)?]

(No, I think it would probably be plenty enough against a normal person.)

Kurats suppressed his desire to mock Mordred, who was likely very confused by this
outcome which completely differed from his expectations, and he instead turned
towards the assassin on the ground, who was glaring at him with an expression of
anguish.

“Ugh!”

With a single leg left, it was impossible for the assassin to escape.

Nevertheless, his eyes did not show any will to give up on fighting, he was ready to
attack again.

“Look, even needles can’t pass through my skin. So how could a normal sword ever
wound me?”

“You… you freak of nature!”

Realizing that his last method to counterattack had been seen through, the assassin
hurled abuses at Kurats with great venom in his voice.

At the same time, he completely switched his task. His goal was no longer to
assassinate the princess, but to destroy the evidence instead.
“Yeah, sorry, I can’t let you kill yourself.”

As soon as the man prepared to bite the poison hidden in his back tooth, Kurats
grabbed his head with his left hand and then shook it heavily.

The man’s brain was shaken at lightning speed, and before he could realize it, his
consciousness had already fallen into darkness.

“Kurats! A-are you are alright?”

When Lunaria finally came to reality, everything was already over.

She could still feel the touch of Kurats’ rugged hand on her right shoulder, even though
he had let go of her already.

Her heart continued to beat very fast, informing her that what she had just witnessed
was not an illusion.

There was no word to describe how amazing Kurats’ overwhelming strength truly
was.

It was safe to say that no one would think that Kurats was a mage after watching that
fight.

He was a one-man army.

(That fortuneteller did say that he could rise to my status all by himself――)

In her mind, Lunaria suddenly started having delusions of Kurats wearing a formal
attire and of herself wearing a wedding dress while being princess-carried by him.

―― Pouf!

It once again seemed like steam was coming out of her head.

(What in the world am I thinking!)

“Nobody was hurt in the end. But still――I suppose I have to go give my greetings.”
 ◆◆◆

“Why why why why why why WHY?!”

Mordred did not have a single doubt that he had used his binding magic.

That was made clear by the change in Kurats’ expression at the moment the spell was
used.

And yet Kurats had still slayed the assassin like he had not been affected at all.

Mordred wondered, had his magic been cancelled?

But he believed that was not the case since Kurats would not have been able to
counter-attack if he had used a cancelling technique at that moment.

If so, then how on earth was he still alive and able to calmly walk towards Mordred’s
direction with a calm expression on his face?

(W-wait, he’s walking towards here?!)

This time around, a terrible chill ran through Mordred’s back, as if he had been
punctured by an icicle; he was extremely scared.

(He couldn’t possibly have managed to see through my concealment technique, right? If
he did, does that mean he noticed that I’m the one who used the binding spell on him?)

Mordred hurriedly looked towards his left and right to check, and no one among the
people passing by seemed to notice his existence.

There was no doubt that he had properly used his concealment technique and that it
was working normally.

This was supposed to be the most advanced concealment technique in all of the
Jormungand kingdom.

“I did not expect to meet the head of the royal court mages in such a place, what a
coincidence.”

Mordred wondered, what on earth was the real identity of this man who was calling
out to him without any hesitation despite his concealment?

“Y-you saw me…?”

Answered Mordred, with a hoarse voice; it had taken him everything he had to let out
those words.

This moment was the first time anyone had ever seen through Mordred’s concealment.

“I have to say I was pretty curious since you’ve been following us ever since we came
out of the castle. By the way, someone used a binding spell on me earlier but…”

“Are you suspicious of me? Be careful with your words, there will be consequences!”

Mordred was enraged on the surface, but in his mind, he was terrified.

Kurats was not the only one present, Lunaria was with him.

Given the situation, if the fact that he has used the binding spell on Kurats was
revealed, then there was a possibility that Modred would be executed, regardless of
his status as the head of the court’s mages.

Because of his absolute confidence in his concealment, Mordred had not prepared any
countermeasures in case he would end up being discovered.

“No, how could I be suspicious of you! The binding spell had the strength of a child
pulling at my sleeve, there is no way that would be the doing of the head of the royal
court’s mages.”

For an instant, Mordred wanted to throw everything away and launch an attack spell
at Kurats for insulting his technique.

“I’d sure like to see the face of the person who tried to use such a lousy spell on me.
But I suppose there is no point in telling you about it, sir; I am merely babbling, don’t
mind me.”

Mordred gritted his teeth and bit his lip so hard it lost its color and turned light purple,
but even then, he kept on enduring.

(I’m going to kill you. No matter the price, no matter the means, even if I have to sell my
soul for it, someday, without fail, I will make you beg for your miserable life. I will take
away your honor, your position, your everything, I will make you despair, I will make you
suffer as much as humanly possible, and then, I’ll let you suffer a gruesome death. So, for
now, I have to endure.)

However, Mordred’s determination and hatred were of no importance to Kurats.

Why would a lion be wary of a rat’s killing intent?

“Anyway, try not to play hide and seek too much, sir. People might get ideas.”

“―― I will not forget the disrespectful way you’ve spoken to me today.”

Kurats sneered while looking down at Mordred.

(This man’s pride is his everything. But at least, with this, he probably won’t try to attack
me upfront like he did today. )

[He will still hinder you in various ways from behind your back.]

Even though Kurats was not familiar with the inner workings of human nature, he was
still aware that Mordred would never become his ally under any circumstances.

Until the very moment of his death, Mordred was certainly going to be Kurats’ enemy.

[But he’s not worth killing. If his hostility ever turns into actions again, you’ll just have
to crush him then and there.]

Kurats gave a small nod to Bernst after seeing Mordred turn around a leave in a hurry.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“W-what’s the matter?”

Kurats looked back in confusion at Lunaria, who shouted out of nowhere. He

wondered if an assassin had appeared in the short gap when he looked away.

“Gnochiss!”

Lunaria was in high spirits, puffed up with pride, making Kurats troubled as to how to
react.

“…I’m listening.”

While massaging his temples, Kurats barely managed to get himself to say that.

“The reason we came out of the castle today in the first was to search my memories
and find a place outside where I could have been in contact with water. Isn’t that
right?”

“Niehehehe” Lunaria laughed proudly.

(This cocky laugh must be a recurring habit of hers.) Thought Kurats, to whom Lunaria
was now looking quite immature.

“It happened when the knights and I were coming back to the capital after training.
The Gnochiss festival had just started, and I was invited to serve as a miko, and hence
to purify myself by bathing. It’s believed that, as the ruler of fate, Gnochiss brings good
romantic matches to the mikos that serve her.”

That desire was quite fitting of a common young lady, which made Kurats unintentionally
let a smile escape him.

Seeing that, Lunaria shook her hands in protest, like a small animal.
“I-it’s not what you think! I only reluctantly served as a miko because I was invited to
do it… but it had nothing to do with me wanting a good match! That would make it
look like I’m starving for a man or something!”

In response to Lunaria, who turned red and was justifying herself with teary eyes,
Kurats nodded and held himself back from laughing.

“Of course, there is no way that would be the case.”

“Mhm, right! As long as that’s clear!”

With a clearly relived expression on her face, Lunaria continued speaking.

“Save for the royal palace, that was the only instance where I soaked myself in water
in the past half year.”

“And where was that exactly?”

“It was in an inn town called Barbena, which is two hours away from the royal capital
on horseback. Should we go?”

“Of course.”

◆◆◆

Barbena had grown remarkably in recent years thanks to the fact that it was close to
the royal capital, and that it therefore served as a labor pool for it.

The inn town was also famous for its redlight district, where merchants would take a
rest when passing through the Cowen mountains to go to the royal capital.

The entity with the greatest power in that whole town was a temple for the goddess
of fate and judgement, Gnochiss.

She was part of the three major gods, along with the god of law and justice, Horus, and
the god of life and good harvest, Kukulcan. These gods were the center of people’s
faith, especially in the west of the kingdom where there were many believers.

And there was a certain fad of wishing for marriage from Horus, and for love from
Gnochiss.
The entry to Barbena’s temple had a luxurious gate which seemed brand-new, without
any particular history to it.

When she came in front of it, Lunaria spoke up loudy.

“Is sir pastor here?”

“P-princess Lunaria! Your visit is a great honor to us and we are extremely grateful,
but may I ask the reason of your coming to this temple, your highness?”

The priest who welcomed Lunaria was not unfamiliar to her, she had seen him before.

Although she did not remember his name, he was the man who taught her about the
clothes and manners of mikos on the day she was invited to serve as one.

“I am sorry for the sudden visit, but I would like to meet with the pastor.”

“Y-yes! I’ll bring him right away, your highness!”

Panicked by the sudden visit of a member of the royal family, the priest rushed inside
the temple.

[He’s like a small monkey. Looks to me like any thief from around here would be able
to sneak in easily.]

Muttered Bernst, in a shocked manner.

Upon receiving a member of royalty, the priest certainly did straighten his guard to
some extent, but there was no doubt that that was merely the act of a novice
pretending that he knew what he was doing.

(Isn’t there anyone a little more powerful around here? If I use that priest as a reference,
this whole temple is pretty pitiful, I hope there is more to it.) Thought Kurats.

“Welcome, and thank you for coming. I was sorry to hear about your sickness, but I am
most sincerely glad to see that you have fully recovered, your highness.”

However, the pastor who appeared completely failed to meet Kurats’ expectations.
Kurats could not feel a shred of majesty or magical power from the pastor, whose
round face was displaying a regular smile with no second thoughts behind it.

(Can people become pastors without having any power whatsoever…?)

“Actually, there is a little something that has been on my mind. At the previous festival,
I only stopped by this town by complete coincidence, so I feel it’s pretty amazing of
you to have managed to recognize me and encourage me to serve as a miko for that
day.”

Indeed, on that day, the reason Lunaria and the knights had stopped by Barbena on
their way was that someone had been seriously injured in an accident during their
training, which had been completely unexpected.

The princess had not paid attention to this on the spot because her mindset had been
taken over by the festive mood of that day’s celebration, but now that she thought back
on this, the whole situation did seem odd.

No matter how things were in the royal capital, the number of people who knew
Lunaria’s face in Barbena should have been very limited.

“By coincidence? Really? I had heard from baron Isengard that you would stop by, so I
thought for sure that your visit had been scheduled beforehand.”

“―― I might have simply misunderstood the situation. Forgive me for bothering you
with such a trifling matter.”

Now that this had been mentioned, Lunaria recalled that the man who was injured on
that day actually had a connection with baron Isengard. It seemed like she would need
to investigate upon her return.

Lunaria then spoke up evasively, with an unclear smile on her face.

“Anyway, becoming a miko was worth it. I will pray to the great goddess Gnochiss in
gratitude.”

Lunaria’s words made a joyful expression appear on the face of the pastor, who
proceeded forward to guide the princess to the chapel. Then, while walking three
steps ahead of her, he voiced a certain assumption of his.
“It seems like the kingdom is going to have some good news soon, about how the
princess has found her good match.”

Lunaria became crimson red from her face to her neck.

“Y-you are jumping to conclusions! T-t-that’s only a possibility, a very far off possibility!”

“I know. I understand.”

“Your secret is safe with me――.” added the pastor, who was clearly implying that his
assumptions were true, which made Lunaria shake her head from side to side, like a
child throwing a tantrum.

“You don’t understand! You did not understand a single word I said!”

Needless to say that, in the end, no matter how Lunaria tried to solve the
misunderstanding, her words did not reach the pastor.

◆◆◆

“So, it was Isengard, huh…”

After returning from Barberna to the royal palace, Lunaria changed to a comfortable
silk lounge-wear and stretched out her whole body before sitting on a chair.

“Was that unexpected of him?”

“Well, he is like cats and dogs with Bessendrof, a neighboring feudal lord. Since
Bessendorf is part of my elder sister’s faction, I did not believe Isengard would become
hostile to me.”

“―― You know, the loyalty of an aristocrat is driven only by profit, so, it can always
shift. Isengard would probably swear allegiance to princess Felbell if he heard
whispers that she would treat him even better than Bessendorf, right?”

“That is certainly true. I read too optimistically into this. Still, Kurats, were you really
just a commoner until the other day?”

Kurats was speaking like he was an aristocrat who had years of experience in the royal
court, and while Lunaria was impressed, she could not help feeling some doubts.
“No matter the social status, people will still be people, their minds work the same
way. That’s how I know.”

Of course, that was a lie. Bernst was the one taking charge of the smart talk, there was
no way that a peasant and hunter like Kurats would understand any of these things by
himself.

[She lives in the royal court and she can’t guess something this simple?! This is
unacceptable! ]

(Alright, but, what is a royal court supposed to be?)

[Well, putting it in light terms, it’s a lair for monsters and demons, haunted by the most
inhumane of people. ]

(I see, it’s a survival of the fittest kind of place, isn’t it? The kind where you can punch
things away when you don’t like them, huh.)

[Stop thinking of brute force as the solution to everything! You barbarian!]

(It feels great to use force to squash an ingenious and well-built conspiracy) Thought
Bernst with a daring smile.

But that was completely different from Kurats’ choice of not thinking things through
at all and just rushing forward.

(Will Kurats ever be able to understand that more elegant and refined feeling of supreme
joy which only a few chosen people can enjoy?) As he thought that, Bernst had an urge
to tear his hair out.

While Bernst was dwelling on these things, Lunaria replied.

“Mhm, perhaps you’re right. Now then, the problem is how am I going to prove that he
did it…”

“What’s Isengard’s personality like?”

“Let’s say he’s not exactly the reserved type. But he’s just a frog in the well, a coward
acting like the king of a small world.”
(I see, this type of personality is easy to make use of; it’s perfect.)

“Seems like he’d hate it if someone came to investigate his territory. And if that
someone actually used to be a commoner… I wonder what would happen.”

“Your personality is worse than I thought, Kurats…”

Lunaria guessed that Kurats wanted to use himself as a decoy and to go right into
baron Isengard’s grasp.

He was confident in his own power to the point where he seemed impudent.

No normal human would think of rushing by himself into the territory of the perpetrator
of an assassination.

The fact that Kurats made this choice clearly showed that he was confident he could
take on all of Isengard’s soldiers if need be.

“Princess Luna, please tell Rosberg and the others to wait for me and not to come,
because they might end up creating trouble rather than helping if they make a mistake.”

“Good grief, I suppose I will, although it seems foolish to worry about these things
knowing that it’s you we’re talking about.”

In an attempt to hide her wry smile, Lunaria covered her mouth with her hand, but it
was forcibly pulled away by Kurats, who proceeded to put his lips against it.

Feeling the touch of Kurats’ warm lips on the back of her hand, Lunaria became dizzy
as her whole face took the colors of a fresh apple.

Although she had surely experienced this many times, Kurats’ grasp of her hand alone
was enough to instantaneously saturate her mind.

“W-wha-what are you…!”

“Your highness, no matter who they are, I will smite all your enemies as they come.
Believe me.”

(This is too embarrassing! Saying these kinds of things is way too embarrassing! )
[You think you’ll be able to coax your sister without even being able to say a line like
this one in a dignified manner?! Your behavior is unacceptable! ]

The truth was that Kurats’ brain had been overwhelmed just like Lunaria’s, but,
fortunately, neither of them had realized.
“She didn’t die? Princess Lunaria is still alive?!”

Having received a report from the royal capital, Ross, the baron of Isengard, started
yelling angrily as his complexion turned deathly pale.

“Can’t this worthless scum die already?! And just when I was finally going to settle my
account with Bessendorf!”

For many years, the Bessendorf and Isengard households had been competing to gain
ownership over some land.

The plot of land wasn’t particularly big, but it was the location of the Kajik lake, which
was a source of water, so both parties were absolutely not willing to give it up.

The head of the faction that Bessendorf belonged to was the marquis of Strasbourg,
Albert, and more than half a year prior to this, he had expressed his intention to give
that plot of land to the Isengard household in exchange for something.

Due to their hostility towards Bessendorf, the Isengard family had sided with princess
Lunaria at first, but Ross did not care whose faction he belonged to as long as he could
get the Kajik lake.

So, Ross’ decision to switch sides and join the marquis of Strasbourg was a quick one.

And, by now, princess Lunaria’s life was supposed to have been taken by a certain
monster that only lived in the Isengard territory.

“―― There is no way that I’m being suspected, right?”

If by any chance the whole matter ended up being exposed, that would be the end of
the Isengard household.

There was no doubt that Ross would be hanged, his territory would be seized, and
even his family and followers would be made to suffer, by being banished or exiled.
“No, among the stories regarding the celebration of the princess’ recovery, there was
not a single rumor about any criminal that may have been involved…”

Said the knight Casper, while kneeling on one knee. He descended from a long line of
retainers.

“T-that is right! There is no way they can find out, absolutely no way…!”

Ross let out a sigh of relief and wiped away the sweat on his forehead.

He had been willing to use a monster that took a long time before killing its victim
because he absolutely did not want to be found out.

The monster had been brought from the woods towards the north of the Isengard
territory, where there was a swampy area of about 2 km² which was the dwelling of
many monsters that were still unknown to the world.

“But regardless, you told me that there was no cure, Oliveira!”

Ross snorted and glared at a mage who was standing in the back of the room.

“I am extremely sorry. I never thought anyone would be able to find a cure for an
unknown monster like that one.”

Although he bowed deeply, there was no change in Oliveira’s facial expression, and he
did not seem to feel concerned or intimidated.

But he was honestly very surprised that a mage who could cure Lunaria had appeared.

Because he himself had yet to find a cure against the monster.

“I guess we’ll be using a monster that kills instantly next. I’ve gotten a sample of a
pretty good one actually.”

Said Oliveira with a stifled laugh, seemingly amused by the situation.

Soon after Ross became the head of the Isengard household, he came across Oliveira,
who was visiting the territroy for his research on monsters. Since then, Ross had
changed.
Although he was self-righteous and haughty by nature, he used to be open-minded
enough to listen to his retainers, but now, he was not willing to listen at all and he had
an awfully quick temper.

Casper was convinced that this was because of Oliveira.

“That is too dangerous! We still don’t know anything about the anonymous mage who
cured the princess. He might see through this new monster too!”

Besides, trying to come in direct contact with the princess now would be nothing more
than suicide.

Hence why Casper was asking Ross not to act rashly. (If possible, I wish he would seal
these unrealistic ambitions for good, too) Thought Casper.

“……Even so, I have to kill her!”

Unfortunately, the sincerity of this loyal subject did not reach Ross.

There was only one condition under which the marquis of Strasbourg would give
preferential treatment to Isengard over Bessendorf, and that would be if the isengard
household took care of the princess’ assassination.

Since Isengard did not have the support of Lunaria’s faction anymore, giving up on
assassinating the princess now would be akin to conceding defeat in the territorial
dispute against Bessendorf.

“Obtaining the Kajik lake was the dearest wish of my predecessor, I have to do it. You
want me to kiss Bessendorf’s ass now?!”

Ross shouted, while caught in a feeling which could be called an obsession.

Isengard’s mad train of thought made Casper clearly realize the crisis that the Isengard
household was in.

“I implore you to think it over! Right now we should kill this mage and erase all of the
evidence! Please think of the survival of the household first!”

This was the first time Casper had remonstrated with his superior like so, but he did
not leave any impression on Ross.
“Know your place! Why couldn’t you think of a way to kill the princess and maintain
the household? This is all on you, it is your fault that I can’t let go of Oliveira!”

Compared to Casper, Oliveira was of much more use as a tool to fulfill Ross’ desires.

However, he was that much more dangerous, which made him a double-edged sword.

“As I said, I’ve gotten my hands on a new monster. So I’ll go experiment with it now.”

The corner of Oliveira’s mouth rose into a broad green.

His eyes showed that he was confident he would not be killed by Ross.

Indeed, Ross’ grand ambitions made him easy to manipulate, and that was precisely
why Oliveira was fine with him being his host.

“This insect of a man is the enemy of the Isengard family!”

Casper found the resolve to pull out his sword.

Perhaps he should have done so from the very beginning.

He was responsible for letting the situation worsen to this point by trying to be
considerate of his master’s feelings.

No longer having any regard for his own life, Casper decided to execute Oliveira.

“―― Don’t! Don’t you dare do it, Casper! I will not forgive you if you kill Oliveira!”

“I will give up my life to redeem myself! I am sorry!”

As a knight who served a baron’s family, Casper’s capabilities were absolutely not to
be looked down upon. Rather, it could be said that his strength was extraordinary for
a knight who served the household of a baron from the countryside.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, I mean, what kind of retainer goes against his master’s
orders?”

“You are in no position to talk!”

A long range combat was the most suitable setting for a mage to display his forte.

Therefore, Casper figured that if he could get close to Oliveira, he would be able to
defeat him, even if he himself would sustain heavy injuries.

“DIE!”

While giving a sidelong glance at his master who was moving left and right in confusion,
Casper slashed his sword at Oliveira.

And, mysteriously, Oliveira did not intercept him.

Casper was able to come in front of Oliveira without being wounded in the slightest.

――(I can kill him.)

Even if Oliveira used a close-ranged spell now, Casper would still absolutely be able to
kill him since he already had the resolve to take a blow so that his own attack would
land.

Besides, at this distance, his attack would land faster than the time it would take to
cast a spell.

Even so, Casper could not use magic in the slightest and did not have any magic
artifact, so having a skilled mage as his opponent was too much for him.

The moment he convinced himself that he would succeed, his body stiffened on the
spot and he stopped moving.

“W-what’s――”

Oliveira stared with an amused smirk at Casper, who was left astonished.

This was different from the expressionless smiles Oliveira had been showing so far,
this time he looked clearly delighted.

“That’s a monster I’ve been keeping for a long time. It can go inside your shadow to
restrain your movements. But the effect doesn’t last very long.”

As he said so, Oliveira took an insect out of his pocket.

“Now this, is something else. It’s a new species that I’ve discovered recently. It can slip
inside the brain and cause a powerful hypnotic effect. It’s a parasitic monster that can
prey on its host while he’s asleep and powerless.”

“…Stop…”

Casper was fine with being killed in combat.

But he could never accept dying due to his brain being eaten by a disgusting monster.

He used every bit of strength that he had, but he couldn’t move. His body was numbed
from his feet to his hands right until the tip of his fingers.

“Stay away! Don’t bring that dirty insect in front of me!”

“This is my first time using it on a human body. You should feel honored.”

“Stoooooooooooooooop!”

Casper struggled as he heard the sound of something crawling inside his ear.

The feeling of the insect’s segmented body rubbing against his skin made Casper
aware that his brain was going to be destroyed, little by little.

Looking at that expression of agony, Oliveira felt extreme joy.

But at that moment, Casper’s finger reacted.

Having realized that the spell which was binding him through his shadow was starting
to go away, he put as much tension on his body as he possibly could.

(Just a little bit more!)

(Faster! Faster! Before the monster reaches my brain!)

Then, he heard a loud, disgusting sound that painfully shook his eardrum.

(The insect is destroying my eardrum!)

While feeling goosebumps all over his body, Casper managed to free himself from the
spell that was binding him through his shadow.

After he was finally able to move his hand, he thrust it towards his ear, desperately
wanting to take out the monster.

His bangs were full of sweat as he frantically searched inside.

“―― Huh? It’s not here?”

(That’s impossible.)

Even now, he could still feel it rubbing against his skin.

Why was it not there? And for that matter, why was it that his brain was rapidly
becoming more hazy to the point where he couldn’t think of anything?

“Sorry, but, everything you felt after your eardrum was destroyed was all an illusion.
It’s too late already.”

Oliveira’s facial expression changed as his lips gave rise to a relaxed smile.

(So this is this man’s true nature, huh) ――That was Casper’s last thought before his
consciousness permanently faded into darkness.
Cornelia felt like something had changed in her ever since the day Kurats saved her
from the earl’s son.

“I’m back, sister.”

“Kyaaaah!”

Hearing the greeting of Kurats who had appeared out of nowhere through his
teleportation spell, Cornelia let out a strange shriek.

“I’m sorry, did I surprise you?”

“I-it’s okay. Anyway, dinner is ready.”

As Cornelia expected, she still was not being herself.

She couldn’t look straight at Kurats’ face.

And Cornelia was not innocent enough to not know what that meant.

(No, I can’t think that way. I am his elder sister――)

But she also knew that having such feelings was wrong.

(Forget it already. Kurats is your precious younger brother.) That thought was well
established in her mind.

After pulling herself together, Cornelia sat at the dining table with Kurats.

“Today’s dinner sure is pretty fancy. It looks delicious.”

“Y-you think so? Ever since you became a baron, I’ve been getting lots of different
ingredients, that’s probably why…”

Indeed, the villagers had presented high-quality ingredients to Cornelia.

For them, that was an affordable way to curry favor with the feudal lord who had
drastically reduced their taxes.

But that was not the only reason why the dinner was splendid.

It was like an instinct for a maiden in love to make a meal that the man in her heart
would like.

Kurats couldn’t stop himself from smiling in front of his favorite meals, chicken stew
and minced rabbit meat. That sight made Cornelia feel a warmth at the core of her
heart.

“Kurats, come on, you don’t have to eat so fast, the food isn’t going to disappear, you
know?”

“Sorry, sorry, it’s just way too tasty to stop!”

Cornelia wondered, was this what people called a woman’s happiness?

As Kurats demonstrated his strong appetite, Cornelia’s smile deepened more and more.

―― Until Kurats spoke again.

“Oh, by the way, I’ve been ordered by her highness the princess to go search for her
assailant starting tomorrow, so don’t worry if there are some days when I don’t return.”

“Haaaaaaaah?”

(What the hell? I wasn’t told about this!)

“W-w-w-why do you have to put yourself in danger, Kurats? After everything you went
through to become a baron!”

“By becoming a baron, it seems like I also became part of princess Lunaria’s faction.
And, I mean, even today, she was attacked by assassins while strolling outside, near
the royal castle.”

Cornelia was too astonished by Kurats’ words to ignore them.

“You were in the castle town with the princess?”

Cornelia was aware that there was a crack in her voice.

She was unable to suppress the persistent, dark feelings that were coming from the
depths of her heart, despite knowing that those feelings were unreasonable.

(Why why why why why why why why why why?)

“Even though she’s a princess, she’s actually a pretty tomboyish girl. Accompanying
her is pretty difficult.”

“Oh, a girl, huh…”

Kurats failed to notice that there was some type of great danger within Cornelia’s voice.

“She ate a lot, she seemed to like small accessories, and her attention was very quick
to be caught by new things, I’m pretty sure no one would be able to tell that she’s a
princess just by looking at her in action.”

“Sounds like she’s quite the loose canon. But there was probably someone accompanying
you guys so that’s fine.”

“No, there was only me actually.”

―― ‘Clack’.

Cornelia clearly heard this sound in her head, it was like the sound of rubber that was
stretched past its limit, to the point where the tension ripped it apart.

“Come to think of it, she also went to a fortune-teller to ask about her future love life.
She was in a very good mood afterwards, the results were probably great.”

“O-oh~, shopping and fortune-telling, even though she’s the princess, she is still a girl
after all huh…”

In short, Kurats and the princess had been all alone together, enjoying themselves
while buying food outside.

Normally speaking, this could only be called a date.

While Cornelia had been in anguish over her feelings, Kurats had been care-freely
enjoying himself on a date with the princess.

Right now, Cornelia was suppressing a laugh of pure anger that was stuck in her throat.

Kurats was not personally responsible for this, however, the result was the same, he
was going to have to pay the full price for playing with a girl’s feelings.

“The princess must have been really pleased with you to have let that happen.”

“It’s probably because she’s not obligated to restrain herself in front of me since I used
to be a commoner.”

(That’s not how it works! No matter what, she’s still a princess, she’s supposed to restrain
herself in front of everyone!)

Cornelia barely managed to keep those words to herself.

For a woman, going out with one man all alone was a special event.

Especially since her life had been targeted a few days before. Given her circumstances,
the fact that she hand gone out all alone with Kurats and had ended up honestly
enjoying it showed that her trust towards him was extraordinary.

(Even I was able to guess that, so why couldn’t this blockhead do as much even though
he was with her?)

Without realizing it, Cornelia ended up sympathizing with the princess even though
she should have considered her as her rival.

(This is all Kurats’ fault!)

That thought was driven by Cornelia’s complex feelings as a woman, so, how bad could
she possibly be?

“Since the princess likes you so much, you’re gonna have to become an adult soon,
right?”

At last, Kurats noticed that his sister looked different than usual.

Although her face was laughing, her eyes were not.

From his experience, Kurats knew that this expression meant Cornelia was enraged
from the bottom of her heart.

“W-what’s the matter, sister?… You look a little scary right now…”

“I mean, you’re a noble who serves the princess now. With your status, I don’t think it
would be good if you kept treasuring the undergarments of big sister Dorothea and
the like forever.”

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Dorothea was a sensual and beautiful woman who lived nearby in the village, and who
ended up getting married, which had made Kurats cry in secret.

Once, he coincidentally picked up an underwear of hers that was blown away by the
wind, and he had been treating it like a treasure since, but he would never have
thought that Cornelia knew about that.

[W-what? What is this feeling of both wanting to die and destroy everything?]

As he shared Kurats’ feelings, Bernst was astonished.

There was no way for a god-like being such as the magic king Bernst to know the
despair that came from having one’s black history revealed.

But, of course, the one who suffered the biggest impact was Kurats himself.

There was nothing that could be done against Cornelia when she was seriously angry.

Kurats knew that better than anyone else due to the long time he had spent with her
back since he was a child.

One time, he broke her favorite toy, and in consequence, not only did she severely scold
him and hang him from a tree, she also stuck a leech between his legs so that it would
suck his blood.

Sometimes, he would peek at her while she was changing, and in turn she would smear
his whole body with varnish, making him wonder if the goal was to make him develop
a rash and die.
(―― Seriously, how the hell did I come to like someone like her?)

In spite of himself, Kurats was questioning the love he held towards Cornelia.

“Which reminds me, back when big sister Merga got married, you went to peep on her
and her husband’s ‘business’. Was that day the first time you ‘took care of yourself’? I
was very worried that you’d become a criminal or something, you know?”

“Kill meeee! Just kill me already! I couldn’t help it, okay! This is just the sad nature of
men!”

(Why the hell does she know my secrets?! Was she stalking me or something?! There isn’t
a single man who hasn’t experienced this, and everyone makes mistakes in their youth!)

[I want to hit something! I want to break something! What is this feeling?!]

(Just shut up! Like you’d understand what it feels like to have your black history
exposed!)

This was the first time Bernst regretted sharing Kurats’ feelings.

This irritating, painful feeling, so frustrating that he wanted to die, Bernst wished he
would never had had to experience it in his entire lifetime.

“…As for the time you ‘took care of yourself’ with my shorts, I’ve already forgiven you
so it’s fine.”

“It’s over! My life is oveeeeeeer!”

Cornelia’s ways were terrifying.

[Ugggggh! What is happening? I’m feeling irreparable despair, this goes way past
simple irritation and embarrassment, even suicide is starting to seem like an option!
Who would have thought that such terrible feelings existed in this world!]

(I’m done! Now I’m going to be branded as a pervert with a sister complex, and all I’ll
know for the rest of my life will be the touch of my own fingers!)

[To think that one’s black history can have this kind of effect…!]
Bernst lost his patience.

By nature, Bernst was far from being a patient man. So he could not possibly stay silent
as he tasted this feeling of hopeless despair, this feeling akin to having lost everything
in his life.

At this moment, Bernst forgot that his purpose was to share Kurats’ feelings in order
to feel human emotions again.

Perhaps this was evidence that he was letting anger make him lose sight of his goals,
or perhaps this only testified to the fact that he was regaining his human feelings.

As the magic king, he could easily take control of the body of his own alter ego, Kurats,
if he wanted. And so he did.

“You’re sure letting yourself get carried away. You can put that to rest now.”

“Huh?”

Believing that she had utterly humiliated Kurats, Cornelia was bewildered when he
answered her with words that were full of cold anger.

It was her first time hearing him use such a blunt and cold tone of voice.

“Kurats is 18 years old already. Being interested in having intercourse at this age is
only natural, hell, even getting married at this age would not be strange.”

“Huh? What? Huh?”

Cronelia was confused by Kurats’ abrupt words and attitude, there was something odd
about him.

She did not know this Kurats.

My Kurats wouldn’t look at me with such scary eyes.

My Kurats doesn’t have such a cold and empty gaze.

My ――.
“Besides, are you sure you are qualified to say bad things about other people, miss
elder sister? You think I haven’t noticed the way that you look at your own younger
brother?”

Kurats’ remark made Cornelia’s face turn crimson red in a flash, but at the same time,
she realized what was strange about him.

“―― Who are you?”

Cornelia was obviously asking someone other than Kurats.

The man in front of her undoubtedly looked like Kurats, but his tone, his presence and
his facial expression were nothing like her brother.

Cornelia felt chills run down her spine.

She felt like her beloved Kurats had gone somewhere far away.

The truth was that Bernst’s overwhelmingly powerful soul had flicked away Kurats’
consciousness, which was now locked in a prison of darkness, but Cornelia had no way
of knowing that.

“Do you think I don’t know what’s going on? You’re jealous, aren’t you? You just don’t
want the princess to take your little brother away from you, right?”

“Stop! Don’t say anything more!”

If her feelings were brought to light and made clear, Cornelia was not confident that
she would be able to hold them back anymore.

Therefore, she covered both of her ears and shouted.

However, after the humiliation he had just suffered, Kurats– or rather, Bernst, had no
intention to let her off.

“Did you get excited when you saw your own little brother ‘take care of himself’? The
truth is that you lost your composure more than he did, isn’t that right?”

“No! That’s not true!”

As Cornelia reflexively tried to hit him, Bernst caught her thin arm and then easily put
her body in his embrace.

Since Bernst did not bother to go easy on her unlike Kurats, his action made Cornelia
realize for the first time the unfathomable difference that existed between her and her
brother.

Usually, Kurats was kind to her, but the truth was that there already was a massive gap
between their strengths.

“Let go of me! Wake up already, Kurats!”

Cornelia could not move at all, it was like she was stuck between the jaws of a vise; the
only method she had left was to bite the arms that were holding her body.

However, the arms did not move in the slightest.

That was only natural, because…

“My name is not Kurats. I am Bernst George Von Almadianos. And I am a man who’s
close to godhood.”

…Because the man standing before Cornelia’s eyes was a true monster, one who could
make the whole world yield to his power.
What have driven Bernst mad was not only the impact from Kurats’ black history being
revealed.

Of course, that had been an unprecedented shock for him, however, there was
something that was making Bernst’s heart sway uncontrollably.

That was the love Kurats helf for Cornelia.

Bernst had only felt such burning love once in his life.

Due to the tenacious love of the yet inexperienced Kurats, Bernst recalled something
he hadn’t thought about in hundreds of years.

It was a strong-minded and naive woman. She was the only thing in Bernst’s life that
had ever taken precedence over his goal of becoming the magic king.

Her name was Elvira.

She a female warrior who had obtained the title of ‘the strongest’, she was Bernst’s
once-in-a-lifetime partner, but also his rival.

The both of them were the strongest humans, and as such, they had subjugated an
ancient dragon, but Elvira had suffered a severe wound in the battle and ended up
dying in Bernst’s embrace.

Although her body had not been as delicate as that of Cornelia, the strong-minded look
they had in their eyes was the same.

Or perhaps Bernst was only thinking so due to sharing Kurats’ feelings.

Nevertheless, Bernst had not felt such an intense emotion in a very long time, it was
impossible for him to control it with logic and reason.

“…I guess I’m going to have to punish you.”

As he said so, the pure scent of a forest came to tickle the nose of Bernst, who had
buried his face in Cornelia’s neck.

He undoubtedly had Kurats’ body but not his personality, so Conrelia was confused as
to whether she was supposed to feel bashful or terrified.

She knew Kurats’ body odor very well.

The thought that was she was being hugged by Kurats seemed to be making her whole
being burn with shyness.

“You sure smell great.”

However, when he whispered with an intonation which clearly did not fit Kurats,
Conrelia realize that what she was feeling were goosebumps.

(This isn’t him! This is not Kurats, I have to get away!)

“Let go! Let go of me!”

Cornelia used all her strength to try and push herself away from Kurats’ embrace, but
she could not move an inch away from his chest.

That was only natural, Kurats was a man who had destroyed castle walls with his bare
hands.

AAnd the more Cornelia resisted, the harder it was for Bernst to suppress his carnal
desires.

(I want this woman ――.)

This was the first time he felt lust in more than a thousand years.

(I see, this is truly magnificent. This feeling, is this one of those incomprehensible
human emotions that used to be common to me in the past?)

[I must thank you, my alter ago. Thank you for reminding me of this feeling!]

When Bernst took over Kurats’ body, he stopped sharing his feelings with him.
In other words, the passion that Bernst was currently feeling was not a flame but
merely ember.

However, Bernst was too entranced to care about such things.

“I’ll teach you who’s the master here. You should rejoice. This is your chance to become
the woman of the magic king, Bernst! ““

“Nooooo!”

After easily lifting Cornelia’s small body, Bernst headed towards her bedroom.

As she imagined what was going to happen to her after this, Cornelia cried while
struggling to get away.

“Kurats! Wake up! Help me!”

“It’s useless. His power is only one-thousandth of mine.”

In reality, the difference was even greater than that.

That was partly due to Kurats’ nature, but also due to his lack of knowledge and
experience when it came to magic.

“Right now, he’s quarantined at the bottom of his unconscious, but I might as well call
him back so that I can show him what’s going to happen.”

“That… Anything but that!”

“Well, that’s fine. Exhibitionism is no hobby of mine.”

When Bernst arrived in the bedroom, he threw Cornelia on her bed.

When she landed on the bed, her long legs were exposed, which awakened Bernst’s
lust even further.

It was no longer possible for him to control himself.

“You should enjoy this, too. After all, this body is that of your beloved younger brother.”
Bernst’s huge hand, which seemed as big as Cornelia’s head, when to grab Cornelia’s
chest.

“…Oh, you don’t have breasts? Who would have thought that you have such a man-like…”

“Yaaaaaaaah!”

With rage and fury, Cornelia used all her strength to strike Bernst’s crotch with her
knee. What had angered her the was the fact that he had talked about the spot that
she was the most self-conscious about with the voice of the man she loved.

“Aaaaaaaaaagh!”

Bernst felt an unclear yet acute pain which sent a destructive shock up his spine, the
kind of shock that only a man could understand.

Had this been his own body, this would have never have happened.

There were multiple magic barriers around it, and, in the first place, he had already
parted with his physical body far away in the past.

Perhaps Cornelia’s attack represented the backlash that came with getting back a
physical body and emotions.

When Bernst was suffering to the point of almost fainting, he received yet another
heavy hit.

“Ughh!”

Nausea mixed itself with the severe pain, and Bernst threw up while writhing in agony.

(Don’t you dare put yoor hand on my sister!)

[Don’t tell me that you… Did you use the shock to your advantage to take back control
over the body?]

The part of Bernst that had been hit this time was his liver.

The mere act of breathing made him feel like something acidic was going to come out
from his stomach.
This raw feeling of pain that Bernst had not felt in more than thousand years made
him weep as he kept writhing in agony.

(So pathetic, a man close to being a god can’t even endure a pain of this level?)

[Don’t you dare look down on me! If I want I can easily put you back in… Aaaaaaaagh!]

Bernst’s thoughts were interrupted again by a solid punch that hit his solar plexus.

It was absolutely impossible for him to seal Kurats’ consciousness in this state.

A sense of numbness circulated through all of his body like an electric shock, making
his skin become so sensitive that it felt to him like a mere touch would be painful.

[How? You should be feeling this pain, too!]

(No man would feel much pain from the hands of the woman he loves!)

Between a man who trained his body and felt pain regularly and a man who reached
far greater heights and had no relation to pain and suffering at all, it was foolish to
even consider which one had more endurance. That was the actual reason.

(Prepare yourself… This time, it’s going to be really intense.)

[S, stop! I understand! I will give you the body back, just…]

The next moment, Bernst felt a terrible pain that was on a whole other level than the
indirect pain he felt when he was hit in the crotch before.

This pain was akin to someone cutting his skin until his nerves were exposed and then
casually messing around with those nerves.

That was because the place Cornelia had hit this time was a seiketsu point, on of the
tens of acupoints that handled pain.

Under the effect of this pain that was near the limit of what a human being could
actually feel, Bernst was no longer able to stay conscious.

Like it had been cut away by a sharp blade, his consciousness fell down into darkness.
And he entrusted himself to that darkness, relieved to have finally been liberated from
the pain.

Simultaneously, Kurats took back control of his body and frowned instinctively due to
the pain he was feeling.

“…Kurats?”

“Yes, sister, it’s me.”

Having confirmed that the man in front of her was the one she loved and not Bernst,
Cornelia jumped at him and hugged him.

“I was so scared…!”

“Sorry.”

When he saw Cornelia’s small shoulders feebly tremble, Kurats apologized to her
while gently caressing her hair.

(Thank goodness… It’s the usual, kind and gentle Kurats. )

Feeling the warmth Kurats’ big hand, Cornelia let out a sigh of relief.

“―― Who was that man called Bernst from earlier?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about him. It’s a sort of ghost that’s been clinging to me
since the other day.”

Then, Kurats made a vow to Cornelia.

“I’ll never let him do anything to you again.”

Cornelia calmly nodded in response.

However, as the tension left her, she recalled something very troubling.

It was the fact that Bernst had brought her hidden feelings to light.

Even though she had been extremely pale right before, she instantly turned completely
red and timidly asked a question.

“…By the way, did you hear the conversation I had with that Bernst?”

Kurats recalled the conversation that he had faintly heard while he was stuck within
the darkness.

As Kurats’ face shifted to a red color, Cornelia guessed that the answer was yes.
Flustered, she struggled to escape from his embrace.

She was too embarrassed to face him.

“I love you. Not only as my older sister, but as a woman as well.”

Cornelia felt shivers down her spine.

“―― Huh?”

“I won’t hide it anymore. I love you as a woman.”

Cornelia’s gaze was snatched away, as if absorbed by the strong will in Kurats’ eyes.

The mere sight of those eyes was enough to tell Cornelia how serious Kurats was about
his feelings for her.

Then, Kurats tried to approach her lips, but Cornelia panicked and pushed him away.

Although he was finally aware of her love for him, Kurats was still her precious little
brother, and that fact made it hard for Cornelia to be willing to change the status quo.

Seeing Kurats’ facial expression that made it seem like his feelings had been hurt,
Cornelia answered him in an apologetic yet slightly patronizing manner.

“…Give me some time. I do have feelings for you, but you’re my younger brother that
I’ve known since you were a baby, I can’t just accept you on the spot.”

In order for Cronelia to view Kurats not as a younger brother but as a lover or even a
husband, it would take more and require more conditions to be fulfilled.

Now, Kurats was a member of the high society of aristocrats, and he had gained the
favor and trust of the princess.

In the future, there was a possibility fall upon a good match for himself or that he
would need to use marriage as a political strategy.

Hence why Cornelia was not able to find the courage to make a decision based on an
impulse.

“But…”

She did not know what the future would bring.

From what Cornelia had heard about the princess’ behavior, it was highly likely that
she was attracted to Kurats.

Moreover, the princess was likely not going to be the only rival, there would surely be
others that would gather to Kurats like insects to honey.

And, currently, Cornelia had no idea whether she would fall back or fight when that
time would come.

“Still, this is how I honestly feel right now…”

For the first time in her life, Cornelia offered her lips to Kurats.

Overwhelmed by the warm feeling of his lips and by the pheromones that arose in
consequence, Cornelia left in a hurry while feeling a bit dizzy.

“G-good night!”
As her neck started to turn red, Cornelia ran away without looking back.

The sound of her footsteps was enchanting to Kurats’ ears.

While Cornelia’s smell drifted in in the air, it took a few seconds for Kurats to become
conscious of the feeling that still remained on his lips.

“…I did it!”

[You didn’t do anything you moronic virgin! No matter how you look at it, this was
your chance to give her a push.]

“Oh, you’re back already?”

Hearing the familiar sound of Bernst’s voice, Kurats shrugged his shoulders.

“―― You want to fight again?”

[No, something was wrong with me. But either way, I don’t recall ever being this
humiliated in the past thousand years.]

Even though Bernst was close to godhood, even he could not bear with the terrible
feeling of having one’s black history exposed.

“You’re not thinking of touching my sister again, are you?”

[Be at ease. I’m already accustomed to that feeling, I will not lose control over it again.]

Indeed, Bernst was finally becoming slightly accustomed to those uncontrollable

emotions.

In a very distant past, when he was still a normal human, even he was overflowing
with a vast variety of emotions that he could enjoy.

But now that he had parted with his normal life, he could not resist those feelings that
he loved.

He did not believe that the days he had spent continuously fighting and seeking
nothing but power and strength were a mistake.

However, Bernst was finally becoming aware of all the precious things he had
discarded for his goals.

Hence why it was not possible for him to part with the last enjoyment of his conscious
life here.

And completely taking over Kurats’ body at this point would have put an end to Bernst’s
game.

[Not yet. I want to relish this excitement that makes my soul tremble. I don’t want to
end it all so soon. This is like a drug.]

Once again, Bernst was feeling the same ambitions from back when he was a human
and was looking forward to the future. Although that sentiment was borrowed from
Kurats, it had still come back to him.

Kurats’ life was just beginning, and it was fated to be full of ups and downs and
excitement.

(No, even if it’s not fated to be like so, I’ll force it to be.) Chuckled Bernst to himself.

◆◆◆

The Isengard territory was located about 100 kilometers (62 miles) at the northeast
of the royal capital.

Its position as a checkpoint between the capital and the northern highway allowed the
territory to grow as an inn town and to develop itself economically, but it was still a
rural town that did not have much to show for itself.

Moreover, its economy was not doing great either.

One look at the tired faces of the common people walking in the town was enough to
tell that they were barely getting by every day.
“Give me some ale.”

After flipping two copper coins with his finger, Kurats’ sat down at a bar’s counter.

Shocked from seeing someone of Kurats’ size, which was rare in this kind of rural area,
the bar owner spoke with a shaky voice.

“Gentleman… Where are you from?”

“Oh, I’m from the royal capital. I have something to do at the swamp in the north.”

“What?”

The bar owner frowned, like he had heard something very bad.

He placed a slightly lukewarm ale in front of Kurats, and the spoke to him while
concealing his voice.

“I don’t want to offend you or anything, but you should give that up. It’s a place where
even the dead can’t pass on, and it’s infested by monsters. However, that’s not all, lately
there have been rumors that some strange soldier has been wandering around that
area.”

“Oho… Don’t you think that it could be a solider sent by the feudal lord to hunt the
monsters?”

“If we had such an admirable lord, the town would not be going through so many
hardships!”

Seeing the expression of pure hatred on the man’s face, Kurats reflexively showed a
bitter smile.

Apparently, the princess’ criticism of Dross was justified. He did not seem like the type
of feudal lord that was kind to his own territory’s people.

“Then, who’s that soldier wandering around the swamp? It’s pretty odd for a soldier
other than the ones under the feudal lord to be inside the territory, isn’t it?”

“I can’t speak out loud…”

The man examined the surroundings to see if anyone else could hear him, he did not
want to stand out.

The only person at the counter was Kurats.

There were a few customers seating at the bar’s tables, but they were just friends
drinking together and talking to each other with cheerful voices, and their attention
was not directed towards the counter.

“It’s my treat.”

Kurats once again took out two copper coins, and the bar owner refilled the beer mug
on the counter before drinking it in one gulp.

“Five or maybe six years ago… The feudal lord brought with him a suspicious mage.”

Having seemingly made up his him, the man started talking.

“There was something very eerie about that mage. He was always wandering around
near that swamp. It was pretty odd, why had the feudal lord taken such an eccentric
under him?”

He had strange eyes that made it difficult to tell where he was looking, he also had a
bald head and he was nothing but skin and bones.

Had he not been a mage serving the feudal lord, such a suspicious looking man would
have been kicked out of the territory.

“Shortly after that, a child who had been playing near the swamp contracted a fever of
unknown cause. Poor kid was burned alive.”

Kurats noticed that the bar owner’s black eyes were shaking with anger.

“After that, every year, there would be a few people who’d die from a fever, although it
wasn’t very frequent. The town’s elders said that back in the day, that did used to
happen more or less once every ten years, but it was the first time that was happening
on a yearly basis.”

“―― And that started happening after that guy started wandering around the swamp?”
“Yeah, well, although he did seem shady, that was not enough to make me suspicious
of him. But around two years ago, something else happened. This time, people went
missing.”

Kurats saw the bar owner’s eyes shake with anger.

“Did you know them?”

“Yeah, they were my sister, who was much younger than me, and the one she loved.
Some said that they eloped, but there is no way that’s true. There is nothing she looked
forward to more than showing her wedding dress to out parents…”

With a gloomy expression, the bar owner poured himself another cup of ale and gulped
it down.

Although Kurats was about to pull out more copper coins, the man stopped him with
a hand sign.

“After all that, the town completely lost its spirit. Now, the children have to return
home while it’s still bright outside, and the parents can’t let them play by themselves.
Even so, every year, there are people who go missing…”

If people were going missing because of a human’s actions, then it was not going to
stop.

(How helpless must he feel after losing his real younger sister? If Cornelia ever goes
missing like that, I’ll probably go completely insane) Thought Kurats.

“Why do you think it was that shady mage’s doing?”

There was no doubt that the bar owner knew something.

That was the only explanation to the hatred that was oozing out of him.

After lowering the volume of his voice even further, the bar owner continued to speak.

“I heard about it from a guy that participated in a vigilance committee that was in
charge of taking of the disappearances. He said that he saw the mage use some strange
techniques to carry some people who went missing afterwards.”
“―― Did you tell anyone else about this?”

The bar owner shook his head.

“The one who said this to me went to personally tell the feudal lord about the situation,
and he disappeared ever since. If I were to tell other people about this, I would be
killed for sure.”

The bar owner actually also knew a few other people who had died or gone missing
after poking their nose into this situation.

“But you are from the royal capital. So, maybe you’d be willing to help us tell this story
to the government officials of the royal capital? There is nothing us locals can do at
this point.”

Since the feudal lord himself was the enemy, there was nothing that the population
could do other than rising against him.

However, since there weren’t that many disappearances, there was no one who was
willing to give up his life in order to start a rebellion.

Relying on an outsider like Kurats was the bar owner’s only method and hope.

“I understand――”

With a light nod to the bar owner, Kurats made an invisible magic tentacle that stretched
itself out from his position.

―― Iiih!

A strange inhuman shriek came from the shadow of a big barrel that was put at the
right corner of the bar.

“Hmm? What did you say?”

“Me? Nothing.”

Kurats ordered another cup of ale with a light smile on his face.

(You think he heard us?)

[Probably so. It can’t be helped, you’ll have to hurry.]

The enemy had gone as far as to set up an information gathering familiar in a bar like
this one, he seemed to be very cautious.

(…Looks like I bet on the right horse.)

The more evil a villain was, the better it would feel to expose him and trample him
down.

Perhaps because Kurats was Bernst’s alter ego, they both shared the opinion in that
regard.

◆◆◆

“―― My familiar was destroyed?”

Oliveira stood up in surprise when the mana circuit that connected him to one of his
familiars was severed.

Having become obsessed with studying monsters and the ways of using them, he was
making use of a dozen monsters for information gathering on an usual basis.

Among them there was one that was particularly excellent, it was a shadow monster
that had the ability to conceal itself in the shadows. It was also intelligent enough to
understand humans, and it had a special skill that allowed it to paralyze a person from
the shadows.

In a remote region like this one, there were very few people who could notice the
monster’s presence.

Needless say that the number of people who could kill the monster was even smaller,
and as far as Oliveira knew, there were only three or four such people on the whole
territory.

“Studying this land is pretty good, but…”

Oliveira was convinced that the assassination attempt on the princess had been
investigated far enough to connect it to this land.
The fact that his splendid familiar had died without offering any resistance was proof
enough.

The royal family had likely sent a very skilled individual.

However, that did not matter to Oliveira.

He had no intention to stick to the Isengard territory just because he had happened to
find interesting monsters here.

If there was any real danger, all he had to do was to move his research base elsewhere.

Up to now, Oliveira had always been like a migratory bird, looking for an aristocrat
that was easy to handle and going under his patronage.

“But of course, before that, someone’s going to have to pay for killing my cute familiar.
““

Oliveira laughed in a high pitched tone of voice.

Before leaving far away from here, he had to make the person who killed his precious
monster pay.

(While I’m at it, I guess I should try some experiments on him.)

The people in this area were hopelessly normal. They broke too easily, and they died
so fast that Oilveira couldn’t conduct any sort of decent experiment on them.

(What kind of monster should I use?) He wondered. (Should I use the mind parasite?)

Oliveira had also recently found a bloodsucking-type monster that could generate an
absurd amount of pain by using the target’s own blood, and he was thinking of
experimenting with it.

“Hehehehehe! This is going to be fun!”

This had come at just the right time since he had run out of people to experiment on.

Oliveira kept on laughing like he had gone insane.

“Heheheh! I’ll teach him that his spells are just parlor tricks compared to the familiars
of a monster master like me!”

Oliveira looked at en empty space and visualized his enemy that he had yet to see, as
his eyes lit up with a dark glee.
After leaving the bar, Kurats stepped towards the swampland.

The bar owner had told him over and over gain not to approach that place, but, of
course, Kurats had not listened.

It couldn’t be helped since the swampland was most likely where the parasitic
monster who had attacked Lunaria was located.

The large forest at the north of the Isengard territory was infested by monsters, and it
was located in an area that separated between the human and the demonic territories.

It was part of unexplored woods called the Sea Of Trees and, together with unexplored
mountains called the High Peaks, they both represented 50% of the whole continent.

Those who reigned at the top of those ecosystems were monsters with many special
abilities.

Most monsters were not very smart beings, but it was said that the closer they lived
to the center of the High Peaks, the more intelligent they were.

Legends said that the High Peaks were ruled over by the monster king and his four
dukes.

Bernst thought to himself that he absolutely had to visit that place one day.

“Hmm?”

After Kurats walked for about an hour through a narrow path within the dim forest,
the rays of the sun finally came back as the trees made way to a considerably large
swamp.

Although it was large enough to be called a lake, the water was not deep and there
were withered trees sticking out of it like grave-markers, making the area overflow
with a sense of desolateness.
The shore was muddy and looked like it would drag anyone who carelessly put his foot
on it to the bottom of the swamp.

In this gloomy scenery, there was one element that stood out.

“He’s… Fishing?”

Even though it was sunny here, it was still very strange to see a middle-aged man
fishing while wearing a straw hat and a linen shirt in this muddy place.

Kurats reflexively rubbed his eyes at the sight of this odd scene.

“…You can fish here?”

“Yeah, it ain’t all that easy, but for those in the know, the fish in this swamp are high-
class ingredients.”

“O-oh, who knew!”

In the first place, it was questionable whether any being at all could live inside this
swamp of death, but thinking about it carefully, there were monsters living there,
which likely meant that the swamp already had a proper ecosystem.

“Do you come here often?”

Asked Kurats in a casual manner.

Kurats figured that if this man lived here, then perhaps he would know some rumors
regarding the forest’s swampland.

However, the man’s answer failed to live up to Kurats’ hope.

“No, I only came yesterday actually. And if I don’t get home soon with some fish, the
wife ain’t gonna be happy, that’s for sure, Ahahahahaha!”

The man laughed with a comfortable tone of voice, like he was not in a hurry at all.

(This guy is no amateur.)

[I suppose you are right. He looks like a normal middle-aged man that you would find
anywhere, his acting is flawless.]

Kurats and Bernst had seen right through the man’s calm demeanor.

The question was whether this was a subordinate of the mage that the bar owner had
mentioned, or just someone who had come to investigate the situation just like Kurats.

“Are you alright though? I heard this place’s famous for being the site of a lot of
disappearances.”

Kurats did not overlook the faint gleam that appeared in the man’s eyes.

“It’s the first time I’m hearing of that. If it’s okay with you, can you tell me about it?”

“Oh well, I don’t know the details but…”

Kurats summarized what he had heard from the bar owner.

“I see, I’d never have figured all of that happened…”

The man started thinking to himself with his hand on his chin, like he was realizing
that he had made a mistake.

(This man is way too careless.)

Even without the people going missing, this forest was already dangerous enough.

Kurats had never been to a place where he could feel the presence of such a dense
population of monsters, although he did not know if the forest was originally like this
or if it was due to the work of that mage.

“You caught one.”

While holding himself back from laughing, Kurats pointed at the man’s fishing rod.

Although it was hard to tell since it was covered by mud, the float attached to the
fishing line had moved. The next moment, it instantaneously sank into the water.

“Oh! It’s a big o-… Aaaaaaaaaaaah!”

When the man lifted his fishing rod, what came up was an aquatic monster.

It had a huge mouth with thick and overcrowded fangs. It looked like a deep-sea fish.

The opening of its mouth was around 40 centimeters (16 inches).

The man had fallen down, but had he stayed up, the monster would have bitten off half
of his face.

“Keep your sickening face under there!”

Kurats picked a pebble nearby and threw it.

The pebble hit the side of the monster’s head which was ripped apart like it had
exploded from inside. Its blood and entrails scattered right over the man who had just
fallen down on his backside.

“Hiiii…!”

Perhaps due to the man’s own bad luck, the aquatic monster’s fiendish mouth clung
right on his face through the work of the laws of inertia.

“Ulgh!”

After letting out an ambiguous scream, the man fainted on the spot, but that was only
natural.

“Hey, if you’re gonna fall asleep in this kind of place, you can’t complain if you end up
disappearing like the others.”

It seemed like that man and Kurats were being targeted by the forest’s monsters.

With the sound of water splashing around, several monsters appeared from the
swamp while a couple of 2 meters (7 feet) tall killer apes came from the depths of the
forest.

Judging by the dense blood thirst in the air, it was obvious to Kurats that the mage he
was looking for was already aware that the familiar he had left in the bar had been
killed.
“Doesn’t matter though, that just means I’ll have to crush them all.”

After saying so, Kurats clenched his fists with a ferocious laugh.

“Yaaaaaaaa!”

When one of the monsters rose up from the swamp to try to attack him, Kurats
released a kick behind him without looking back.

Rather than ‘kick’, perhaps it was more correct to say that he had sliced the monster
with his foot, cutting it into two perfect halves which then fell back to the swamp.

At the same time, one of the killer apes took advantage of its long arms in order to
attack Kurats, while hopping above him from tree to tree.

Killer apes were far stronger than normal humans, and their sharp claws were like
knives.

Even a professional forest hunter would not fight such a monster alone, but it was not
Kurats’ match at all.

No matter how nimble it was, there was no way it would surpass Kurats.

Before it could reach his neck, Kurats casually grabbed the killer apes’ arm and smashed
its bone to pieces.

“Gyeeeeeee!”

Without paying attention to the cries of pain of its companion, another killer ape came
to attack Kurats’ chest, in an attempt to deal a fatal wound.

The killer ape’s strength coupled with the hardness of its claws were enough to go
through the trunk of a tree, but Kurats used his hand as a blade to cut the monster’s
hand starting from its wrist and then proceeded to stab its chest in the next moment.

“Such weak claws would never go through my muscles, but you made holes through
my clothes and that’s just not okay.”

The other killer ape, which was still suffering from the pain of having its arm broken,
let out a a shriek while trying to escape.
“Just die already.”

However, Kurats was not softhearted enough to silently let the monster go after it had
attacked him with killing intent.

Kurats picked up the claw that he had sliced down earlier and then threw it at the back
of the head of the killer ape that was trying to use the concealment of the forest’s trees
to escape.

The claw came out of the killer ape’s forehead, making it look the monster had grown
a horn, before it collapsed on the spot.

“Incredible… You’re incredible. I’ve never seen an adventurer use such a brilliant way
of killing.”

Seemingly before he had even realized it, the middle aged man had woken up and
started clapping at Kurats’ performance.

However, the light in his eyes showed that he was very vigilant and was actively trying
to see through the true identity of Kurats.

“Shouldn’t you hurry and run away, uncle?”

This man was likely a spy sent to investigate Isengard.

Someone who had genuinely fainted just because a monster had jumped at him could
not be a subordinate of the kidnapper.

Just like the man had been observing him, Kurats ―― Or rather, Bernst, had been
inspecting the man’s every move.

If he was a spy, then allowing him to return alive was going to be convenient for Kurats.

“…Are there any monsters left?”

Kurats shrugged his shoulders and smiled like he was enjoying himself.

“The one who was manipulating those monsters is going to come out now. Mages
know when a familiar under their control dies. I bet he’s hurrying towards here as
we’re speaking.”
Indeed, when Oliveira realized that his connection to his familiars was cut off, he
quickly rushed towards the swamp.

He had left most of his familiars loose inside the forest in order to hide them from any
public attention.

So to him it was a godsend that the man he was looking for was inside the swampland,
where he could easily get the monsters to attack him.

“Good grief, you’re not going to die, are you? It would feel pretty bad to abandon the
guy who saved my life.”

Despite his words, the middle aged man still stood up with a detached expression and
dusted off his trousers.

He seemed to be aware that he would only be a hindrance if he did not leave.

“My name is Kurats Hans Almadianos. How about you, uncle?”

“Uncle? You’re awful, man, I’m just 30 years old. I’m Argus Becker. Next time we meet,
just call me big brother.”

Argus dropped his shoulders like he was seriously hurt.

Being sensible about becoming thirty was a feeling that could only be understood by
those who had experienced it.

Of course, there was no way Kurats, who was only 18, would understand.

“Anyway, putting that big brother thing aside, depending on the situation, I might need
you to act as a witness for me, uncle.”

“If you want me to be your witness, you better drop the “uncle” and call me big
brother.”

As he casually conversed with Argus, Kurats sensed something very powerful

approaching from the depths of the forest.

“Either way, you’re running out of time. You better hurry and go.”
“Woops, sorry! If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be leaving now.”

Argus put his hands together as a sign of thanks, and then hurriedly left the swampland.

That man was quite likable, so much so that Kurats wanted to doubt whether he really
was a spy, despite his better judgement.

“Well then, he should be appearing soon.”

As the strong presence that came from the Isengard castle approached, Kurats realized
that the number of monsters approaching from the forest was considerably larger
than he expected.
“What is Oliveira doing?”

Ross was becoming more and more irritated as the current situation failed to progress
in any way.

Oliveira had said that he would prepare a monster that would kill the princess
instantly, but Ross could not think of any way to stick a monster to the princess for a
second time.

Ross knew that once again using the help of his nephew, who belonged to the knight
order, would be too dangerous.

“I’m surrounded by good for nothings!”

And that was not all.

After Oliveira killed Casper, it seemed like Ross’ retainers started looking at him in a
new light.

Of course, Ross had passed off that death as being due to the natural causes, but even
so, Casper was a loyal retainer who was very popular among the retainers, and his
violent death had left them deeply shaken.

Ross figured that this atmosphere was the main reason for why Oliveira was thinking
of leaving the Isengard territory.

But for Ross, Oliveira was still a useful tool that he did not want to part with.

Originally, Ross was a timid and cowardly man.

It was thanks to the power of the monsters gathered by Oliveira that Ross was able to
behave in such a high-handed manner now.

He was not capable enough to accept the fact that, by himself, he was nothing more
than a foolish feudal lord who could not develop his territory and who only knew how
to sacrifice his own people.

Contrarily to him, his father was known as a great and reliable feudal lord.

Perhaps Ross’ distorted ego was a consequence of a complex he had regarding the
difference between himself and the great feudal lord that was his father.

At the same time, Ross’ cowardly personality made him well aware that he had taken
a very dangerous path.

Therefore, if anything happened, he was planning to feign ignorance and pin everything
on Oliveira’s back.

Hence why he was worried that Oliveira would go out of his reach.

“W-we have a big problem!”

“What’s going on!?”

The chamberlain that Ross had sent to look for Oliveira came back, gasping for breath.

“Oliveira said that there are trespassers in the territory and left towards the swampland
in the north!”

“Trespassers?!”

Ross shouted with a pale face.

Isengard was not a closed territory.

The people of the Jormungand kingdom could come and go as they pleased, so if
Oliveira called someone a trespasser, it was highly likely he meant that that person
was a spy.

And if by any chance that spy could get evidence about the assassination attempt on
the princess, everything would be over for Ross.

“T-this is bad! Gather the knights! Have them follow Oliveira!”

–
“Oh, looks like he’s so confident that he came by himself.”

Oliveira grinned after receiving a report from an Adria hawk; a familiar of his which
was sent to scout ahead.

In the past, Oliveira had been branded as an unqualified mage, and he used to wander
at the bottom of despair, but now, he knew the art of controlling monsters.

By employing the special powers of monsters, which could not be mimicked by

humans, Oliveira had exceeded the level of normal mages.

He was proud of that.

The stronger the enemy was, the more useful he would be as a sacrifice.

Then, one day, Oliveira would reach heights well beyond the grasp of mages.

“I’ll teach you the power of Oliveira Armitage!”

◆◆◆

While waiting for Oliveira’s arrival, Kurats found and moved to a vacant place which
offered a relatively clear view of the forest.

There were two or three rocks here and there, which were so big that Kurats had to
look up to see the top. Those were probably what was preventing trees from growing
in the area.

Usually, Kurats would pick a place with many obstacles when fighting against multiple
opponents, but this time, he chose an environment that would make it easier for him
to use his strength.

He believed that no matter how many enemies there were, he was not going to lose if
he could use his full strength.

This choice was the result of Kurats’ absolute confidence in his own power.

“Man, there as so many, and they just keep increasing.”

[Against a man who can control this many monsters at once, even the head of the royal
court’s mages would probably have a very hard time.]

“Well, that guy is not suited for fighting at all so that’s not saying much.”

While Kurats was having a dialogue that would make Mordred explode from anger if
he heard it, he glared at the Adria hawks that were flying in circles above him.

There were already more than 30 monsters surrounding him within the forest, and
their numbers kept rising.

This was originally the habitat of these monsters, but the fact that they were all being
controlled by a mage was what made the situation dangerous.

Then, that man appeared at last.

“Looks like I kept you waiting.”

“It’s fine, the wait was enjoyable in its own way.”

With bold smiles, Kurats and Oliveira spoke as if they were meeting for a previously
arranged date.

Perhaps that was because, while their goals differed, their hearts were in the same
place in this battle.

“―― By the way, just wanted to ask, are you the one behind the abductions that have
been happening around here?”

“Me, abducting someone? That’s outrageous. I am an upstanding scholar, I’d never do

such a thing. Well, I did collect a few specimens for my research.”

“I see, and I guess you don’t care which species those specimens belong to.”

“How about you? What kind of spy are you? Were you sent from Bessendorf or the
royal capital, I wonder.”

Both parties kept on smiling as they assessed each other.

Of course, they knew that the battle could start at any moment, so they were both
already in a fighting mindset.
“You were being way too showy. I mean, I wasn’t even the one who realized there was
something going on.”

“It might look that way to you, but I was actually being extremely patient and careful.
Otherwise, I’d have experimented much more for the sake of my research.”

Both of them understood what each other meant without having to clearly state it.

Even so, they wanted to try to get to know each other better, it was the instinct of a
fighter to want to know the kind of person their opponent really was.

Because knowing the opponent would double the pleasure of defeating him.

In that sense, it might have been fair to say that Kurats and Oliveira were equally sick.

“Seems like my cute monsters brought you some trouble.”

“Nah, there is no way those things could trouble me in any way. Maybe if you sent some
more resilient ones, that could do the trick!”

Kurats’ words of disdain towards Olivera’s monsters was like a signal.

“Very well! I’ll make sure to make you satisfied this time!”

After declaring that very loudly, Oliveira gave an order to the monsters that followed
him.

“Go, my elites!”

Suddenly, from underground, a big mole-like monster came to attack Kurats.

At the same time, three Adria hawks started swooping down from the sky, aiming for
Kurtas’ eyes.

On top of that, some ogres appeared from the bushes with huge clubs in their hands
and rushed towards him as well.

It seemed like Oliveira wasn’t just showing off when he said that he would make Kurats
satisfied this time.
“But he still has some way to go before he can get a passing grade from me.”

Kurats casually grabbed the mole-like monster that tried to bite his foot and then
pulled it from the ground before throwing it towards the sky.

Kurats’ inhuman strength sent the mole at a speed of a hundred kilometers (62 miles)
per hour. As it hit the Adria hawks on its path, the monsters created a bloody firework
in the sky.

One of the Adria hawks barely managed to get away and then proceeded to bravely
continue to rush towards Kurats, but it was futile.

“Humph!”

Kurats smoothly spun his body and sent a spinning kick upwards.

By inclining his foot ever so slightly, his kick became akin to a sword slash that cut the
Adria hawk in half.

“Raaaaaaaaaaah!”

Perhaps because they were angry that their allies had lost much faster than expected,
the four ogres that had come out from the bushes roared as they rushed towards
Kurats.

The ground trembled under the thumps generated by their weight.

The ogres were not as foolish as they seemed. They separated in two groups of two in
order to launch a pincer attack, and they matched their timings to attack at the same
time.

It would have been impossible for a normal human being to handle the four simultaneous
attacks.

But Kurats was no normal human being.

“That’s more like it!”

Kurats shouted happily with a smile.

It hadn’t been that long since his fight with red-eyed bear, but he still felt like it had
been a while since he last found himself in the mindset of a hunter again.

In a face off of pure strength, Kurats used his right arm and left leg to block the club of
the ogre that was coming from straight in front of him.

However, the ogre’s strength failed to match Kurats’ inhuman power, and, together
with the sound of an impact, his club bounced off and dragged the other ogres’ clubs
together with it.

“Impossible… His physical strength is higher than that of an ogre?”

Although he had been silently watching the fight so far, Oliveira’s facial expression
changed.

Kurats’ techniques were still quite rough and weren’t at the level of a knight yet, but
what Oliveira had just witnessed was a threat that was far greater than any fighting
technique.

That was because, no matter how much he had trained, it should have been basically
impossible for a human being to become stronger than an ogre.

“You bastard… Who are you? Aren’t you supposed to be a mage?”

“Yeah, even though I’m a fighting maniac, I guess I sort of am a mage on the side. ““

[Whaaat?! I am the magic king! What’s with that “on the side” nonsense?! Unacceptable!]

Without caring much about Bernst’s objection, Kurats asked Oliveira a question.

“Are you done yet? ’cause if you’re not, I’m gonna have to punish you now.”

“Don’t screw with me!”

Although he had come here to play around with Kurats, he was the one being played now.

Upon realizing that, Oliveira’s pride took an extremely terrible blow, surprising even
himself.

(This can’t be. I can’t possibly be acting this weak right now. I’ve sacrificed more lives
than I can count, all so that I could become a master of monsters and reach a height that
no one else should be able to reach.)

“It would be embarrassing if that was my limit! You’re a mere human facing off against
the power of monsters!”

“A mere human? And just what the hell do you think you are?”

“I am a man who reigns over monsters, a master of monsters! I’m nothing like a frail
and pathetic human being such as you!”

“You got a few toys and now you think you’re above humans? Don’t make me laugh.”

Kurats smiled arrogantly and cracked his knuckles.

“Guess I’ll just force my way through this childish fight.”

Despite his reasoning, Oliveira’s instinct made him feel a distinct fear towards Kurats,
although he would never willingly admit it.

Although Kurats called himself a mage, his strength could make the knights of the
royal capital look like mere newborns.

And above all, even though he was completely isolated within the enemy’s own territory,
Kurats was not worried at all.

(Would I be able to do the same?)

When that thought crossed his mind, Oliveira shook his head while a chill ran down
his spine.

(No, now is not the time to overthink the situation. I have to show him the limits of human
beings.)

“I wonder how long that composure of yours will last.”

(I got him–!)

At that moment, Oliveira sincerely believed he had won.

That was because he had confirmed that his monster had slipped inside Kurats’
shadow.

Even though the target was physically stronger than an ogre, that would not be of any
use when restrained by the monster’s special ability.

[Oh, looks like he’s interfering from a different space.]

(What do you mean?)

Asked Kurats, while feeling confused since he felt like his feet had been stuck to the
ground with fast-drying glue.
[In short, this is a similar to a certain type of magic that goes through a different plane
of existence in order to interfere with objects in the regular plane.]

(Which means… what exactly?)

(You’re fine! In the end, this is a just one form among many forms of interference
magic! Look, you can just use those muscles of yours and get done with it!)

(Oh, if that’s all, you can leave it to me!)

Kurats had no idea what Bernst had just said, but if all he needed to solve the issue
was his muscles, then there was no problem.

“Impossible! How can you still move?!”

Oliveira yelled with terror in his voice.

The monster’s ability to restrain someone through his shadow was akin to hypnotism.

It was not a physical restraint, therefore it was impossible to resist this technique for
a warrior who was not a mage, no matter how much he had trained in his life.

Casper was by no means incompetent as a knight, and yet he had been completely
powerless before the special ability of this monster.

However, Kurats’ muscles were actually like magic pulses of their own and they had
no lack of mana to throw at any type of magical restraint that came their way.

Because of that, Oliveira’s failure to restrain Kurats’ magic muscles was the obvious
result.

“Don’t go thinking that this is enough to stop my muscles!”

[……If your muscles were normal you would just have been petrified on the spot
though, without a doubt.]

Oliveira finally started thinking that he had challenged someone who was not to be
provoked.

“You demon!”
Still, Oliveira’s physical power was only average, so there was absolutely no way he
would be able to escape from Kurats.

Therefore, right now, his only choice to survive was to do everything in his power to
somehow bury Kurats right here.

“Go! You have to wound him, even if only once!”

A group of killer apes and saber wolves appeared from the forest, one after the other.

Their combined numbers equaled to about 30 in total.

If these monsters were killed, Oliveira would be left with very few cards to play.

Although it was questionable whether using numbers to attack Kurats would be of any
use, he had no choice but to try.

(Even if they can’t kill him, they should at least be able to hurt him…!)

Oliveira’s trump card was a species of monster that he had discovered recently, and it
had the ability to maximize the pain that was felt by any target.

Which meant that if Kurats was wounded in any way, a new path of escape would open
itself. Hence why Oliveira prayed for that to happen.

However, his hopes were crushed miserably.

“What is this, a circus? What are you gathering all these pets for?”

Grinning, Kurats grabbed the long arm of one of the killer apes and then swung the
monster’s body like it was a weapon.

“Gah!”

The killer ape crashed into a saber wolf while letting out a muffled voice, as if the
inside of its throat had been blocked.

Then, because Kurats had used too much strength, the monster was separated from
its arm and the rest of its body burst like a balloon, covering the other monsters with
its insides.
Even these monsters, that did not know fear, instinctively felt that their lives were
under threat.

They understood that provoking this man carelessly would only mean one thing:
certain death.

Seeing the monsters stop their feet, Oliveira screamed at them.

“What are you doing?! Hurry and kill this man!”

“Hey, why don’t you come at me, too? You can use magic and whatever, right?”

“What was that?!”

Oliveira’s ability as a mage was below average, to say the least.

So Kurats’ words had pierced a vital point.

“You’re leaving me with no choice―― I did not want to use that thing against the likes
of you, but someone has to show you your place!”

Although his control over the monster he was going to call was still lacking, Oliveira
was determined to use it.

Because, after all, if he was defeated by Kurats here, Oliveira would not have any future
anyway.

“Come! Rock tortoise!”

Suddenly, an enormous rock that looked like a small hill started moving as multiple
limbs slowly came out of it.

This was a rock-type monster, with a total length of over 20 meters.

As far as Oliveira knew, this monster was the biggest one out there, save for those of
the dragon kind.

No matter how strong Kurats was, there was no way he would be able to do anything
against the enormous mass of the rock tortoise; it was reasonable of Oliveira to believe
so.
“I wonder if it can put up more of a fight than the red-eyed bear.”

However, Kurats looked up at the rock tortoise with a fearless smile.

Perhaps because he was angered by Kurats’ composure, Oliveira’s face became red as
he yelled a command at the rock tortoise.

“Trample him!”

Compared to the killer ape from earlier, the rock tortoise was amazingly slow.

The fact that Oliveira believed this monster would be of use here just went to show
that he likely did not have much combat experience against strong opponents.

“Well, just because I can easily escape, that doesn’t mean I will.”

The earth trembled as the rock tortoise powerfully lowered its foot.

To create this kind of pressure, the monster probably had to weigh at least tons, or
rather, tens of tons. (1 ton = 2000 pounds)

As a loud thud resounded, a large cloud of sand rose up, hiding Kurats from Oliveira’s
sight. But despite not being able to see the result yet, Oliveira had no doubt that Kurats
had been crushed under the monster’s foot.

However, ――.

“C’mon, try to put a little more weight behind it. You’re below the level of a red-eyed
bear right now.”

“What the hell?!”

The rock tortoise’s body reached a length of over 20 meters and a height of over 6
meters.

The monster only used its foot, but still, what kind of human could calmly bear the
weight of such an enormous creature?

This should have been physically impossible.

Oliveira had never heard of someone ever reaching such an insane strength, even
through the use of strengthening magic.

“What are you doing? Crush him! It doesn’t matter if you break your own leg, just
trample him already!”

Shouted Oliveira, while feeling bewildered.

But the coldhearted and inhuman monster master from earlier was nowhere to be
seen in his appearance.

All that was left in him was a fear of the unknown, a fear of what he could not
understand.

As ordered, the rock tortoise put more of its weight into its foot, but Kurats did not
move an inch.

However, since he was using both of his hands to hold the rock tortoise’s foot, his body
was left defenseless. The saber wolves and killer apes used this opportunity to attack.

At this point, Oliveira was waiting to hear Kurats’ last breath, but all he heard was a
mutter full of sincere scorn.

“―― Is that all you’ve got?”

The rock tortoise’s body seemingly started floating in the air before revolving around
Kurats’ surroundings like a whirlwind.

“This, this is impossible!”

The monsters which were about to attack Kurats were all annihilated in an instant.

Kurats was holding the gigantic body of the rock tortoise and moving it as if it were a
mere a stick that he had found on the side of the road.

This unreal spectacle broke Oliveira’s sanity at last.

“This is completely crazy. it’s just a dream. It has to be a bad dream…”

Kurats then proceeded to strike the rock tortoise’s back on the ground, making the
earth tremble powerfully yet again.

Due to its tortoise-like shape, the monster could not get back up on its own.

In a certain way, this was a sad sight to see.

While Oliveira was stuck in a state of stupefaction, Kurats came closer in order to seize
him but he ended up being interrupted.

“Are you the insolent who dared to break into my territory?!”

The baron of Isengard, Dross, arrived together with his knights.

Dross’ height was slightly lower than average, he stood at about 5 feet 4 inches tall.
(165 cm)

The impatient look in his eyes and the callous expression adorned on his face were
enough for Kurats to partly guess what kind of person Dross was.

A little man who only valued his own little world.

[If that’s how it is, you probably won’t have to go easy on him, right?]

(Damn right I won’t!)

Kurats gave Dross a grand nod and started speaking.

“Well, I found this monster user in my pursuit of the criminal that attempted to
assassinate the princess. Please don’t interfere needlessly.”

“…Are you treating my retainer as a criminal? I don’t know whose dog you are, but you
sure don’t value your own life!”

When he heard about the matter related to the princess, Dross was clearly shaken.

He did not want to believe it, but he really was being confronted by a spy.

Since the situation had taken such a turn, Dross’ only choice was to kill the spy in order
to make him keep his mouth shut.

“Are you sure? Protecting this guy is basically like admitting that the assassination
attempt on the princess was your plan.”

“Humph! If I kill you and get rid of Oliveira, there will be no evidence remaining!”

Even Dross could tell that it was impossible for him to assassinate the princess at this
point.

If he took care of Oliveira and made it seem like he had died a quiet death, no one
would be able to trace back the assassination to Dross.

For that reason, Dross absolutely had to kill this spy.

“Crossbow troop, take aim! Same goes for the mages! We can’t let him return alive!”

The troops that Dross had brought along with him were centered around 60 knights,
accompanied by three mages and a crossbow unit composed of ten people.

Dross ended up having the troops attack from a distance while the knights kept their
spears at the ready just for defense.

And it seemed like he had decided to keep only himself in a safe spot.

“Aaaand… there.”

“Whaaaaaat?!”

Kurats once again caught the foot of the rock tortoise, which was still struggling on the
ground, and then easily lifted it up.

“K-kill him! Kill hiiiiiim!”

Although the crossbow unit and the mages started attacking by reflex, it was useless
since they were hindered by the rock tortoise’s 20 meters long body.

The rock tortoise’s massive build was completely hiding Kurats’ body and made it
impossible for any attacks to go through.

“S-surround him! If you get him with a pincer attack, then no matter what, that bastard
will be done for…!”
[Good grief, what kind of idiot would simply wait and let himself get surrounded?]

(He’s really dreaming if he thinks he’s going to defeat me with such a stupid method.)

“Uooooooooh!”

As Kurats let out a roar, the rock tortoise’s enormous body powerfully went forward.

Even though the opponents were knights, even they could not endure the fear that
came from seeing this hill-like body draw closer to them.

Terrified, the knights, who had been holding their spears at the ready, ended up
hurriedly running away and scattering across the swampland.

But the nightmare was not over yet.

This time, Kurats lifted the rock tortoise’s body very high above his head, as if he was
going to use it as a sledgehammer.

In doing so, he exposed his body to attacks, but the enemies were not in a calm enough
state to aim properly.

No normal human would be able to keep their calm when under the threat of being
hammered to the ground.

“Shit! You god damn monster!”

Seeing his subordinates run and scatter in all directions, Dross naturally started
running as well, without forgetting to curse at Kurats on the way.

Given the circumstances, it was evident that he would not be able to kill Kurats.

Therefore…

“You had some value but I have to do this now, no hard feelings!”

“Guh!”

Dross mercilessly pierced Oliveira’s defenseless chest with his sword.

The acute pain that ran through Oliveira’s chest allowed him to finally come to his
senses, but it was far too late.

“No! Are you telling me I’m going to die here… Killed by some worthless fool?!”

“Me? Worthless? How dare you.”

Dross furiously put more strength in his sword.

“Your cowardly action is proof enough. But I suppose this time… I didn’t do that great…
either…”

Those were Oliveira’s last words.

This monster user, who was likely a very rare existence in this world, had died with
only regret plastered on his face.

With no regard to that, Dross, who was still burning with anger, abandoned Oliveira’s
corpse on the spot, turned around and resumed his escape.

“Well, you reap what you sow.”

[What about this one? Are you gonna let him escape just like that?]

There was cynicism in Kurats’ eyes as he watched Dross running away while shouting
at his subordinates.

No matter what, this man no longer had any future.

However, it felt uninteresting to let Dross think that he had managed to escape easily.

“Haaaaa!”

Kurats lightly swung the rock tortoise’s body and then tossed it very high, as if he was
doing a hammer throw in the Olympics.

The perfectly aimed throw allowed the projectile to land right in front of Dross.

Upon landing, the rock tortoise’s body made a thunderous noise, shook the ground,
and raised a large cloud of dust. Terrified, Dross fell on his back and wet himself.
“Ih-Hiiiiiiiiiiiii!”

If Kurats’ aim had been off by 30 centimeters (10 inches), Dross would have died.

Unexpectedly, it looked like Kurats might have had the same disposition for mischief
as Bernst.

[This isn’t it… This isn’t what I meant when I implied you shouldn’t let him escape like
that…]

Ignoring Bernst’s complaints, Kurats focused his gaze on a clump of bushes

somewhere behind the rock tortoise’s body.

There was a man that he recognized over there.

◆◆◆

While dragging the wet lower half of his body, Dross managed to crawl back to his
castle. At that moment, he suddenly came back to his senses, and rapidly became
anxious again.

In the end, he had not managed to kill that man with the huge body, and in failing to
do so, Dross could have spelled his own death.

If that man was a spy as he feared, then he was certainly going to report the situation
to his master.

If he happened to be one of the “king’s ears”, under the direct commands of the king,
then his testimony could serve as evidence, and Dross would be on the losing end if
this matter turned into a judicial trial.

There was also a high probability that he was one of Bessendorf’s subordinates, but
even if that was the case, Bessendrof would not have any reason to go easy on
Isengard, his longtime enemy, after managing to trap him.

On the contrary, it was certain that he would gleefully take him to court.

But if there was no evidence to take court, would he be able to do anything against
Dross?
With that in mind, Dross had ordered his retainers to destroy every piece of evidence
that had anything to do with Oilveira. However, he naturally still felt uneasy.

He wondered if maybe he had overlooked something.

He thought that maybe that was the reason why that huge man had showed no signs
of chasing after him.

“What am I supposed to do…”

In the end, Dross was just a man who reigned over his own personal territory.
However, when outside of his own little world, he did not have what it would take to
face a powerful foe.

But, suddenly, Dross remembered a certain someone.

Albert, the marquis of Strasbourg.

He was the person who had hinted at Dross that he should assassinate the princess.
From the perspective of Dross, who had no potential, a flower of the royal court like
Albert was an object of reverence.

Dross felt like if he himself had the same majestic countenance and skilled speech,
then perhaps the current pinch would not have come to be.

“I-in the first place, I was only following the marquis’ instructions. He won’t be able to
blame me for asking him for help.”

Although he was only thinking of completely depending on someone else, Dross

believed he had come up with a great idea.

He did not think for a second that he would be discarded by Albert, just like Oliveira
had been discarded by him.

In the end, no matter in which world or time period, there have been and will always
be people who see the world through the lenses of their own personal convenience.

When Albert heard of Dross’ extremely selfish request from an envoy that was sent to
him, he was in a bad mood, but that was only reflected by his eyebrows, which slightly
rose and twitched.
His self-control was what one would expect from the leader of a faction that controlled
a country.

“I will ask Bessendorf about the spy matter. However, I don’t recall demanding
anything of sir Isengard. It would be quite troubling if you mistakenly make that kind
of claim.”

It was too hard for a regular envoy to bear with the pressure emitted by this man who
was used to ruling over other people.

“O-of course!”

From Albert’s perspective, Dross’ complaints were a joke.

All he had said was that he would generously reward Dross if Felbell were to take the
throne, and it was up to Dross to interpret that as he wished.

It would be impossible to pin a crime on on an important aristocrat like Albert over

an accusation based on someone’s personal interpretation of his words.

“Even so… Did that spy really leave without doing anything?”

“Yes… He only fought against Oliveira’s monsters, but he left Oliveira’s corpse as it was,
and it didn’t look like he broke into Oliveira’s laboratory either.”

“―― What kind of man was he?”

Albert knew about the “king’s ears”. There were no nobles who did not know about
their existence.

It was the biggest intelligence agency in the country, and it was under the direct
control of the king.

Their inspections went as far as touching on the kingdom’s economics and foreign
affairs. It wasn’t the kind of organization that would get involved in some crude fight
like the one that had happened within Isengard’s territory.

Hence why Albert had some doubts.

“He was a really huge man with a herculean strength that put our common sense
through some tough times…”

“Wait, did you say a huge man?”

Albert knew the identity of that man.

He clearly remembered the huge man who claimed that, in order to clear his name, he
would find the true culprit of the assassination attempt himself.

(Looks like he did find the truth ―― But he’s an amateur who did not bother collecting
any evidence. )

As he guessed the course of events, he smiled happily.

The noble society wasn’t going to do anything based on someone testifying that “It
was that guy”.

That was especially true since there was no record of Kurats’ testimonies being
trustworthy or not.

Which was only natural since, after all, he had been a mere commoner only a few days
prior to this.

“―― Are you sure that there is no evidence left?”

“N-naturally. We’ve erased all traces of Oliveira!”

What would happen if Kurats were to testify and to then find himself with no evidence
to present once the time would come for him to prove his testimony?

Well, this was a serious situation that concerned an attempt to assassinate the
princess.

Trying to pin that sort of crime on the innocent baron of Isengard would be enough to
get the death penalty.

“You need to check again, just in case. That giant used to be a commoner and rose in
rank only recently. If he doesn’t have any evidence, then trust me, Isengard will not be
charged for any crime.”
“This kindness is more than we deserve! We certainly will not betray your expectations!”

“I do not expect anything from you fools.” Was what Albert was thinking, but on the
surface, he answered the messenger with a radiant smile.

“No need to thank me, I’m just giving advice to a fellow comrade who swore allegiance
to her highness Felbell. It’s a shame that sir Dross had to deal with that pesky insect.”

In the end, the only thing Albert had done was to give advice about a suspicious man
who had appeared in the Isengard territory.

Albert was not going to take the careless risk of putting any evidence against himself
out there in the world for others to find, unlike Dross.

On that point, Dross could only get a failing grade as an aristocrat.

(At best I’ll use him as a sacrificial piece. And I suppose he’ll never get to see his wish
come true.)

◆◆◆

“Kurats, thank god you’re okay!”

Since she had figured the situation would most likely turn into a battle, Lunaria was
delighted to see Kurats return safely.

She knew that, given his strength, Kurats would not be in danger, however Lunaria had
still been worried.

After all, there was always the possibility that he would be poisoned or that an
accident would befall him.

“You look lively as well, your highness Luna.”

“Did you just abbreviate her highness’ name? How dare you show such disrespect!”

“What do you think you’re doing, Rosberg?”

“B-but, your highness… He’s going too far!”

When Rosberg started acting like an overly protective parent as usual, Kurtas
reflexively showed a wry smile.

If this was what Rosberg was doing now, what would he do the day Lunaria would get
married?

“What’s with the lukewarm look in your eyes? Just letting you know, I will not
acknowledge you as being suitable for her highness.”

“W-what in the world are you saying?! Kurats and I don’t have that kind of relation-…”

The princess spoke hesitantly with both of her ears blushing, which only served to fuel
Rosberg’s opposition more.

“Okay, that’s it! Let’s settle this once and for all! I won’t hold back this time!”

Enraged, Rosberg readied his hand on the handle of his magic sword, Gerlach, but was
interrupted by Lunaria’s fist, which came to hit him powerfully on the back of his head.

“Don’t start a fight in my room, you fool!”

“Gaah!”

Although Rosberg was blown off to a wall, there was a look of satisfaction on his face,
for this attack showed the results of the consistent training that Lunaria had been
going through since a very young age.
Ignoring Rosberg, who had finally quieted down, Lunaria started speaking.

“I’ve also made some progress since you left. I’ve found out that the baron of Isengard’s
nephew left the knight order after what happened to him on that day. Apparently, his
injury was a minor one that didn’t need any treatment, and it’s unclear why he lost
consciousness from just that.”

“In the first place, no member of the knight order would fall from his horse and pass
out from it! Moreover, not only was he wearing a full body armor, he also did not have
any external injuries. I cannot believe that this was anything other than a
masquerade!”

Rosberg was already back on his feet and spoke in a proud manner.

In the first place, a horse was not just a means of transportation to a knight, it was a
friend, like a part of the family.

It was extremely shameful for a knight to fall from his own horse, but even if he did, it
was unthinkable that he’d get injured from it.

Because the first lesson the knights received when learning horse riding was how to
move upon falling from their horse in order to offer optimal protection to their own
body.

Therefore, claiming that he was not cut out or not ready to be a horseman would not
do.

“Besides, I pursued the matter and, as I thought, it seems like his capabilities weren’t
all that great. He joined the order through his connections instead. Still, Isengard’s
influence should not have been sufficient to have him enroll that way…”

The knight order was at the center of the country’s defense, it would have been a
terrible sight if it became a social gathering for nobles.

Therefore, the order’s principle was to enroll people based on their merits, hence why
there were many commoners among the knights.

“That’s right, this must have been done under the instructions of someone very
influential.”

“…I’m afraid the baron could be a subordinate of the marquis of Strasbourg, but the
marquis would not make the foolish mistake of leaving any evidence of it.”

The one thing Lunaria believed without a doubt was that the main culprit was the
baron of Isengard.

However, a mere belief was not enough to get him convicted.

More evidence was needed to get a guilty verdict.

“How about you, Kurats? How did it go on your side?”

Pressed by a gaze that was full of expectations, Kurats could not stop his heart from
throbbing.

The first time he met her, what felt truly beautiful about her was how bright, lively and
dynamic she was, but now, she looked more feminine, like she was seeking his
protection.

Only people who had some experience would know that this kind of aura would only
come from a woman in love.

Naturally, Rosberg did not find this to be amusing in the slightest.

“Surely, you would not dare to betray her highness’ expectations, right?”

Rosberg glared at Kurats like a parent protecting his child from an approaching enemy.

“What should I say? Well, for now, I guess I should tell you that I made that good-for-
nothing confess and then gave him a lesson.”

“You had a fight? But I didn’t receive a report that the baron of Isengard was arrested.”

“I guess I overlooked that.”

“You did WHAT?!”

Rosberg shouted with such a force that it looked like the blood vessels on his forehead
were about to burst.

“How foolish can you be? You do know that a confession is meaningless if it’s not done
in front of an official, right? Did you believe your own testimony would be enough by
itself? What were you thinking!”

Even if he did confess to Kurats, there were no witnesses to prove it, and the baron
was given enough extra time to erase any evidence that there could have been. No
matter how stupid he was, he was not going to make the mistake of admitting his
crimes under these circumstances.

If Kurats had at least restrained him on the spot while claiming it was for self-defense,
the baron could have been taken to prison by force afterwards, and the results would
have been much different.

But now, not only was there no chance of winning, there was even a possibility that
Isengard would take Kurats to court and get a guilty verdict against him instead.

[I cannot deny that it was foolish…]

“Still, don’t you think it will be more interesting to beat him at his own game?”

[Indeed indeed.]

Contrarily to Rosberg, who was holding his head, Kurats and Bernst were in pretty
high spirits.

◆◆◆

It did not take long before Kurats was summoned before the king.

The hearing was taking place earlier than expected because the baron of Isengard had
appealed to the court in regard to what Kurats had done.

Normally, the king would not expressly get himself involved in a quarrel between
nobles, but in this case, it was said that Kurats had gone to another noble’s territory
and went as far as killing one of his retainers
However, Kurats was also under investigation in regard to the assassination attempt
on the princess, so this hearing had to be held in a hurry.

On the left and the right of the king, standing in a line one step lower than the throne,
were the prime minister, the justice minister, the minister of finance, and other
authorities of the kingdom, including the marquis of Strasbourg.

“The reason you were called here today was none other than an accusation of a
murder that allegedly occurred within the territory of sir Isengard.”

The king spoke solemnly while Kurats deeply bowed his head.

The king’s voice sounded somewhat strange.

“It was him, without a doubt! Killing my precious mage retainer was not enough for
this man, he even used violence against my knights!”

“Well, if more than 60 of your knights were one-sidedly tormented, I wonder what that
says about them.”

“Aaaaah! You bastard!”

Disregarding Ross, whose face was boiling from rage, the marquis of Strasbourg,
Albert, asked a question.

“May I interpret from your words that you are admitting to having indeed acted
violently against sir Isengard’s subordinates?”

There wasn’t a single shred of hostility in his words, he spoke very calmly, in a manner
that was fitting of the finesse that came with being the leader of a faction.

The atmosphere changed, most of the hearers were acting like they were already
thinking he was guilty, but Kurats looked at them like it was somebody else’ problem.

“If by “acted violently” you mean that I counterattacked after being attacked, then I
suppose I did.”

“That’s a lie! They were just trying to arrest you because, like I said before, you KILLED
my mage!”
(I see, in short, the story they are going with is that Kurats had a dispute with Oliveira
and ended up killing him.) Thought Bernst.

This strategy had likely been suggested by the marquis of Strasbourg.

Given that, it was possible to roughly guess where this was going.

“Oh, that mage who was using monsters? He’s the one who suddenly sent killer apes
and saber wolves to attack me…”

“Wait, using monsters? What do you mean?”

Bayard Cellvis, the minister of war, interrupted Kurats like he could physically not
ignore what had just been said.

There were many battles against monsters at the frontier of the kingdom. On those
battlefields, the value of a man who could control monsters would be immeasurable.

“He was able to completely control lower class monsters. I guess he was some sort of
prodigy.”

If Oliveira had heard this evaluation of his skills, he likely would not have been pleased
at all. After all, his research was at a level where it could have been recognized as a
groundbreaking achievement if it had ever been brought to light.

“Yes, Oliveira was a very important asset, yet this man killed him!”

“I couldn’t exactly ignore a mage who was kidnapping the locals for his experiments,
could I?”

“H-he did no such thing!”

With his poor acting skills, Ross could not help being flustered by Kurats’ words.

That was because Ross had not concealed the talks about the disappearances that had
been happening within his territory.

Kurats’ words had very accurately hit the weakness that Ross wanted to keep out of
touch.
“…Mister, why did you go to sir Isengard’s territory in the first place?”

The one who came to change the flow of the conversation was Danton, the count of
Aubert, who belonged to the marquis of Strasbourg’s faction.

From Danton’s perspective, the marquis of Strasbourg seemed to be secretly angered

by Ross’ bad acting.

It seemed like he had not calculated that Ross would be this incompetent.

“―― I was looking for the habitat of the monster that attached itself to her highness
Lunaria.”

“You’re saying that monster came from the Isengard territory?!”(Cellvis)

“That’s exactly right.”

Cellvis glared at Ross, with the eyes of a fierce eagle glaring at its prey.

That alone was enough to expose Ross’ true cowardly nature and make him shrink in
fear.

“Please wait! I recall receiving a report from my trusted aid Oliveira, who said he had
suspicions that the baron of Gaura was collecting monsters in my territory. But when
the baron was asked about it, he suddenly attacked!”

Ross’ shouting was akin to a shriek.

Even Ross could very well tell that this was a critical moment.

“And isn’t it extremely shady how my retainer was killed by a cowardly surprise
attack?”

When Ross said so, the head of the royal court’s mages, Mordred, was happy to chime
in.

“Mhm, lord of Gaura, how did you find out about the monster’s habitat in the first
place? Wasn’t it because you already knew about it?”

Mordred had no way to find out about the habitat of a monster by merely capturing it.
And he was the type of person who believed that if he could not do something, then
no one else could.

“The female of the monster secretes a special pheromone to call for the male of its
species, and I used that for my search. It didn’t cross my mind that the head of the
royal court’s mages would not be aware of something like this, sorry for my
discourtesy. ““

Kurats shoulders slightly shook as he laughed to himself, which completely enraged

Mordred.

“Quit the nonsense! If you think you’re going to fool me then…!”

“…Mordred.”

As he felt like the room temperature went below zero, Mordred shut his mouth.

This kind of pressure was easy to pull off for a born leader like Lunaria when she was
willing to expose her true nature.

“Anything more and I’ll have to assume you want to leave your position.”

“Y-y-yes!”

Modred’s whole body was covered in cold sweat.

Given the fact there was no proof behind Modred’s words, it would not be strange for
him to be accused of slander and defamation if he went any further with his statement.

Especially in a gathering like this one, where the king and many of the country’s
figures of authority were present.

“Be that as it may, the only proof of that claim is the testimony of the lord of Gaura,
which is not enough to cancel the suspicions.”(Albert)

Indeed, Kurats’ claim that the pheromones of the monster could be used to find its
habitat was only backed by his own words, and there was no way for anyone to
confirm them.

If there was no way to confirm it, the testimony was not receivable; that was one of
the ironclad rules of the court.

And the marquis of Strasbourg knew that Kurats could not prove any of his words.

Because, be it Oliveira’s corpse, his laboratory, or the corpses of the people he had
kidnapped, they had all been disposed of and reduced to dust.

“…Come to think of it, sir Isengard, you have a nephew, don’t you?”
“Come to think of it, sir Isengard, you have a nephew, right?”

“W-what of it?”

“The reason the monster clung to her highness was that she served as a water shrine
maiden for the temple of Gnostic in Barbena. And the reason she stopped by Barbena
was that your nephew fell from his horse.”

“I also remember that. He passed out and we did not know how heavy his injuries
were, so we decided to stop by Barbena to evaluate his condition.”

“H-he’s a clumsy fellow. He has already resigned from the knight order by now, and
he’s going through re-education on the family’s territory.”

Regardless of whether that was true or not, this was certainly going to worsen Ross’
credibility.

Even Albert was gritting his teeth, wondering why Ross had given such a shallow
explanation.

He had not been told about that nephew at all before the trial.

“However, you have no way of proving that the monster clung to her in Barbena, do
you?”

Perhaps because he had decided to go all in since he had already interfered anyway,
Mordred persisted in questioning Kurats’ testimony.

“It was an aquatic monster. If it did not happen in Barbena, that means you’re implying
the monster was allowed to penetrate the defenses of the royal palace, are you sure
you want to make that claim?”

“Ah…!”

While the royal guard was in charge of the royal palace’s defense, the royal court’s
mages were the ones in charge of protecting the palace against everything that had to
do with monsters and magic attacks.

In other words, if a monster had really entered the royal palace, that would be due to
the incompetence of the royal court’s mages.

Mordred grit his teeth like he was feeling pure hatred.

“B-but you still don’t have any actual evidence that it did happen in Barbena!”(Ross)

Hoping to escape from suspicions, Ross snarled at Kurats.

Because, even if he managed to pass himself off as being innocent due to a lack of
evidence and ended up not having to clear the suspicions, that sort of ‘technical’
innocence would destroy the Isengard family’s future.

“So, what you’re saying is that my testimony isn’t proof enough?”

“Obviously! You’re just some commoner who rose the ranks!”

Without any care for Ross’ insult, Kurats showed a wide grin.

“Then I guess I’ll just have to turn everyone in this room into witnesses. [Project]!”

Suddenly, with a dazzling light, a five meters wide sphere appeared above the ground
of the hall.

In the royal palace, the use of magic was significantly restrained. The fact that Kurats
was able to use his spell so easily here only served to show how abnormal he truly
was.

“H-how rude! Where do you think you are?!”

As Mordred questioned Kurats’ behavior, he realized that everyone else’s attention

was pointed at another direction.

“Everyone, what are you…”

Modred swallowed back his words before he could finish his sentence.
Projected on the unidentified sphere was a top-down view of a scene that showed
Kurats and Ross facing each other.

“Are you sure? Protecting this guy is basically like admitting that the assassination
attempt on the princess was your plan.”

“Humph! If I kill you and get rid of Oliveira, there will be no evidence remaining!”

When he looked at the image, Ross’ face first turned green and then soon became pure
white.

His teeth chattered with fear, and his unsteady feet could not stop him from dropping
on his knees.

It was obvious to anyone who was watching that this projection was real.

When they saw the image of Kurats lifting the rock tortoise up, the mouths of everyone
present were left agape, like their jaws were about to come off.

There were some nobles who had even fallen on their bottoms by just seeing the
tortoise on the projection.

And then, ――.

“You had some value but I have to do this now, no hard feelings!”

“Guh!”

The scene that showed Ross killing his subordinate Oliveira left most onlookers with
a feeling of digust.

The fact that he had called this man his trusted retainer was revolting.

Having witnessed this act of extreme selfishness, the nobles who were watching the
projection had already branded Ross as being guilty.

“There is nothing to admit here! Nothing proves that this projection is real!”

But some people just do not have the ability to read the mood.
One look at Ross’ current appearance should have been more than enough to clarify
the truth, but Mordred did not want to approve of Kurats.

Acknowledging the facts would be the same as recognizing that, using a type of magic
that no one else could use, Kurats had achieved the feat of capturing the man who had
tried to kill the princess.

“He’s right! This is nothing more than a skillfully made forgery!”

Ross’ life was on the line.

He had no other choice than to jump on this convenient opportunity that Mordred had
given him.

Certainly, it was going to be difficult to argue against Ross if he just insisted that the
evidence had yet to be proven.

“By the way, your majesty.”

“Yes?”

Christopher showed a mischievous smile.

That smile made him seem like he had anticipated what Kurats was about to say next.

“In those bushes on the left, there was an uncle who was watching the whole altercation,
isn’t he one of your acquaintances?”

“―― You realize that he’ll be really bothered if you keep calling him an uncle, right?”

“I can’t help it, he really does look like some friendly uncle.”

After a short moment, Christopher burst out laughing.

Holding his belly, he kept laughing out loud like he could not hold himself back
anymore.

“Guhahahahahaha!”

“Your majesty?”
Everyone’s attention was captured by Christopher’s extremely strange reaction.

This was a critical moment where it would be decided whether Kurats would be
considered as a murder or whether Ross would be considered as being responsible
for the assassination attempt on the princess.

This was absolutely not the right moment to burst out laughing.

“Could you please explain, your majesty?”

The prime minister’s authoritative tone allowed Christopher to finally sooth his fit of
laughter.

“My apologies; this is about the man on the left of that projection.”

At this point, Christopher took a breath and grinned.

“He’s one of the my subordinates, a member of the ‘king’s ears’.”

The shock brought by those words made Ross fall to the ground.

“The report I received from said subordinate was no different than what was shown
on the baron of Gaura’s projection. So I personally guarantee that the images were
real.”

A testimony from the king’s ears counted as receivable evidence.

Because they had taken a magic oath to never give false evidence or a false testimony
to the king.

Which meant that Ross was responsible for the assassination attempt on the princess,
that he was the one pulling the strings behind the kidnapping of his own people, and
that he had killed his subordinate.

“This is a mistake… This has to be some sort of mistake!”

“…Now is not the time for excuses, now is time for you to meet your jailer. Take him
away.”

“IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIH!”
As two knights came to grab and drag Ross’ small body by the shoulders, he let out a
miserable shriek.

However, Kurats showed no sign of stopping his projection.

“What’s the matter, sir Gaura? You’ve already won, it’s fine.”

At that moment, the scene in the video suddenly changed.

Looking at the projected image, Albert was able to stop his voice that almost left his
mouth against his will, but he was not able control himself enough to stop his
complexion from turning pale.

And that was not without reason, for the projection showed a messenger of the
Isengard family with a desperate look on his face, rushing towards the Strasbourg
mansion.

“…That is discomforting. I certainly did get a visit from the messenger, but that was
only because the baron wanted to consult me about a major even that had happened
on his territory.”

“Forgive my discourtesy. After all, sir Isengard had just succeeded in running away
towards his castle, he must have just sent the messenger out of panic.”

“I can understand how you could have doubts from your standpoint. No need to
apologize.”

In contrast to his words, Albert’s mind was full of fury.

There was no actual evidence, but it was likely that some of the many people standing
in this room were going to suspect that Albert had been backing Isengard.

This was going to make it difficult for a while for Albert to work in a public or official
setting.

At the same time, he had to take in consideration the fact that the nobles he had taken
from Lunaria’s faction were once again open for the taking.

And all of this had been caused by a single, unknown mage, who had been a commoner
just a few days prior to these events.
(I will not forget this disgrace! Don’t go thinking I’ll let you die easily after this!)

But that was not the end of Kurats’ malicious trap.

“Well then, will this be enough for you to acknowledge my magic if only a little bit,
head of the royal court’s mages?”

Mordred tried to say something but his voice was blocked, as if he had a foreign object
stuck in his throat.

He did not want to approve of this.

If he could, he would have shouted that everything Kurats presented was rubbish.

However, the king himself had certified the evidence; refuting it would be akin to a
political suicide for Mordred.

“You did… a splendid job… this time.”

He added “this time” to his sentence as a last thread of stubbornness he could hold
onto.

But the truthfully he believed that it would not matter if Kurats’ rural magic were to
disappear even though it had happened to be useful this time.

Because if such dodgy techniques were to spread, the entire magic order would be
lost.

Hence why Mordred swore to himself that he would get rid of Kurats no matter what.

“Does that mean you’d be willing to doubt my magic a little less and have a little more
faith in it from here on out?”

Asked Kurats, having naturally seen through what was going on in Mordred’s mind.

Personality-wise, Bernst and Kurats were quite similar.

“I-I’ll consider it.”

While clenching his teeth, Mordred barely managed to get those words out.
It seemed like it was impossible for him to simply say ‘I understand’.

“Indeed, that was splendid work, sir Gaura. I shall give you a reward at a later date, do
look forward to it.”

With this declaration from Christopher, who seemed to be quite satisfied, the trial of
Kurats and Ross came to its end.

◆◆◆

Kurats received a reward of 10.000 gold coins instead of receiving a piece of territory,
since he did not have any retainers working for him.

A normal commoner would be able to live for a whole year with only 20 gold coins.
This fact was enough to understand how enormous this reward was.

The king had apparently wanted to raise Kurats to the rank of viscount, but as one
would expect, he was stopped by the prime minister.

Despite his achievements, Kurats had been commoner just a few days earlier. If his
rank was raised multiple times in a row at such a quick interval, that would turn into
a scandal for sure.

Besides, he couldn’t be granted the rank of viscount with the village of Gaura as his
sole territory. is here!

Therefore, this time’s reward was just a bonus given to Kurats while waiting for him
to form a group of retainers and to gain new achievements.

“Wow! It’s been a while since I last came to the royal capital! As you’d expect, it’s
bustling.”

There was no comparing a rural village like Gaura to this actual megalopolis.

It was only natural for Cornelia to get excited like a country bumpkin over it.

It had been around ten years since she last came to the royal capital after all.
When he looked at his usually cool sister act this way, Kurats’ eyebrows rose up without
him realizing it.

(S-she’s way too cute…)

[I see you’re as twisted as ever. You should hurry and embrace her already. ]

(No way. Why can’t you old people understand that there is more to the relationship
between a man and a woman than sex…)

[You want to keep adding chapters to your black history? You will regret it later.]

Bernst knew many men who had drowned under the weight of the ideal called love.

To Bernst, it looked like Kurats was merely heading towards the same path as those
many men.

(He’s getting drunk on his own rookie statements, I just hope I won’t have to scoop him
up later.)

“Look! There is a fortune teller over there!”

In the direction Cornelia was pointing at was the fortune teller from last time, who
was smiling and looking with great interest towards the siblings.

It was clear that her eyes were implying something along the lines of “Bringing a
different woman than last time, huh? Quite the lady’s man I see!”

Although Kurats preferred to not interact with her if possible, it was too late, as
Cornelia had already started running like a child towards the fortune-teller.
“Can you read my fortune?”

“Of course I can, that’s my job after all. Isn’t that right, mister?”

“Then go ahead and read her fortune. Here’s the money.”

Through his eyes, Kurats was telling the fortune teller that he was giving her hush
money to keep her quiet about the events of the other day. And she happily nodded in
response.

“What would you like me to read into?”

When the fortune teller asked that question, Cornelia peeked at Kurats’ facial
expression and became red in the face, but she still found the will to speak.

“I-I’d like to know about my l… love life.”

It almost looked like steam was about come out of her head. That innocent reaction
made the fortune teller unconsciously glare at Kurats.

It was not rare for her to see a man two-timing, but she really did not approve of playing
with such a naive girl.

With cold sweat, Kurats stared back at the fortune-teller in an attempt to declare his
innocence.

But even if not for that, the fortune teller was not boorish enough to start interrogating
him on the spot.

“A beautiful woman like you will be blessed with a great love life for sure… But let’s see
what the cards have to say anyway, shall we?”

“Yes! Please do!”

Throughout the ages, maidens in love had always been known to love this sort of
fortune-telling.

And since there were no opportunities to experience it at all in a rural village like
Gaura, it was no surprise that seeing the real deal in the royal capital was making
Cornelia’s heart beat faster.

While openly displaying her excitement on her face, Cornelia took a seat.

Her eyes were filled with expectations and a child like-innocence that made the
fortune teller grin broadly.

“Is there any man on your mind?”

“Huh…? W-well… there is but…”

Cornelia’s face was looking more and more like a red tomato. She couldn’t answer the
fortune teller in a clear manner since Kurats was in front of her.

“Then, I will pray for your happiness and give you the best reading I can manage.”

This girl and the one from before were both beautiful in their own ways.

(If he makes them cry, I won’t let him get away with it) The fortune teller swore to
herself.

She then made her cards dance around as if she was using sleight of hand, until three
cards were lined up in front of Cornelia.

“The high priestess in the upright position, interesting. You seem to have a high
tendency to use your intelligence to think things through. That’s not a mistake at all,
but when it comes to love, perhaps your need to let your feelings guide you. If you let
only your logic decide for you, you’ll let opportunities pass right under your nose.”

“R-really―?”

Cornelia’s shoulders slumped, prompting the fortune teller to comfort her.

“You were excited earlier, weren’t you? Please hold on to that feeling, alright? It’s okay,
you have not lost yet.”
“…Alright!”

Cornelia happily nodded.

Although Kurats did not know much about fortune-telling, he figured there was
something special to it that could captivate a woman’s mind.

“Next we have ―― The fool, in the upright position. This symbolizes a return to
beginnings. You are like the fool who is not aware that he is heading towards a cliff.
However, if you jump down that precipice, you can start a new life. So, if you happen
to reach a ‘cliff’, it will do you no good to hesitate.”

“But what if I have to discard the life I’ve had so far for it?”

“That’s what starting a new life means. What you have to ask yourself is whether you
have to resolve to jump off the cliff for the sake of your love.”

“―― I understand.”

Deep down, Cornelia was aware of her inability to step forward.

Hence why the fortune teller’s words were echoing loudly in her heart.

“The last card is… The lover in the upright position? I’m afraid you’re going to have it
hard…”

“I-Is it a bad card?”

The fortune teller’s surprised tone made Cornelia feel uneasy.

“No, it’s a good card for the fulfillment of your love. But when it comes out together
with a strong card like the sun or the high priestess, that often means that there will
be many temptations around your love interest.”

Cornelia instinctively glared at Kurats.

By reflex, Kurats shook his head from side to side, tacitly declaring his innocence once
again.

That scene made the fortune teller let a short laugh escape her before she proceeded
to tease Cornelia.

“Could it be that he’s the person you were referring to?”

“T-that’s…”

Cornelia’s whole body reached the same shade of red as her face.

This was probably her limit seeing as she was having trouble articulating words.

The fortune teller could not help herself from wishing the best for this innocent girl.

“Please do your best. If you take the initiative and hold on to it with a strong resolve,
you will surely pave your way forward.”

“Thank you!”

Noticing the fortune teller’s implicit support, Cornelia cheerfully bowed her head.

She wanted to try now.

Still, that did not change the fact that her love interest was her little brother, even
though she wasn’t related to him by blood.

Nevertheless, she was very happy to have to been pushed forward and told that she
could pave the way to her happiness if she was willing to risk everything.

“How about I read the fortune of the boyfriend, too?”

“I think knowing too much about what’s to come would ruin the fun of it, you know?”

The playful look in the fortune teller’s eyes made Kurats strongly decline the offer,
with cold sweat on his back.

“I wish we could have seen your cards, too, though…”

With those simple-minded words from Cornelia, the two siblings left the plaza.

—
Cornelia was in a great mood.

It had been a while since she and Kurats had last enjoyed themselves outside, and she
had also gotten to taste some delicious tea.

As they walked side by side and browsed the goods of a clothing store, she focused her
gaze on both of their reflections on the store’s window while secretly smiling to
herself. She felt like the two of them looked like lovers from an outside view.

“There is a place in the capital that opened pretty recently, how about we go have
lunch there? I made a reservation yesterday.”

Kurats spoke proudly. This felt like he and Cornelia were a pair of lovers going on a
date.

Because of that feeling, he did not stop to consider the risks that could from eating at
a restaurant that was famous in the city.

“The sun’s abode” Those were the words written on the big signboard of the elegant
restaurant that stood out like a star in the night sky. The line of people waiting to get
a table here was so long that it went all the way outside.

The building itself was decorated with warm colors like red and orange, giving it the
feel of an aristocrat’s cottage. It looked luxurious.

Furthermore, their meals were probably delicious as well, judging by their popularity.

“Welcome, the end of the line is right this way, please go ahead!”

A female employee wearing an apron called out to the pair.

She was beautiful, had a bright and sweet smile, and seemed like a lively type of girl.

“I made a reservation under the name Kurats Hans Almadianos.”

“Mister Kurats, we have been waiting for you! Please follow me!”

Looking closely, there was a second, smaller building that was connected to the first
one by an extended passage.
That place was likely for special guests who had made a reservation.

The girl opened the smaller building’s outside door and informed the rest of the staff
of Kurats’ arrival.

“Mister Kurats is here.”

“Welcome.”

The waiters, who had lined themselves up on the left and right of the entrance, bowed
very courteously.

While Kurats was appreciating how well trained the employees were, he heard a
familiar voice.

“Kurats? Did she say Kurats just now?”

These words came from Lunaria, who was disguised as a town girl. Accompanied by
Rosberg, she was waiting for her meal with her eyes were sparkling with curiosity.

“―― Why is Luna here…”

(Shit. Did I underestimate how much Luna likes food?)

Feeling chills run down his spine, Kurats looked behind him in terror.

Although there was a wide smile on her face, Cornelia was quietly watching Kurats
with dangerous flames in her eyes.

“―― Who’s Luna?”

Looking at the beautiful girl who looked like she was born in a noble family and who
was overflowing with elegance, Cornelia lost her bearings, but she still understood
what was going on.

(This is what the fortune-teller was talking about…)

Now that she thought about it, Kurats certainly was a great catch.

He had the rare power of a mage on top of being a warrior with immense, unparalleled
strength. Now, he had even become a baron, and he could rise even further in rank
depending on his achievements.

There was the issue of him having a split personality, but that hadn’t come up since
that day.

It was not strange to think that the gold diggers out there would want to aim for him.

Although Cornelia had not yet accepted Kurats as a man instead of a little brother, he
had still confessed to her, so it was natural for her to expect some sincerity from him.

Meanwhile, Lunaria was also evaluating Cornelia.

Contrarily to Cornelia, Lunaria felt like it would be only natural for Kurats to see other
women, but she had no intention to give up the on the legal wife’s seat.

It was hard for her to tell which of the two of them was better.

However, there was one clear difference between them.

(―― It’s my win.)

When she noticed that Lunaria’s eyes were fixedly staring at her chest, Cornelia
dropped her shoulders in defeat.

Lunaria seemed younger, but she had the two heavy hills that Cornelia never had.

The battle of the two girl’s first meeting had escaped Kurats’ notice, but it had ended
with Lunaria’s victory.

◆◆◆

“So, this is my sister-in-law, Cornelia Hans Almadianos.”

“I did not know you were her highness the princess, please forgive my rudeness.”

“Mhm, do not worry about it. I am trying to hide my identity after all.”

In the end, Kurats sat down on the same table as Lunaria, on a seat that put him face
to face with her.
He absolutely did not want to take the seat facing Rosberg, who was sitting right next
to Lunaria with a demonic expression on his face.

“Oh, that’s right…”

Lunaria while nodded to herself as she looked at Cornelia like she had just understood
something.

“What is it?”

“The reason Kurats came to cure my sickness in the first place was that he wanted to
save you from the dirty hands of that perverted noble. So, in a way, I owe you my life.”

“T-that’s…”

Hearing this from someone else made Cornelia realize all over again what Kurats had
done for her.

She started blushing and awkwardly looked down at the ground.

“…As I thought, you are an enemy that I have to eliminate even at the cost of my own
life.”(Rosberg)

“He’s just joking.”

Feeling the blood-thirst of Rosberg, who was clearly not joking at all, Kurats could only
answer with a dry smile.

For Kurats, who was a beginner when it came to love, the difficulty of this situation
was far too high.
“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. Here is your calf leg confit.”

It was at that moment that one of the waiters brought the table’s meals, seasoned with
a courteous bow.

Aside from Kurats, who was thinking that this intervention was a gift from the
heavens, everyone else’s eyes were drawn to this popular dish that smelled of butter.

The confit was a recipe from the Tolnedra kingdom, at the south of the Jormungand
kingdom. Rather than frying the meat in oil directly, this recipe consisted of rubbing
the meat with salt and then slowly poaching it in oil or fats over a low heat.

This allowed the flesh to be crispy and savory on the surface, and to yet be soft and
filled with juices on the inside. The recipe was gaining great popularity in the
Jormungand kindgom, which had been unfamiliar with it in the past.

“I-It’s delicious!”

“…It’s surprisingly good.”

“I’ve never had meat this tasty before.”

Even Lunaria, who was supposed to be used to fine dining, was surprised by how tasty
this was.

The meat sauteed in butter was so soft that it gave in under the weight of their knives
alone, and every cut allowed its overflowing juices to ooze out of the flesh.

This was accompanied by a cherry sauce made with finely chopped truffles, and a duck
foie gras pate, giving the whole mixture a heavy sweetness that married well with the
meat’s thick juices.

It was said that a really good meal was a meal that could cut any conversation short,
and the group of four had indeed become completely silent as they ate.
Kurats could not help himself from letting out a sigh of amazement as he let himself
become entranced with the taste of this unexpected treat.

It was no wonder why this was so incredibly popular even in the royal capital.

“For dessert, a walnut sorbet.”

The desert was also surprising.

It was a maple and walnut sorbet, topped by a combination of toasted barley and
yogurt.

This desert was great right down to its texture and consequently managed to pacify
Kurats’ meat-filled stomach.

But what pleased Kurats even more than this wonderful meal was how it pacified the
moods of Cornelia and Lunaria.

Nothing in the world could fix a mood like tasty food, this was a rule of life.

“You think this will be enough to trick me?”

But of course, like every rule, this rule had an exception, and it went by the name of
Rosberg.

After the group left The Sun’s Abode, Lunaria and Cornelia took Kurats’ left and right
flank while Rosberg followed from behind, radiating with blood-thirst.

Kurats was under seige, taking attacks from all sides.

[Pathetic! You’re gonna let two women make you submit?]

(I’m not as experienced as you are, okay!)

Unaware of the conflict within Kurats’ mind, the two maidens continued their attacks.

“I hope Kurats’ bumpkin side was not too rude for you.”

“Kurats’ behavior is actually not inferior to that of other nobles, although that came as
a surprise for me, too. I figured that was thanks to your parents’ education.”
“Our parents were not ordinary but I don’t really recall them teaching him how to
behave…”

Then, the topic of a conversation shifted to Kurats’ childhood stories and blunders.

“What?! So he can’t swim?”

“Yeah, apparently it’s because he got a trauma from almost drowning in slightly deep
waters after getting carried away once.”

Nothing dealt more mental damage to him than having his black history exposed to
others right in front of him.

[I can’t… that feeling of wanting to destroy everything again… I will not forgive this……]

(Bear with it, Bernst! Please!)

Meanwhile, hidden within the shadows, there were people watching this group of four
from afar.

They were the assassins who had been hired to kill the princess. However, ever since
the baron of Isengard’s plan had been brought to light, they had found themselves in
danger of unemployment.

Their main clients were nobles, but these nobles were probably in a position where
they would not dare to do anything that could get attention, afraid to receive the
sparks of everything that was going on.

Though some groups had already washed their hands off of everything, this particular
group of assassins, who were known for how scrupulous they were, believed that
withdrawing now would hurt their clan’s face.

But that was not all.

If they gave up on a request that they had already received, they would also lose the
faith of their clients.

If left to rot, this lack of faith could lead to a lack of fear of the underworld.

The reason their group had not yet fallen in the hands of aristocracy was that, when it
came to their assassination missions, they had a strong pride and a tenacity that
veered towards obstinacy. For that, they were feared by many.

However, if the nobles lost their feat of antagonizing them, the group’s pride would die
out and they would be reduced to the level of mere thugs wandering the streets.

“We have to take the princess’ life no matter what. Our clan’s pride is on the line.”

This man, who went by the name of Cajo, had yet to realize his mistake.

For his calculations did not include the existence of a mage with strange powers called
Kurats.

“I see, so you also went to that fortune teller, miss Cornelia?”

“Yeah, she told some veeery helpful things.”

“Same for me. She said that I need to succeed by my own power.”

“Well, I personally have no intention to give up on my success.”

“I do not feel like stepping back either.”

“Hehehehe.”

“Hahahahahahaha.”

(I have to escape! I gotta escape from here and fast!)

[Hey, weakling, don’t you feel like these is something strange going on?]

Bernst noticed that, for a little while now, the ordinary atmosphere of the street had
completely changed.

“Oh? They sell crepes here!”

As Lunaria started running towards a nearby cart, Kurats grabbed her by the hand to
stop her.

“K-kurats, what are you doing…”

Confused by the sudden action, Lunaria blushed and gazed at her right hand that was
still in Kurats’ grasp, but he was not looking at her.

“You two, don’t let your guard down.”

“You insolent scum! See if you can lay a finger on the princess with the kingdom’s
sword protecting her!”

Robserg had also noticed what was really happening.

The group was already surrounded by assassins.

“…I make these crepes with my heart and soul, please give them a try.”

The owner of the cart beckoned to the group with a radiant smile. And yet, the next
moment, he threw the palette knife in his hand straight towards Lunaria, without any
change in his facial expression.

Taking this as a signal, the citizens, who were seemingly strolling in the street, all
dropped their pretenses and revealed their true colors.

A man who had been selling fish took a blowpipe out of a water tank, and another one,
who had been selling hair ornaments and rings, took out a dagger that was hidden
among his store’s accessories. Then, they simultaneously ran towards Lunaria.

However, there was more.

Every single passer-by was an assassin.

Their movements were guided by a splendid leadership. They had split into two
groups. The first one was keeping Rosberg and Kurats at bay so that the second one
could attack Lunaria.

“Come on, try me!”

Considering Kurats’ strength, none of these assassins were his opponents.

However, Kurats could not protect Lunaria while simultaneously fighting this many
people.
Even so, with his incredible strength, he blew away some of the assassins that came at
him and sent them flying towards some of the ones who were aiming for Lunaria. He
was still not normal by any standards.

“So there are still some fools out there who think they can aim for my life!”

As she said so, Lunaria pulled out adagger that she kept for self-defense and somewhat
joyfully intercepted the attacks of the assassins that were coming at her.

Rosberg had not trained Lunaria in the art of the sword just for show.

Very soon, several of the assassins who had attacked her were sliced by her sword and
found themselves crawling on the ground.

(Wow, she’s quite skilled.)

[What is this fool doing! That dagger isn’t going to protect her, it’s just going to expose
her even more!]

Like Bernst said, now that Lunaria had actively joined the fight, it was going to be
difficult for Rosberg and Kurats to protect her.

(Don’t worry. Lunaria is not the only the one who can fight.)

[What?]

Lunaria was likely not used to fighting against multiple opponents. Which was
probably why, after defeating five or six assassins, she exposed a dangerous gap in her
defense to one of the remaining assailants.

“Yaaaaaaaaah!”

“Guh!”

But when that assassin came to attack her, the area between his legs was pulverized
by a turning heel kick. He fainted with foam coming out of his mouth.

“How dare you gang up on a girl! I won’t forgive living garbage like you!”

It appeared that Cornelia had a habit of aiming for the vitals whenever she had to fight
seriously.

Although they weren’t the ones who were attacked, Rosberg and Kurats couldn’t
suppress a chill that ran down their lower-halves.

“You have one terrifying elder sister.”

“For once, I totally agree with you.”

This was a nightmare for the assassins.

Rosberg by himself was already a powerful enemy, but the rampart called Kurats was
just as powerful, if not more.

Moreover, there was another person who was at the same level as Lunaria. Nothing
was going according to plan.

The assassins’ numbers quickly dwindled.

“How… How could this be? We put all of our clan’s power into this trap!”

The strategy of forming a circle of assassins perfectly disguised as citizens was the
pride of Cajo’s clan.

This clan could do anything… Be it poisoning, surprise attacks or even using hostages
as a threat. They were even willing to use the women and children of the clan as
assassins. For those reasons, in the world of assassins, they had quite a high standing.

They had never failed to kill someone in a setting where they had been allowed to
prepare themselves at their own leisure.

That was the reason the nobles feared this group, and that was also the reason they
continuously paid them outrageous sums for their services and never treated them as
disposable.

“Then how come we ended up getting played so easily?!”

This was not a battle anymore, it was merely a massacre.

No matter where it landed, a single attack from Kurats was enough to cripple any of
the assassins that faced him, and the same applied for Rosberg’s attacks.

Moreover, Lunaria was also worthy of being called a top-class fighter. She easily
defeated the assassins who came at her.

However, what was even more unexpected was the presence of Cornelia, who did not
have a weapon but was using a brutal technique which aimed directly for the crotch.

Although she looked like a delicate woman who lived in seclusion on the surface, the
way she fought without any hesitation made her seem more like an experienced
soldier.

In the end, when the last of the assailants came down, Cajo was left all by himself. Yet
there was still a weak smile on his face.

Being an assassin was not really an occupation to be proud of, but seeing his clan go
down like this made him feel strangely emotional.

“Even so, we haven’t lost just yet.”

Cajo decided to use his last remaining trump card.

He was going to make his own body explode. Then, his poisoned blood would scatter
on everyone around him and take them with him―― This trump card was one that
only Cajo could use, for he was the only one among the assassins who had infused his
limbs with poison.

“‘Ignition‘ ““

As Cajo muttered so, Kurats immediately jumped towards him, at a speed faster than
the eyes could see.

“Scumbags should die by themselves, like the scumbags they are.”

Before Cajo could begin to realize what was happening, his body turned into a crimson
stain on a wall.

“You really saved me there, miss Cornelia.”

“Your fighting skills were splendid as well, your highness.”

After they witnessed each other’s strength, courage and decisiveness, the two girls’
opinions of one another had changed.

The experience of fighting together with their lives on the line had allowed them to
acknowledge each other as rivals.

They were now going to be comrades who diligently competed to become Kurats’
number one.

(What? How come these two are getting along now?)

[What you should be asking yourself is how are you gonna get through life being this
slow!]

―― And so began the heroic saga of Almadianos.