Amunson—no, Owl No. 18—was sitting on a rock, his eyes fixed on the moon hanging in the sky, consumed with the flames of vengeance toward Simon.
In Yoheim, he had been considered quite a capable knight.
But it was different outside.
He had to realize in the Allied Army that he was just one of many knights.
The days fighting Orcs were terrifying even in hindsight.
Those monsters, far stronger than humans, swung massive lumps of steel, and he hadn't even dared to think of facing them head-on.
He mostly tried to avoid them as much as possible, and occasionally, with the help of several others, they barely managed to take one down.
So, when the Allied Army finally took Okua, Amunson felt more relief than triumph.
He wasn't a key figure in the Allied Army. He was just an ordinary soldier, satisfied with surviving.
The true victors who had led the Allied Army to victory were a handful of geniuses.
Maybe that's why—he had wanted to win the duel against Simon in Balshad at all costs. He didn't want to carry that sense of powerlessness anymore.
But he lost again.
At first, he thought it cowardly. Pretending to be injured to deceive—such a thing went against the chivalric code.
But eventually, he understood. A knight, after all, was someone who had to fight wars. A cowardly victory was better than an honest defeat.
Next time, he would get revenge on Simon.
With that thought, he reached out toward the moon.
"What are you doing?"
Suddenly, someone approached Amunson.
Instructor No. 2—no, it was Gonte Murchin.
"Instructor."
"I'm not an instructor when I take the hat off."
"Yes, Sir Gonte…"
"Just call me big brother."
"Yes, big brother."
"The moon is large tonight."
Off-duty, they spoke to each other casually. Though Gonte often brought up old stories, he was a decent knight.
Gonte looked up at the moon with him and patted Amunson's shoulder.
"Is the training hard?"
"No, it's not."
"That's good to hear."
"Big brother."
"Hm?"
"I think I understand why you brought us here."
"Why do you think I brought you?"
"Yoheim is weak."
Gonte looked at him. Amunson continued.
"It's a fact."
Amunson recalled when they first arrived in Briol.
The knights of Yoheim were intimidated from the very start. That was the first problem. Though Briol was known as a nation of knights, they should've at least had the guts to challenge them once.
To droop their shoulders before even fighting—those knights couldn't be called proper knights back then.
"But things will be different now."
At Amunson's words, Gonte smiled.
"Yeah, that's how it should be. Yoheim needs to change."
"To be honest, I thought it was humiliating to train in another country. But now I understand why we had to come here."
After enduring the harsh training from the Red-Hooded Instructors, Amunson came to understand what Yoheim lacked.
"It's truly thoughtful training."
What impressed Amunson the most was the form of training presented by Instructor No. 1.
He taught them things like how to shoot a bow, how to dismantle traps, how to ambush—all to knights like them.
At first, he felt resistance, but after continuing to learn, he started to understand.
To protect Yoheim, those things were more important than clumsy swordplay.
"Yoheim is a weak nation. So, we must find a method that suits us."
Amunson clenched his fist.
"If it were the old Yoheim, we would've whimpered and tucked our tails at the first provocation."
"That's a bit…"
"No, it's true. I know it well. But now it'll be different."
They kept rolling.
They rolled on the ground without even knowing why.
And in doing so, something stirred within him.
"Whether it's the Empire or any other nation, if they mess with Yoheim, we won't let them go easily. Even if we can't win, we'll bite their calves and leave them limping. With pure grit and madness."
"Amunson…"
Gonte opened his mouth. For a while, he couldn't speak, and then he spoke with a damp voice.
"That's it."
"Sorry?"
"That's what Yoheim is."
Gonte looked like he might burst into tears.
"To be honest, Yoheim was never strong. I may talk a lot about the old days, but even back then, it wasn't much."
"Big brother."
"But we had fighting spirit."
Gonte looked up at the sky as if reminiscing.
"We were born and raised in the Aloy Mountains. It's our land—we have to protect it. No one else will fight for us…"
"Big brother…"
"I probably sound like some old geezer. And to some extent, that's true."
"That's not how I see it."
"But here's one thing—if there's one thing this old man knows better than you young ones, it's human nature."
He grabbed Amunson's hand.
"The weak can never maintain peace. Never forget how cruel victors can be to the defeated."
"Yes, sir."
"Peace has lasted too long."
Gonte was more than just a knight—he was an experienced noble.
He couldn't quite explain it, but he felt an ominous current stirring across the continent.
That's why he had entrusted his knights to the third prince of Briol.
He realized it the moment they first met.
There was something about Yuri.
He shone.
So standing by someone who radiated that light, he felt like they could drive away the ominous darkness encroaching from beyond.
It was just a feeling.
"Maybe it's just my gut. But look—I came to Briol, and I realized I wasn't wrong."
He gestured toward the training facilities built beside the barracks.
"They're training us for mountain warfare, teaching us essential skills, and even reviving the fighting spirit Yoheim had forgotten."
"Yes."
"I was born and raised in Yoheim, but even I never imagined this kind of training. Truly, the third prince of Briol is no ordinary man."
"I agree."
His swordsmanship resembled his father's, he had the leadership to rally people, and the insight to grasp a problem and offer a solution.
Yuri Briol was something else.
"Let's do our best."
"Yes, big brother."
"I may be your warmhearted brother now, but from tomorrow I'm Instructor No. 2 again. Don't expect me to go easy on you."
"Yes, sir."
"You don't look very scared."
"Instructor No. 3 is scarier to me."
"Hmm…"
Gonte and Amunson patted each other's shoulders.
The bright, full moon lit the two of them.
***
Even after Yuri had left, his name continued to echo throughout the Imperial Capital. Magazines kept publishing articles about him, and books recounting the story of the Allied Army centered around him were even published.
Moreover, a drug rehabilitation clinic using Yuri as its model brought the temple unprecedented levels of revenue.
"Phew…"
But Vlad couldn't simply rejoice.
"Something's strange."
He was conversing with the Black Knight in his office.
"Despite so many citizens receiving rehabilitation, nothing is changing."
"That just means drugs are that widespread."
"It might be good from the temple's perspective…"
Vlad tapped the table. Under his finger was a report on the drug spreading throughout the Empire.
"I don't know what to do."
"Can't you expand the clinic?"
"That alone isn't enough. This is beyond what we can handle. For drugs to spread this fast…"
He felt an ominous premonition he couldn't explain.
At first, he had simply intended to expand the temple's influence through the rehabilitation clinic for high-ranking officials addicted to drugs.
But the situation had gradually worsened.
The drugs that began spreading in the Imperial Capital had now reached the entire Empire. The situation had grown dire, enough to make him fear for the very foundation of the nation.
"I can't help but feel that someone's behind this."
"You mean…"
"Someone's trying to shake the roots of the Empire."
And it wasn't just drugs.
Magazines were churning out all kinds of sensationalist articles, and people were divided and fighting amongst themselves. Materialism had reached an extreme, indulgence and luxury were overflowing, and the gap between rich and poor was widening more than ever before.
All of it was happening at breakneck speed.
"It's too fast."
What Vlad was worried about was exactly the speed.
It was natural for society to change. Side effects had always existed.
But the current Empire was changing far too rapidly.
At this point, to his eyes, it no longer looked like change—it looked like corruption.
"Then, who in the world?"
At the Black Knight's question, Vlad couldn't answer right away.
If there was someone who could change the Empire, only one person held such power.
But why would he want to ruin the Empire?
The Emperor was by no means a madman.
"I don't know."
There was no evidence, just a gut feeling. So Vlad stepped back. It wasn't something he could speak of lightly.
Vlad leaned forward.
"Sir Black Knight, I'm sorry to say this, but there's something I'd like to ask of you…"
"Vlad."
The Black Knight cut him off.
"If you've said this much, I'm not so foolish that I wouldn't understand."
"Sir Black Knight…"
"I'll look into it."
Vlad simply bowed his head.
"Thank you."
"You don't need to thank me. I serve His Majesty. That means worrying for him is also my duty."
He gently brushed his hand over his mask.
"Hearing what you've said, I too am becoming concerned. Just what is happening in the Empire?"
The two of them fell silent for a moment.
Then Vlad spoke again.
"And also—word is that, not long after the Allied Army was disbanded, a new army is being trained again."
"How did you know?"
"I have eyes and ears of my own."
"It's just regular training."
"If that's all it is, then that's a relief, but…"
Vlad let out a sigh.
This ominous feeling had started back when the Empire convened the Allied Army.
When the army was gathered under the pretext of subjugating the Orcs, he had already begun to doubt the intentions of the Imperial Court.
There were countries with unstable borders due to the Orcs, yes, but that wasn't the Empire's problem. The Empire wasn't so kind as to worry over another nation.
"Try not to worry too much, Vlad. The gods will watch over the Empire."
"Yes."
Vlad let out a chuckle.
Sometimes, this knight in a mask seemed to have more faith than he did.
The Black Knight spoke again.
"If hardship has been given, surely the gods have also provided the tools to overcome it…"
***
Yuri was sitting in a chair, munching on an apple.
Suddenly, his body jolted.
"What the?"
Adjusting his red hat, Yuri looked down.
"Why is this chair so shaky?"
"I'm sorry!"
"Owl No. 18, are you rebelling right now?"
"No, sir!"
"You're not still holding a grudge about that old incident, are you?"
"No, sir!"
He was currently sitting on a 'human chair' made by Owl No. 18, Amunson. Yuri bounced up and down on top of him, laughing gleefully.
"Is this the best Yoheim-made chair can do?"
"Ughk… No, sir!"
"I think I heard something crack just now?"
"No, sir!"
After tormenting Amunson for a while, Yuri eventually stepped down from his perch.
"Alright, I'll stop here."
"Thank yo—"
Just as Amunson was sighing in relief, he saw a pair of small shoes approaching, and his body froze.
"What is it, Instructor No. 3?"
"You have a visitor."
"Yeah?"
It was because Instructor No. 3—who was known to be the most brutal toward the Owls—had appeared.
Though she looked cute, her heart was like that of a viper.
Once she started doling out punishment, it wouldn't stop until someone collapsed.
Instructor No. 1 was preferable by comparison.
But Yuri shattered Amunson's hopes.
"Well then, I've got something to take care of. Instructor No. 3 will handle the kids in the meantime."
"Understood."
Yuri patted Amunson's back as he sulked on the ground below.
Instructor No. 3 immediately began her task.
"Owl No. 18, what are you doing right now?"
"N-no, nothing!"
"I asked what you're doing, and you say 'nothing'? What kind of crap is that?"
"I'm sorry!"
"If you're sorry, then answer me—what the hell are you doing?"
As Yuri admired her interrogation skills, he walked toward the edge of the training grounds. Soon, the full training scene came into view.
"Impressive."
The knights of Yoheim were being thoroughly trained, becoming a well-disciplined guerilla unit.
If they returned to Yoheim like this, any enemy entering the Aloy Mountains would be annihilated before they even realized what hit them.
"How did you end up wearing the red hat?"
"What?"
The guest was Guillermo, vice-president of the Rein Company.
"What's the matter?"
"Your Highness, the president has finally returned."
"Really?"
"He made a proper deal. The goods he's bringing are no joke."
"As expected of Rein."
Yuri smiled.
"He really pulled it off…"
Right after the subjugation of Okua, Rein had headed east. Without a moment's hesitation. A remarkable spirit of enterprise.
"So, when is he coming?"
"He's not."
"What?"
"He went straight to the Empire."
"The Empire?"
"He told me to apologize to Your Highness. The goods are so good, he didn't want to delay a single day. He plans to flood the Empire with them and rake in profits by the shovel."
"It's a wise move, but still…"
The richest land on the continent was, without question, the Empire. No matter what he brought from the East, once it hit the Empire, he could name his price.
But Yuri felt a bit uneasy inside.
"The Empire, huh…"
"What's wrong, sir?"
"It's nothing."
"It's not like it's his first time going to the Empire. I'm sure he'll manage just fine."
"Yeah, I suppose…"
What he was concerned about was none other than Ekaterina.
She had a strong interest in new foreign goods. If she heard that something was brought from the East, she might summon Rein immediately.
And that would be a problem.
Knowing the personalities of the two involved, Yuri couldn't imagine it ending well.
"Well, it's not something I need to worry about."
Yuri shrugged.
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