The knights of Yoheim had departed.
Leaving behind last night's tearful campfire, it was now time for everyone to part ways.
The instructors looked wistfully at the backs of the trainees growing distant.
Instructor No. 4, who had been in charge of archery training, spoke.
"I wanted to teach them more…"
Instructor No. 5, who had taught trap installation and removal, nodded.
"Exactly. I'm worried they might step into some trap somewhere, like kids let loose near the water…"
Instructor No. 6, who had taught concealment, ambush, and tracking, shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, at least we've shaped them into proper people. They'll manage."
Instructor No. 7, who had trained them in mental control under extreme conditions, murmured,
"There's nothing we can do. Where there's meeting, there's parting…"
Instructor No. 8, who had taught wilderness survival skills, agreed.
"At least they won't starve to death somewhere. That's good enough."
Aside from them, the other specialized instructors stood with arms crossed, watching their first batch of trainees depart.
Outwardly, they appeared calm, but inwardly, all of them were uneasy.
They had taken the bait of the Third Prince of Briol and become instructors, only for the Owls to graduate in the blink of an eye.
There was a real risk of losing this great job.
Someone among the instructors murmured,
"The anxiety about employment is eating away at my heart…"
But that was merely their misunderstanding.
Instructor No. 1, Yuri, wearing a red cap, appeared and shouted.
"Don't think you're getting a break just because the Owls are gone!"
"Huh?"
"Get ready to welcome the next batch!"
"The next batch?"
The instructors' eyes widened.
"The second unit from Yoheim has departed. They'll arrive within a few days."
Yoheim had assembled another group of trainees and sent them.
The King of Yoheim, like Gonte, was a middle-aged man nostalgic for the past. When he heard of the special training being held in Briol, he had reportedly been delighted.
Yuri grinned and patted each instructor on the shoulder.
"The relationship between Briol and Yoheim depends on you instructors. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Instructor No. 2 has left, and Instructor No. 3 is returning to his original post. And as you all know, I'm a prince, so it's hard for me to keep working on the front lines."
Yuri decided to reorganize the structure.
Hearing that the three instructors, who had been like spiritual anchors, were retiring, the remaining instructors lowered their heads—then slowly raised the corners of their mouths.
The departure of higher-ups was always joyous news.
"You look far too happy about it."
"N-not at all!"
"I believe Instructor No. 4 understands the spirit of our special training corps best. That's why I intend to pass the position of corps commander to him."
Instructor No. 4, Silent Killer Murray, lifted his head.
"He's the new captain. Everyone, follow his lead."
Yuri placed the red cap he had been wearing onto his head.
Since the cap was soaked in sweat, Murray's expression momentarily twisted, but Yuri didn't care and firmly pressed the brim down to cover his face.
"I believe in you, Murray. No, Instructor No. 1. Lead the corps well."
"I'll do my best!"
"There's still a lot of work ahead. We have to continue improving our system."
Yuri was planning to accept soldiers not only from Yoheim but from other nations as well.
Of course, the targets would be countries that would eventually confront the Empire.
With high tuition fees, it would be killing two birds with one stone—training allies while earning money.
After encouraging the instructors, Yuri left the training ground and returned to the royal palace.
Soon after, the clashing sound of weapons echoed from somewhere. It was obvious who it was. Jose and Bernard, reunited once again, were sparring daily, continuing their contest.
"Is this a royal palace or a training ground…?"
Muttering so, a faint smile formed on Yuri's lips.
Rooting out black magic from the Empire was, in reality, impossible.
So instead, he chose to be satisfied with identifying the enemy's nature and to gather allies who would fight alongside him.
Compared to his past life, the situation was far better.
Though sacrifices had been made in the process, there was no time to grieve.
Yuri muttered,
"We must strengthen the alliance."
He recalled memories from his past life.
Back then, with everyone isolated, there had been no alliance to resist the Empire.
They dismissed it as a temporary conflict and simply watched as other countries collapsed.
But the sword drawn by the Empire never returned to its sheath. Only after witnessing that blade shifting targets and being swung endlessly did they realize the Empire's true intent.
By then, it was too late.
"Yoheim will likely be the beginning."
Yoheim had the highest probability of being the spark of war.
Because it shared the Aloy Mountains with the Empire, there was always minor tension along the border. And Yoheim, being a proud nation, was not one to back down easily.
At some point, the Empire suddenly dispatched the Black Knight Order.
The entire mountain range was trampled, and Yoheim's cities went up in flames.
But things are different now. The new combat doctrine he taught would persistently hinder the Empire's advance. During that time, surrounding nations could unite to support Yoheim.
Excluding the Empire, the countries with considerable national power were four:
Briol, Bursen, the Holy Kingdom, and Liberda.
He had already formed friendly relations with Bursen, and Liberda was not bad either.
If there was one concerning nation, it was the Holy Kingdom.
Because Yuri had grown close to Sibylla, the crown prince, Larrson, had grown wary of him.
So, not long ago, Yuri sent an envoy to Larrson with valuable gifts to propose an alliance.
He had formally acknowledged Larrson as the next king of the Holy Kingdom.
Larrson sent back a polished reply.
Though he was somewhat shallow, he wasn't completely foolish. Or rather, while he himself might not have been smart, it seemed he had capable retainers around him. That's what it meant to be an officially recognized successor.
But even that wasn't enough.
"I wish I could just meet with everyone and talk face to face…"
Yuri planned to ask Cedric or Joshua to handle that.
As the Third Prince, he couldn't keep stepping forward like this.
Fiore would probably be annoyed, so it was time to pass the message to those two.
Until now, he had done too much on his own.
Perhaps it was because of the memories from his past life. Because of Briol's horrific end, he wanted to bear the burden of fighting the Empire alone. So he deliberately left those two out of it.
But he couldn't go on like that forever.
While thinking about all this, Yuri suddenly stopped at the heart of the royal palace.
A scene from his previous life came to mind.
The peaceful palace view was overlaid by a burning palace in flames.
The beautifully constructed buildings and tall spires all collapsed. The knight orders fell one by one, and the people were trampled without resistance.
He should have died there, but instead, he begged for his life and ran away.
He recalled the somber face of Graham, who had looked down on him.
What had Graham been thinking as he let him go?
Was he safe afterward?
Did he flee, unable to bear the Empire's madness? Or was he consumed by it and became the same as them?
A tight pain struck his chest.
It felt strange.
"…Damn."
When thoughts get too heavy, the best thing is to overload the muscles and scatter them.
Yuri immediately dropped to the ground and started doing push-ups.
Passing attendants glanced his way and whispered to each other, but since his eccentric behavior was widely known, they didn't pay much attention.
"Whew…"
Yuri stood up. He felt much better. Sweating it out was still the best cure for gloom.
"Your Highness? What are you doing?"
Then, a voice came from behind—it was Ena.
"Hmm?"
"Why were you suddenly on the floor…?"
"Oh, this is… uh… the spirit of the special forces."
"I see."
"Why are you looking at me like that, Instructor No. 3? No—Ena."
"It's nothing."
"Anyway, what's going on?"
"You have a visitor."
"A visitor? Hahaha, being popular sure is exhausting. So, who is it?"
"Sir Graham."
"…What?"
Yuri immediately stopped smiling and looked at Ena.
She seemed to feel the same way as him. Ena widened her eyes and looked up at Yuri, speaking slowly.
"Sir Graham is here."
***
The merchant group led by Rein had finally reached the Imperial Capital.
"This place is always noisy…"
"Well, that's true."
But it was also the best place to sell goods.
Especially the current products. Exotic curios and luxury items brought from the East were sure to be a massive hit among the Empire's nobles.
"Chief, are you going to start work right away?"
"No, let's rest for a day."
"Yes, ma'am."
Those accompanying her now were elite members who had worked together for a long time. They were all capable enough not to lose out anywhere.
As soon as Rein gave the order, they all moved in perfect coordination.
"Hire people and send word to noble households. Just show them the catalog for now. If they want to see more, they'll have to come in person."
"Understood. Where should we set up the store?"
"Where the noble mansions are concentrated."
"Got it."
Rein planned to put the goods from the East on display for everyone to see.
Since supply would continue, she could show the items to many nobles, get them to sign contracts, and the money would roll in.
"Move quickly. I don't plan to stay long."
Rein and her team unpacked at the hotel they had reserved in advance.
It was popular among merchants like her, as it was equipped with a large vault and even offered insurance in case of accidents.
After taking a bath and changing into clean clothes, she left the hotel alone.
"Hmmm…"
She had felt it when first entering the capital too—something about the atmosphere in the streets felt off.
She went to a street stall and bought a magazine. There was nothing better for gauging the state of the Empire.
"Huh?"
There was a familiar face drawn in the portrait.
"What the—seriously?"
Rein brought the magazine closer to her face.
It was indeed Yuri Briol, the Third Prince of Briol.
And he was featured in an ad for a drug rehabilitation clinic run by a temple.
"What the hell is this man doing? Seriously…"
Clicking her tongue, she turned the pages. She skimmed through several articles.
"Hmm…"
Then she bought another magazine and started reading again.
"Hmmm…"
Rein had sharp intuition.
As she absorbed more information through the magazines, a broader picture of the Empire's current situation started to form.
She murmured,
"Something's wrong here."
Rein sensed an ominous atmosphere.
Even just the issue with the drugs was enough.
With the Empire's level of administrative power, it shouldn't be hard to identify the ringleader. But the entire nation was reportedly suffering from narcotics—it didn't make sense to her.
Rein closed the magazine and lifted her eyes.
Something about the air on the streets felt eerie.
The atmosphere seemed thick and hazy, and the lighting felt dim.
Whereas the capital used to be almost excessively lively, now it felt ominous and decadent.
She made her way to a more crowded commercial area.
"Did you hear? Someone I know said…"
"How could that happen…"
"They need to find the culprit immediately…"
"How dare they…"
People were all murmuring about something.
"I'm talking about the Imperial Palace, you know…"
"The country involved is…"
Street vendors who should have been attracting customers were instead glancing around warily.
It felt like the entire city was under a strange spell.
Rein walked up to a nearby stall and ordered a chicken skewer.
"One of these, please."
"Yes."
"Excuse me."
"Yes?"
"I'd like to ask something."
Lowering her voice, Rein asked quietly,
"What is that incident everyone's whispering about?"
Suddenly, the noise around her ceased.
Even though she had spoken softly, it felt like her voice had echoed down the entire street.
Everyone turned their wide eyes toward Rein.
It was as if she had been sucked alone into some kind of horror novel.
Her intuition, which had always served her well, rang a loud alarm—something was very, very wrong with the Imperial Capital.
The vendor didn't say a word. Just like everyone else, he stared at her blankly and handed her a skewer.
Rein accepted it and immediately returned to the hotel.
She had goosebumps.
"Should I leave the capital? What the hell is going on…"
But upon returning to the hotel, an even bigger incident had occurred.
"Oh, you're back, Chief."
One of her subordinates hurried toward her.
Rein didn't even glance at him. Instead, she stared blankly at what had appeared in front of the hotel during her short outing.
It was a large, grand, and ornate carriage.
It even bore a red flag.
Rein knew all too well what that color signified.
"Who is it?"
"The Imperial Princess."
"…What?"
Rein looked at her subordinate.
He glanced nervously behind him and whispered with a grave expression.
"Imperial Princess, Ekaterina Ibarra Granjay, is here."
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