Chapter Content

Dudududu!

On the road to the holy land.

A cloud of dust rose thickly as the Star's Legion raced forward, and behind them, the flag bearing the symbol of a skull pierced by a sword—emblem of the Black Skull—flapped in the wind.

"Impressive, isn't it?"

Black Skull's commander, Carotte, remarked as he looked at Elric, who was racing far ahead. Heize frowned at his comment.

"Impressive? What do you mean? I'm on edge just watching."

During the entire confrontation between Elric and Viscount Kuransibil, Heize had been visibly torn over whether or not to intervene. Her grip tightened and loosened on the sledgehammer in her hand several times.

But in the end, she didn’t step in.

Fortunately, Elric had completely overwhelmed Viscount Kuransibil, and, as a member of the Melvinger family, she also wanted to protect the authority of her family head, Elric.

"Still, you have to admit it's pretty amazing. How many people that age have the kind of presence to command an entire organization like that?"

Carotte narrowed his eyes as he watched Elric's back.

He, too, had seen all kinds of people during his time growing up as an orphan, learning swordsmanship from Sailor, drifting through numerous mercenary groups, and eventually forming his own with his friends.

Elric was undoubtedly one of the best leaders he had come across.

Though young, and certainly prone to being rash and immature at times, those traits only made him seem more heroic in the eyes of other young talents.

'If only I were about ten years younger, I might have been drawn in, too.'

Already, within the Black Skull, Elric’s reputation had changed significantly because of the recent events.

Until then, many had a preconceived notion of him, partly because Heize always referred to him as her ‘reckless’ little brother.

That perception had been completely shattered, and now, many people were starting to view Elric more favorably, thinking, "He's actually quite impressive."

While Heize was secretly pleased that her comrades, whom she referred to as her 'brothers' and 'sisters,' now respected her younger brother, she couldn't help but feel a bit worried.

'Elric...'

Heize was much older than Elric.

As a result, she remembered more about their family's fall from grace during their childhood and knew more about the dark secrets behind it.

She remembered just how corrupt the imperial family had been back then.

How greedy the Count Franz family was.

How many people had abandoned the Melvinger family when their influence was no longer beneficial.

She had seen it all and had to protect young Elric during those times.

So, it was only natural that she worried.

She knew he would have to face more ugliness, go through more trials, and receive more wounds along the way.

Elric might seem easygoing on the surface, but Heize knew he was tough inside. Yet, she still wished he wouldn't have to walk such a painful path. Was that too much to ask?

"You know the real challenge is ahead, right?"

"That's what worries me more. He's always been such a troublemaker…."

"Hehe. You're worried for no reason."

Unlike Heize, who was feeling anxious, Carotte didn’t think there was any need to be concerned.

"Hunting Demons, huh? This war might turn out to be much more interesting than I thought."

The war had started because of his father Sailor’s old grudge against the Red Lion Army, but Carotte was starting to think it might bring more excitement than he initially expected.

Maybe.

'With all the recent talk about settling down instead of wandering, this might not be so bad,' he mused, even though Heize would probably freak out if she knew he was considering turning the place into a den of mercenaries.

Carotte gripped his horse’s reins tightly.

"Let’s go!"

***

Meanwhile, there was another place where people’s opinions about Elric had changed, just like with the Black Skull.

"Everyone saw, right?"

"…."

Kanata, the commander of the Blue Ram Knights, spoke, and the knights under his command all kept their mouths tightly shut.

"Once again, it’s clear that the Lord's decision was not wrong."

There had been significant discontent within the Weyl family regarding Elric.

Not only had he exposed the shame of the Weyl family to the world, but after becoming a comrade of the Blue Hawks, he also took the position of successor to the Blue Lion, which many believed rightfully belonged to them.

For them, the title of Lion was something every warrior with a sword and mastery of martial arts longed for. The idea of a magician taking that title was simply incomprehensible.

Some had even proposed extreme measures, suggesting a collective rebellion to overturn Lord Herman’s decision.

But every time, Kanata had opposed such ideas.

He told them not to speak nonsense.

That no one was to question the Lord’s decision.

And today, Kanata’s words proved to be correct.

Elric had shown his natural talent in martial arts firsthand.

It wasn’t just talent, though.

Elric had developed his own personal theories on martial arts.

Throughout his duel with Viscount Kuransibil, each move he made reflected the essence of the martial techniques taught by the Blue Hawks, with nothing left undeveloped or unrefined.

It was no secret that the Blue Hawks had been in such a good mood afterward that they couldn’t stop talking about it.

Kanata himself, as skilled as he was, could not confidently claim victory if he were to face Elric.

In terms of martial skills, they were evenly matched.

But if Elric used magic, Kanata would lose.

That was Kanata’s conclusion.

And Kanata was a 4th-chain Swordmaster.

In fact, it occurred to Kanata that even thinking they were evenly matched might have been an overestimation on his part.

He didn’t know exactly what entity Elric had channeled during the fight, so his assessment could have been a misjudgment.

But the fact that such a skill was part of Elric’s powers only made him more impressive.

"What is the core of a knight's virtue?"

When Kanata asked his adjutant this, the subordinate straightened his posture on his horse and replied loudly.

"Chivalry!"

"And what are the core principles of chivalry?"

"Loyalty to the Lord and the imperial family, self-discipline in honing one's skills, and justice in protecting the weak."

"Never forget that."

Though Kanata addressed the adjutant, it was clearly a message directed at the entire order of knights.

"We serve the Lord, the imperial family, and the people. This is the virtue a knight must always possess. Never forget that we once doubted our Lord and almost caused a rift within our family. We must never repeat that mistake."

"…."

"Concern for the future of the family is natural. And it’s not wrong to question the Lord’s decisions when they seem misguided. But before that, we should at least consider why our Lord made such decisions and reflect on whether we’ve been too narrow-minded or closed off."

The knights exchanged glances with one another.

Kanata’s voice carried weight with every word.

"So, what do we need to do now?"

"We need to avoid mistakes."

"And how do we do that?"

"By winning."

"And how do we win?"

"By working harder than anyone else and swinging our swords more fiercely than anyone else. We will show the world that our Lord’s decision was right."

Herman had proven time and again that his decisions were correct.

Now it was their turn to act as Herman’s will and sword, showing the world his wisdom.

To do that, they had to acknowledge Elric and become his followers.

They had to become his flag and cut down his enemies with their blades.

Kanata looked around at his knights.

Beneath their deep helmets, their eyes shone brightly.

Twenty years ago, when the Weyl family was still struggling to shake off its merchant roots and earn recognition from the world, their knightly order had marched forth with pride, eager to spread Herman's glory and prestige.

Back then, the order had been much smaller, and Kanata was just a common knight.

Still, Kanata couldn’t help but feel as though they had returned to that time, and it filled him with nostalgia.

"In this war, we must become the heroes."

"Yes!"

Kanata’s command felt like an absolute order for all the knights of the Weyl family.

"After all, we can’t let a mere mercenary group take all the glory, can we?"

The knights nodded in agreement at the suggestion that they couldn’t allow the Black Skull to outshine them.

"Let’s go. Let the Blue Lion's flag fly high."

They spurred their horses forward.

The Blue Lion’s flag fluttered in the wind.

It soared even higher than the Gray Lions and the Red Lions they would soon face.

Dudududu!

***

"Um? Huh? What’s going on with them all of a sudden?"

Hermnn, feeling an odd prickling sensation on his back, turned to look at his knight order and was startled.

They were all radiating a powerful, intense aura.

Despite the long distance still ahead of them before they reached the battlefield, and without any prompting from Herman to boost morale, they were suddenly brimming with fighting spirit.

"Haha! Why are you so surprised? If they want to run full force, we should cheer them on. Thanks to them, even our own men are fired up."

As the Blue Lion’s knights showed their fighting spirit, the Gray Lion and Black Skull running beside them began to take notice and felt the need to show off their own strength.

The Borfur tribe, not wanting to fall behind the imperials, added their own fierce energy into the mix.

Now, as they galloped through the forest, the very air seemed to tremble with their collective might.

While having high morale is better than being in low spirits, Herman worried that too much enthusiasm could lead to accidents.

But Sailor didn’t seem concerned at all.

After all, the strength that comes from youthful energy was tremendous.

"Rather than worrying about that, let’s talk about the Demons said to be holding the Holy Land—the Dragon's Nest."

Herman nodded in agreement with Sailor’s suggestion.

Then, from beside Sailor’s saddle, Sarnai opened her mouth to speak slowly.

"There was a divine oracle a few months ago."

"An oracle?"

"Yes. An oracle from the god I serve."

Sailor’s eyes gleamed with interest, and Herman, already aware that Sarnai was an apostle of the god of the Azure Sky, looked intrigued as well.

It wasn’t often that a god directly conveyed their will to this world.

"What did the oracle say?"

“That after a thousand years, the Owner of Dragons... will appear.”

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