The Lionheart family mobilized a hundred knights for the Knight March, apart from the members of the family. There were forty White Lions and sixty Black Lions. The Knights of the White Lion protected the main family, and there were quite a few of them. As such, it wasn’t a big problem even if forty of them were absent. However, the same wasn’t true of the Black Lion Knights.
The Black Lion Castle was located at the Uklas Mountains at the border of Kiehl, and beyond it lay the Great Forest of Samar. The natives of the forest were always trying to sneak past the border into Kiehl at every opportunity, and there were criminals of Kiehl and other nations trying to sneak past the border to avoid punishment. The main duty of the Black Lions was to serve as guardians of the border at the Uklas Mountains, and they were recognized by the Kiehl Empire for their strength and valor.
Since Eward’s uprising a year ago, the Black Lion Knights had greatly increased their power, but most of the knights that they had recruited were youngsters from the countryside. If the elite knights were mobilized to participate in the Knight March, the castle would be left with rookie knights. Thus, half of the commanders and elite knights of the Black Lion stayed back at the castle, and as a result, in the mansion, there were quite a few new faces among the Black Lion Knights that Eugene didn’t recognize. Of course, he knew that they were all there to participate in the Knight March, a grueling ritual that would bring even the strongest of warriors to their limit.
As he made his way to the center of the room, he couldn't shake the feeling that all eyes were on him, watching his every move.
“…..”
But not all of them were unfamiliar faces. Eugene stared at Gargith, who was intently peering at him while proudly sticking out his chest. Just like Dezra, Gargith had decided to join the Black Lion Knights.
Eugene didn’t say a word and looked at the man standing next to Gargith — Genos, the captain. Originally, he had been in charge of the Second Division. However, after Dominic had passed, his division had gone up one rank.
“…Hmm.” Eugene cleared his throat when he felt the heat of their gazes. It had been quite a while since he had last met with Genos or Gargith, but… Eugene felt rather embarrassed seeing how Genos’ eyes were filled with tears.
‘What an achievement.’
The last time Genos had seen Eugene was at the Black Lion Castle one year ago. At that time, Eugene had been unbelievably strong, and he had shown an insane rate of growth. It had been a year since then, and Eugene’s growth was sufficient to astonish Genos.
With that said, Genos didn’t take the shock all that hard. In a way, he thought it was only natural. Genos knew that Eugene was actually Hamel, a member of the Hero’s party from three hundred years ago. Although his body belonged to a twenty-one-year-old, his soul was much older, which made his explosive growth only natural.
With that said… Hamel had not learned the Lionhearts’ White Flame Formula in his past life. In other words, his current training method was completely different from his previous one. And even though he also practiced magic at the same time, he was the first in the Lionhearts’ history that managed to reach the Sixth Star of the White Flame Formula at the age of twenty-one.
Genos thought it regrettable that there were other Lionhearts around him right now. If he had been alone, he would have allowed his tears to flow freely in praise of Hamel’s greatness. He still had a deep desire to do so, but he couldn’t — not here, not now.
He took a sideways glance at Gargith’s face. It was impossible to believe that… it belonged to a twenty-three-year-old.
“Was there anything you wanted to say to me…?” asked Eugene while glancing at Genos. He had a lot to say, but he couldn’t speak his mind with Gargith standing right there.
“Well… Great job coming all this way,” answered Genos.
“Where is the family head?” asked Eugene.
“With the elders. They went to the castle to discuss the schedule while we’re here,” said Genos.
Eugene nodded before shuffling his gaze towards Gargith, who was still sticking out his chest proudly.
“…Why are you doing that?” asked Eugene.
“Let’s go take a bath,” responded Gargith. It was quite out of the blue, but there was no reason for Eugene to refuse. He glanced back and saw Kristina’s eyes twinkling.
Of course, it wasn’t as if she were looking forward to a mixed bath or anything.
The two of them had traversed the snowfield for almost a month. Although they had kept themselves clean and kept their hygiene with magic, their desire to soak in a hot bath wasn’t something that could be soothed by magic.
In the end, Eugene and Kristina ended up following Gargith to the bath. It was an open-air bath that covered the entirety of the mansion’s backyard.
“Do I go in with you?” asked Mer.
“Cut the nonsense and go with Kristina,” replied Eugene. He ignored how the familiar pouted and handed her over to Kristina before entering the men’s bath with Gargith.
“Have you seen the inhabitants of Bayar?” asked Gargith.
“I did,” answered Eugene.
“All of them had beautiful muscles. It is said that the hot springs here are very helpful for muscle growth,” said Gargith.
“I see…” Eugene muttered.
“Congratulations on reaching the Sixth Star of the White Flame Formula,” continued Gargith.
“Thank you,” responded Eugene.
“Are you not going to congratulate me in response?” asked Gargith.
“Well… Um… Congratulations on becoming a Black Lion…”
“I didn’t come here to take a bath with you because I wanted to hear those words,” said Gargith.
The hot spring was truly wonderful, and it reminded Eugene of how Molon used to speak about the ‘hot river’ of his hometown. Vermouth had also said a few things about the hot springs as well. Was it that simply soaking in it relieved your fatigue? Well, it was true.
— It’s not just fatigue. The hot river is filled with medicinal water that heals diseases and wounds, so just soaking in it for a bit works quite great. It’s especially good for the skin, so women love it.
Indeed, when Eugene took a better look at the hot spring water, he could see that it had dense mana.
…The water suddenly bubbled, and when Eugene looked to the side to find the source of the commotion, he could see Gargith wiggling his muscles…
“Your… body’s… gotten… better,” stuttered Eugene with a sour face. He felt an unspoken pressure, and only then did Gargith nod with a satisfied expression.
“There seems to be a lot of debate about the joint training,” said Gargith.
“Is it because of the danger?” asked Eugene.
“That’s right. No matter how careful you are, a blind knife can easily take a man’s life. And it’s not like we’re training with a single organization either. The knights who have gathered in Lehain all belong to different orders and groups. If there’s even a little bit of political agenda involved, it could easily lead to deliberate maiming,” answered Gargith.
The purpose of the Knight March was to unite the nations and knightly orders of the continent. But even children suffered injuries and even died if they were unlucky during war games, so it was practically impossible for there to be no accidents during training for the knights.
“The Knight March is supposed to be a bunch of friendly matches held between knight orders for the purpose of training. And wasn’t it decided that it would take the form of a war of occupation this time around?” asked Eugene.
“That’s what was decided, but apparently Nahama’s Sultan is complaining. He’s saying that the desert warriors and the assassins won’t be able to display their full abilities since the snowfield is completely different from the desert,” answered Gargith.
“So what does he want them to do?” asked Eugene.
“He’s asked to summon a large number of monsters in Lehainjar instead and go on an expedition. Although it’s a sudden proposal, quite a few nations are supporting it,” said Gargith.
“Well, well.”
Eugene knew exactly why the Sultan had made such a proposal. Since ancient times, Nahama’s desert was riddled with many dungeons of wizards, since the desert was a perfect place to set up dungeons underground. Just like the factions in Aroth were divided into magic towers, desert factions were split among a number of dungeons. The sandmancers of Nahama belonged to one such faction.
However, it didn’t mean that the dungeons stood on equal ground with the magic towers. If the two had really been equal, Aroth could never have taken its title of the Magic Kingdom. There was a crucial difference between Nahama and Aroth, apart from the quality and number of wizards. The royal family of Aroth did not demand complete obedience and deference from the magic towers, but the Sultan of Nahama very much did demand that from the dungeons.
If Nahama’s Sultan suggested summoning monsters, it meant that he was accompanied by dungeon wizards specializing in that kind of magic.
‘It seems he doesn’t want to be transparent about his forces.’
The Sultan had made such a suggestion, while other kings supported it, and it was quite obvious why.
If two powers collided, they would each acquire a clear picture of the other’s forces. In addition, it wasn’t like this was a simple bar fight or anything like that. The Knight March was a gathering of knights from all over the world, and even if the matches hosted were friendly and only for the sake of training, the honor of each nation and knightly order was at stake. One was free to hide their true power if they so wished, but they would be forced to suffer defeat as a consequence, which would lead to a loss of honor.
However, if they were faced against monsters, they didn’t have to worry about having their hidden aces revealed. As such, the Sultan’s proposal was a refreshing scratch for the itch that many leaders had been feeling. They had been inwardly dissatisfied about the Knight March.
Why was the Knight March being held in the first place? It was because of the Demon King of Incarceration’s warning to the world — a hint that the Demon Kings of Helmuth might once again threaten the world after three hundred years of silence and peace. And who had first heard the warning? It had been Eugene. However, the Emperor of Kiehl had never once summoned Eugene even after being briefed by the Lionheart family.
The same had been true in Aroth. During Eugene’s hearing, Daindolf, the King of Aroth, had delegated authority to his son, Honein, instead of attending the meeting himself. Eugene was the successor of Sienna the Wise, the second coming of the Great Vermouth, and the one warned directly by the Demon King of Incarceration. There had been more than enough reasons for Daindolf to desire a meeting with Eugene, to talk to him. Even so, Daindolf had not met with Eugene and kept his distance instead.
‘Idiots.’
Eugene frowned. In the end, the Knight March was only a half-baked meeting that appeared reasonable on the surface. The leaders of the nations didn’t actually believe that the Demon King of Incarceration was going to break peace. It was somewhat understandable; if the Demon King of Incarceration had wanted to, there had been more than enough opportunities for him to do so from the beginning.
— During these past three hundred years, I feel like I have continued to show a sufficient amount of goodwill and respect to Vermouth’s descendants.
— I have respected their freedom to not show me any goodwill or respect in return. However I am concerned that you may be taking my continued goodwill for granted.
— With freedom comes responsibility. Freedom without responsibility is just indulgence. Descendant of Vermouth, tell this to everyone in the Lionheart clan. Do not take the goodwill that I have granted you as an incentive to go too far. If you will not give me my due regard, then I shall no longer respect you either.
The Demon King of Incarceration had warned him thus in the desert tomb. It had been a very direct, blatant warning, and the Knight March was no different than a show of force against the Demon King of Incarceration’s warning, but… Eugene couldn’t help but wonder whether the combined forces of the continent was enough to shock the Demon King of Incarceration.
‘I don’t know if it would be enough if everyone was completely united. But that’s not even the case. Everyone’s busy trying to hide what’s on their plates.’
In Eugene’s opinion, the current predicament was a result of how blatant, yet lax the Demon King of Incarceration’s warning had been. Couldn’t the guy have warned them that he would destroy the continent in a few years instead?
The Demon King of Incarceration had left considerable room for interpretation in his warning. He wouldn’t show any respect if they did not respect him in turn… Didn’t that mean he would show respect as long as they showed him due regard? It was easy to interpret it as a conditional declaration of war.
— Your ancestor may have made an Oath in exchange for his freedom, but now, the end of that promise is drawing near. The time is coming for the wheel that has stalled to resume moving forward once more.
— Someday… we may have to make a new Oath. I wonder who will be able to make a new promise in Vermouth’s stead, and stop this wheel once more.
“Little bastard,” muttered Eugene under his breath. With the Demon King of Incarceration’s warning being so ambiguous, wasn’t it natural for the leaders of the nations to be cautious in their response? The last three hundred years had been an era of unprecedented peace, so which king would really hope and prepare for war? At least, it was quite obvious that no one wanted war to afflict their own country.
If Knight March fizzled out like this, would there really be any changes?
Perhaps.
Firstly, the Anti-Demon Alliance would have their troops pull back, deciding that it would act as a show of respect to the Demon Kings and allow them to avoid war. The only reason the Anti-Demon Alliance would wait until after the Knight March would be for the sake of saving face. In fact, the Knight March itself ultimately served for the nations to try and one-up each other.
‘A good beating would get some sense into them.’
Eugene propped himself out of the bath. Perhaps because of how hot the spring water was, it felt as if heat was coursing to his head faster than usual.
He felt rather irritated and annoyed. Why was it Nahama’s Sultan, of all people, issuing a complaint now, just days before the beginning of Knight March? Nahama had invaded Turas over the course of hundreds of years. Helmuth looked the other way each time, and there was suspicion that the Demon King of Incarceration was responsible for instigating them.
Eugene hadn’t been a fan of Nahama three hundred years ago and didn’t like them very much now, either. Even the damned assassins of Nahama were just pieces of shit who only prioritized their own interests, even if it meant backstabbing their allies in the battlefield.
‘The sultan of such trash is naturally a piece of crap himself. Maybe he’s complaining like a little baby on the orders of the Demon King of Incarceration.”
…But would the Demon King of Incarceration really do that? For what reason? What could he be scared of?
Eugene’s rational mind gave him plausible answers, but he decided to ignore them.
In fact, it didn’t matter to Eugene how the Knight March ended. It was none of his business. Regardless of how hard the kings tried to hide what was on their plates, Eugene had his own business to attend to. He didn’t care what they were trying to do, since it was clear to him what he had to do.
True, it would be helpful if he had more numerous, powerful allies. However, recalling his experiences from three hundred years ago, Eugene knew that having more soldiers in a war against existences like the Demon Kings didn’t make a big difference. It was because of the damned necromancers. As the scale of the battles increased, the number of corpses increased accordingly, which allowed the necromancers to raise more corpses as soldiers of the armies of the Demon Kings.
‘I’m not a huge fan of huge wars either. If I could, I would invade the castle alone and kill the Demon King of Incarceration.’
[That is an arrogant thought, Hamel.]
‘You bastard, how can you talk to me when I don’t even have Wynnyd in my hand?’
[Don’t act so surprised, Wynnyd is just a catalyst. You signed a contract with me .]
Eugene already knew this. However, he was surprised that Tempest had initiated a conversation, since Tempest rarely spoke with Eugene when he wasn’t holding Wynnyd.
[Hamel. How could I keep my mouth shut when you sincerely dream of the northern expedition, when you’re so near?]
‘Northern expedition this, northern expedition that…’
[You and I share the same lingering feelings. Three hundred years ago, we failed to conquer the Northern Devildom. Miraculously, we were given another chance, so this time around, we must successfully conquer it.]
‘Right.’
[However, Hamel, that will be impossible with just the two of us. Even though Anise miraculously empowered the new Saintess, that still isn’t enough. That was the case three hundred years ago, and that is the case now as well. Although the key people responsible for taking the heads of the Demon Kings were a small number of elites, you were given the room to focus on the Demon Kings because the powers of the continent grappled with and impeded the armies of the Demon Kings.]
Eugene didn’t deny it. It was true that Vermouth and the rest of them were key to battles against the Demon Kings and the high-ranking demons of Helmuth, but the allied armies also played a key role in several battles across Helmuth.
[We need military power to conquer the north. Hamel, let me make a suggestion.]
‘What, you want me to become the head of the Lionheart family? Well, is there really a need for that? This family values their identity as Vermouth’s descendants to their cores. If there is a need, the whole family will immediately rise up and prepare for war…’
[I am not talking about Lionheart, Hamel. I am talking about you becoming the Emperor of Kiehl.]
“Pfffff.” Eugene spat out the cold water he had been drinking after exiting the bath. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard.
‘What did you just say?’
[It’s not impossible. Even Molon became the king of a country, so why couldn’t you be a king as well, Hamel?]
‘No, but… This is…’
[And if it is impossible for you to ascend the throne as the Emperor of Kiehl, how about as the Pope of the Holy Empire of Yuras? I don’t think it is impossible for you to become the Pope. If anything, it should be easier than becoming the Emperor of Kiehl. Eugene, you have the Holy Sword with you. Moreover, Anise, the Saintess from three hundred years ago, as well as Kristina Rogeris, the current Saintess, are fully supporting you]
‘…’
[Imagine this. Imagine you holding the shining Holy Sword and the Saintess following behind you with all her eight wings unfolded. If you wanted to become the Pope, who would question your legitimacy in that country of fanatics?]
Tempest… had a point.
Eugene briefly imagined himself as the Pope. He would wear a robe of pure white, a gold crown on his head, and pray with a saintly smile…
“Wow.”
He couldn’t help but want to barf.
He couldn’t even think about it, no matter how hard he tried. Of course, it was a possibility, but Eugene couldn’t help but think that he would drive far too many subjects of Yuras down to hell as the Pope.
‘I can’t. I won’t.’
[Why!?]
‘I’m sure I could if I wanted to, but… But… I don’t want to.’
[Do you not want the power and authority of a king?]
‘Yeah, nope. I don’t need it.’
Eugene dressed himself, disregarding Tempest’s rambling. Looking back, he could see Gargith pouring hot spring water on his arm muscles.
Eugene left the bath while shaking his head at his mysterious behavior. Kristina and Mer didn’t seem to be out of the bath yet, and Eugene momentarily contemplated heading up to his room to rest, but he still felt rather heated from earlier. Eventually, he put on his cloak and left the mansion.
It was still snowing. Although it wasn’t optimal weather to take a walk, it was perfect to cool down after taking a dip in the hot spring. Eugene started walking without a particular destination in mind.
There were many people, or rather knights on the street, though they didn’t bother to put on their armor while in the fortress. The knights were dressed in different uniforms, and after walking for a little while, Eugene realized that he was striding through the zone assigned to Kiehl.
As if wanting to show off the power of the empire, the emperor of Kiehl had brought the elites of three different knightly orders. The White Dragon Knights, headed by Alchester, were by far the best of the three, but the Black Eagle Knights and the Silver Sword Knights weren’t to be taken lightly either.
Those with the black wings engraved on their chest were members of the Black Eagle. They looked at Eugene with curious, alert eyes, but did not bother approaching him or speaking to him. The same was true for Eugene — he had no reason to approach them. Although their gazes were slightly annoying, he ignored them and walked past.
After walking for a little longer, he saw people dressed in colorful clothes, much unlike the knights’.
‘Mercenaries.’
He knew that several mercenary groups comparable to knightly orders had come to Lehain as well. Seeing as they were situated near the knights of Kiehl, they appeared to be mercenaries operating out of Kiehl. Eugene was worried that some of the mercenaries would forget their place and pick a fight, but fortunately, such things didn’t happen.
In a way, it was only natural. Mercenaries weren’t all idiots, and those belonging to large groups were strictly disciplined, in some ways even more than knightly orders.
After a while, Eugene had walked halfway around the castle.
‘This is…’
It was quite obvious. Just as the Emperor of the Kiehl Empire stayed high in the castle, the people of the empire were assigned a section close to the castle.
On the other side of Kiehl was the zone belonging to Yuras. Eugene turned his head when he felt gazes peering at him.
He could see fear in their eyes, and he knew why. Those hiding in the alley vigilantly watching Eugene were the Inquisitors of Maleficarum. Eugene didn’t recognize the faces of those clad in red cloaks, but he could guess from their gazes who they were.
‘They must be survivors from the Fount of Light.’
He had killed quite a few, but not all. The lucky ones probably still lived with the injuries, while the really lucky ones had somehow managed not to meet Eugene at all.
“What are you looking at, bastard?”
Eugene had felt many gazes on his way here, but he had never found it necessary to speak. This time, however, it was different. He took the initiative, and when he glared at them, the Inquisitors jumped back in surprise and disappeared somewhere along the alley.
“What are you staring at me like that for?” grumbled Eugene before turning around and leaving.
After taking a few steps forward, however, he suddenly felt a strange presence behind him.
Bang!
Just as he turned his head to check the source of this odd feeling, a crunchy sound startled him. He jerked around to find one of the Inquisitors from earlier sprawled on the ground, with his head smashed in.
“What’s this?”
Eugene glanced at the alley where the Inquisitors had fled, but the person he saw there was not at all someone that he could have expected.
Eugene remembered quite well that he had chopped off all her limbs, but that did not stop Hemoria from holding an Inquisitor by the throat, using an arm she had gained from god knew where.