Back on Earth, the matters of the war were only just beginning to be settled. It was no surprise that even after the death of the Puppet Master, Terrain was still able to put up a great fight. After all, they still had Anared's father, City Lord Keafir, and the mighty City Lord Black.
However, a great fight was all they were capable of.
After Anared's death, much of the hope had already crumbled. His existence was simply too important to the core plans of Terrain. Now that he was gone, even if they did win, it held no merit. With their pitiful talent, holding onto Earth until they could begin to birth Fifth Generation children who could take over for them was nothing more than a pipe dream.
In the end, the City Lords of Terrain all committed suicide in hopes in that the innocent citizens they had brought along would be spared. Maybe then, in some small way, Terrain would become a part of Earth and live on in another form.
Not unexpectedly, Camelot became among the greatest contributors of the war. Their sudden appearance after the second fall of White City had turned the battle for the Capital on its head. In thanks to them, the desperate last struggles of the Cities didn't cause many waves at all.
The war finally came to a close and a time of reform began. However, this didn't mean that every place on Earth was experiencing this kind of peace.
…
"You knew. Didn't you?"
James stood before his father, his fists clenched. He tried his best to keep his expression even, but he had never been as good as Leonel at doing this no matter how hard he tried to copy his former best friend.
James simply wasn't that kind of person. He wasn't good at hiding his emotions and often wore them out openly. It was precisely because of this that he called Leonel a hypocrite that day, not just any hypocrite, but a psychopath as well.
Of all the people who knew Leonel, maybe other than his own father, James knew him best. He knew more than enough to know that the charisma that seemed to be the foundation of Leonel's personality was nothing more than a thin veneer hiding his true depths.
But that didn't change the fact that James had always seen Leonel as his best friend. Yet now, the pressure from his father had split them apart.
How could he choose between his best friend and his family? But this was exactly the choice his father forced him to make more and more frequently nowadays.
"Did I know what?" James' father responded without even looking up from his documents.
Hearing such words, James snapped.
"You told me to go to Conrad's family and tell them that it was Leonel and not Aina Brazinger who kill their trash of a son! I'm asking you if you knew that Leonel was a Prince back then!"
James' voice came out in a roar. He had never raised his voice against his father before, but right now, he felt as though his world was spinning.
By now, who on Earth didn't know of Leonel's true identity? Let alone his name, even his picture had been broadcasted through the skies. If James didn't know by now, how much of a fool would he be?
James' father paused, looking up.
His gaze was sharp, seemingly drilling holes into his son with each passing second.
At that moment, James seemed to realize that he had actually yelled at his father. An uncontrollable fear hooked into him, causing his knees to tremble and collapse under him.
He sat on the floor, staring at the tiles before him with a blank look. His father hadn't even said a word but he still felt all his will power collapse in the blink of an eye.
James' father looked back toward his document, not saying a word to his collapsed son for a long while. Yet, James himself didn't dare to move.
"… I can only say that it's a shame about the Siegfried family. They were the only ones not present when The Emperor revealed his connection with Leonel that day so it presented a great opportunity. I can only say that it's unfortunate."
James shivered. So that really was what it was. His father wanted to use the Siegfried's family's ignorance to target Leonel, believing that all The Emperor's nonsense about going out to kill his grandson was just nonsense. Was there really a grandfather who wouldn't take action when their grandson was killed? One only needed to look at what happened to those Shield Cross Stars members to understand.
"Setbacks like this are an inevitable part of aspiring for lofty ideals. If not for this, wouldn't everyone succeed?"
James' father rose.
"Soon, Earth will be opening up diplomatic channels. The worlds whose people got wrapped up in this war due to Terrain's abrupt action will use this as an excuse to reach their fingers toward this place.
"When this happens, the nobles have decided to send you youth out to experience the world and there are a few organizations you can choose from."
James' father paused, looking toward his kneeling son.
"Your ability underwent a great evolution after Earth evolved, correct?"
James' lip trembled, but he couldn't seem to form any words.
"Good, then." His father continued without a care. "You'll go with the others and train yourself properly. This is an age of war and expansion. I don't believe that this most recent Code Black will be the last. We took great advantage of it this time, but we have yet to reclaim the former glory of the Bennett family.
"Soon, though… Our time will come."
**
Across worlds and through several Folds of Reality, Leonel had no idea that such a talk was occurring between James and his father, nor did he know that many were about to set out to the wider galaxy not much unlike he and Aina had.
However, even if he did know, he would be hardpressed to spare it any attention at this point.
The sun in the sky seemed to be sinking faster and faster, the usually quiet surroundings filled with the labored breathing of the freshmen Leonel was dragging along.
There were still more than 35 kilometers that separated them and the mountain pass.