Early morning, with sparrows chirping.
Fernel dragged his tired body and sat in the garden. The attendants brought coffee and some light refreshments.
"Are you all right, sir?"
"I'm tired."
How many days had it been since he last slept through the night?
"Would you like to rest a little?"
"I can't afford to."
He was aware he was overworking himself, but with the impending descent of the demon Andromalius, there was no room for leisure.
"Lord Randgard has been voicing complaints now and then."
"Complaints? That grumpy dwarf is always grumbling. But when he's working, he can't stop smiling."
Randgard was one of the most renowned master craftsmen on the continent and had pledged allegiance to the Pellenberg family.
Currently, Fernel was receiving the help of Randgard and other craftsmen and mages from his house.
"Duleo's help has been invaluable. He picks up on and improves areas I would have completely overlooked."
Indeed, having the assistance of a skilled mage made things much easier.
"…Huh?"
At that moment, Fernel sensed something out of place.
It was a man he had never seen before. Towering at about two meters, his massive frame was packed with solid muscle, and his body was marked with numerous scars.
He appeared to be in his mid-forties.
"He doesn't look like one of our people."
More than anything, what sent a chill down Fernel's spine was that he couldn't feel anything from the man.
It had to be one of two things:
Either he truly had nothing—or he was someone far beyond Fernel's ability to measure.
"Isn't that where the Duke's office is?"
"Did he just come from seeing Father?"
If so, then he wasn't an enemy. After all, no one could possibly infiltrate this deep into Pellenberg territory if they were.
'Who would be able to meet with Father this early in the morning? His face… looks oddly familiar.'
Just as he was thinking that, their eyes met.
"…!"
The sensation was akin to locking eyes with a wild beast. Fernel involuntarily flinched. Raw, unrefined rage surged from the man like a storm.
"What the…!"
Hyde hastily stepped in to block Fernel's view.
"I have no intention of harming you. Step aside."
Before anyone realized, the man had already approached them.
He gently pushed Hyde aside with a shoulder, and Hyde, unable to resist, was shoved back.
Their eyes met once again.
"So it was you. The one who sent that child there."
The man's growling voice pierced straight into Fernel's chest, and lightning seemed to strike inside his mind.
The world flipped upside down.
["So it was you. The one who was there with that child."]
The man looked slightly older than before. But his presence remained unchanged.
No—it was more vicious, more savage. The unfiltered wrath made Fernel's heart tremble instinctively.
["Yes. I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry for. That child was simply too weak, and I failed to teach him properly."]
Aint lowered his head. He too looked far more mature than he did now.
The man forgave him with a calm demeanor, but the deeply buried fury showed no signs of fading.
["How was it? The end, I mean."
"…He was braver than anyone."
"Stupid brat. I told him—as a mercenary, he should forget justice and courage and only care about money and staying alive…"]
A hollow laugh escaped—one that held helplessness, pride, and sorrow all at once.
["Who was it? Who killed him?"
"…A demon."
"A demon?"
"…It was Andras."
"A demon, huh. What became of him?"
"I killed him. With Barus's help."
"…I'd heard rumors of vile creatures running rampant. Still, I thought it had nothing to do with me… And yet, one of them killed my disciple."]
The man let out a bitter, self-mocking laugh.
"They took Barus from me, so I intend to make sure they never get what they want."
"I'll spend the rest of my life killing demons."
A hatred and murderous intent that Fernan couldn't even begin to comprehend erupted forth. Just as his mind started to reel, he was pulled back to reality.
'…Barus is dead?'
Wait, then this man is…
Ignoring his pounding headache, Fernan closely examined the man. Somehow, he looked vaguely familiar—he had seen him before in the register of notable figures.
"…The Mercenary King."
A man awarded the title of mercenary or knight.
One of the ten greatest knights.
"You forgot the honorific. Whelp of Pellenberg."
"…It's an honor to meet you, sir."
"I heard you hired Barus. Why?"
"…That's…"
A chill ran down Fernan's spine. Could something have gone wrong?
"…Because I believed he was the right man for the job."
"Indeed. He was the right man. Not because he was my disciple, but because Barus was truly an exceptional mercenary."
Heh, the Mercenary King chuckled lowly.
"I don't blame you. It's not your fault, and there's nothing strange about hiring a mercenary."
After all, Barus had chosen to accept the job himself.
"Even so, I can't help but think—if not for your request, that boy wouldn't have ended up like this."
"…What happened to Barus?"
"Ask your father. And do your best to stay out of my sight. I know it's not your fault, logically—but emotions don't listen to logic."
Swallowing down his hatred, the Mercenary King vanished.
Once he was gone, and the oppressive weight lifted, Fernan gasped for breath.
"A-Are you all right…?!"
Hyde, who had been frozen by the Mercenary King's presence, bit his lip as he checked on Fernan.
"I'm fine…!"
His head throbbed as if it were splitting open, but that didn't matter. What mattered now was something else.
'Something's happened to Barus!'
Which meant something must've happened to Aint as well, who had been with him.
Surely Aint hadn't died… right?
'If the changes I made to the future made the aberrants more cautious, and they responded with greater force…?'
Damn it. Fernan ground his teeth.
Just then—
"Young Master, there you are. His Grace is calling for you."
A servant had arrived. Fernan headed straight for the family head's office.
"Welcome. Judging by your face, you must've run into Garrett."
Garrett Shreiner—The Mercenary King's real name.
"Yes. What exactly happened?"
"Garrett has asked for our help. He wants us to track down the perpetrator."
The Pellenberg family's intelligence network stretched like a spiderweb across the continent—second to none.
That was why the Mercenary King had come to them.
"…The perpetrator?"
"During the Abellar Subjugation Campaign, Garrett's disciple, Barus Dene, was severely injured and has yet to regain consciousness."
"...!"
Fernan let out a sigh of relief.
He felt sorry for Barus, but if the aberrants had succeeded, they would never have left any witnesses.
The fact that he was still alive meant one thing:
'Aint isn't dead.'
Hope still remained.
"What did you two talk about?"
"A grave matter."
According to the original prophecy, Aint survives the aberrant attack alone. So why had things turned out this way, even with Barus and the Obsidian Spear Mercenary Corps involved?
There could only be one explanation.
The future Fernan had altered had triggered a butterfly effect.
Which also meant the future could change in unpredictable ways from here on.
'I only meant to set up minimal precautions to support Aint's growth, but that might not be enough anymore.'
Perhaps it wouldn't be Andromalius who showed up—but another demon.
Perhaps the students wouldn't just go mad from exposure to demonic energy—but something far worse could occur.
They needed more safeguards.
Something to stop things from heading toward the worst-case scenario, like what happened with Barus.
After finishing the letter, he slipped a small gem into the envelope.
"You know who this is for, don't you?"
"The greedy professor at the Academy."
"And this one too."
"Another letter?"
"Send it to Ruina."
"Yes, sir."
Hyde took the letters.
As the longer-than-usual winter came to an end, the half-melted snow had turned the ground to sludge.
A silver-armored knight galloped across the terrain on a pure white horse. The sticky mire posed no obstacle, and as a brilliant blue sword-light flashed, monsters screamed and were thrown back.
"Follow Sir Ruina's lead!"
"Chaaaarge!"
Thirty knights charged as one.
Their assault, sharp as a spearhead, tore the monsters clean in half.
"Well done."
There hadn't been many monsters to begin with, so the battle ended quickly.
Ruina wiped the blood from her sword and fed a carrot to her horse, which was breathing heavily.
"You did well too, Sir. Things have stabilized a great deal."
Though it had been less than half a year since she returned to the family estate, much had changed.
The walls had undergone significant repair, and most of the monster nests that had sprung up across the territory after that day had been cleared.
"His Grace has worked very hard."
"It was thanks to everyone's efforts. Let's return now. I think this is sufficient."
The primary goal had been reconnaissance, and now that they had confirmed there were no new nests near the estate, there was no need to linger.
"Yes, Ma'am."
The scouting party—composed entirely of knights—began heading back.
"My Lady, His Grace is calling for you."
"Father?"
Count bercheff was in his office. Two cups of tea and a plate of snacks were already waiting on the table, as if he had been expecting her.
"Welcome back."
"We didn't find any new monster nests near Alsen, sir."
"Well done. Have some tea first. There's also your favorite—chocolate."
"Thank you, Father. I will."
Though she had already been low on sugar, Ruina unwrapped a piece of chocolate and popped it into her mouth.
'…Not great.'
It was high-quality enough, but she had grown so used to Kraken Ink Chocolate that it felt lacking.
"Take this."
"What is it?"
"A letter came for you."
It bore the seal of Pellenberg, though it wasn't from the head of the house.
"Fernan?"
"When I first heard that you'd gotten close to Fernan and even formed a pair, I honestly couldn't believe it—but it seems it was true, considering you're writing to each other even during the break."
"…It's not really like that. Did you open it?"
"I'm not the kind of father who would open his daughter's mail without permission. Though I'll admit, I wanted to."
Ruina opened the letter.
There wasn't much written inside.
[Aberrant sighted.]
It was both a piece of information and a warning for Ruina: be prepared, because there might be a battle against aberrants once the break ends.
'It kind of feels like he's telling me to come back sooner.'
And he was probably right.
"May I ask what it says?"
"Nothing important."
She couldn't say, as they had agreed to keep Fernan and the aberrants a secret.
"If it's nothing important, then you can show me, right?"
"…Why do you want to see it?"
"The Pellenbergs may have graciously lent us money, but they've also shackled us with that debt. I'm not sure if it's right for you to be close to Fernan Pellenberg."
"Fernan promised to waive three years of interest."
"I know. Thanks to that, we can finally breathe again."
Even so…
"My doubts haven't gone away. Why, I wonder. Why would a family so obsessed with money make that kind of promise to you—and then actually keep it? The amount we borrowed is massive. The interest alone isn't small. Why would they willingly forgo it?"
"That's…"
"No matter how I think about it, I can only come to one conclusion. But I don't want you marrying someone just because of our debts."
Ruina's face flushed slightly.
"…That's not what this is!"
"Then you can show me the letter, can't you?"
"..."
"That Fernan—he's a brash one. I've been fighting the urge to open that letter ever since it arrived, worrying he might be coercing my precious daughter."
"..."
Under the count's cold gaze, Ruina bit her lip. After a long pause, she asked:
"Then please promise you won't tell anyone about its contents."
"I promise."
"On your honor?"
"On my honor."
Ruina hesitantly handed him the letter. The count stared at it for a long time, then suddenly stood.
"Father?"
"Come with me."
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see."
They arrived at the heart of the family estate.
"Open the door."
"Yes, sir."
The guards opened the door, revealing a staircase that led underground.
"I've always had questions. Outsiders think the North is just a hellscape overrun by monsters—but that's not really true."
Monsters were close to beasts—still living beings of this continent. They had their own laws and ecosystems.
"But that day was different. Monsters of unimaginable power swarmed in, and the territory was destroyed."
They had barely survived. Barely. Most of the domain was ruined. Countless soldiers and civilians died.
Without support from other domains, the Empire, and Pellenberg's loan, bercheff would never have risen again.
"It was something that should never have happened."
So as they rebuilt the domain, they also searched for the cause.
"And we found it—just recently."
"Found what?"
Creeeak—
The door to an underground chamber opened.
Inside was a corpse.
Filthy, revolting, and so fundamentally vile it triggered a primal revulsion.
"…Don't tell me—"
"What you're thinking is correct. That's how I found out why it happened."
Why such a catastrophe occurred that day.
How dozens of different species of monsters moved together as one.
"They weren't coexisting to invade us."
They had simply been driven out—displaced from their territory by a stronger force.
"Monsters have made their nest in the polar regions."
"...!"
"So answer me clearly, Ruina."
The count looked his daughter in the eye.
"What is happening at the Academy?"
Ruina could no longer keep the secret.
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