Chapter 16: The Great Hero

Two hours after Kaito’s party passed the second checkpoint, news of the ferocious beast’s appearance arrived and training was canceled. Instructors hurried deep into the forest to call back the three lead groups. But by then, Kaito’s party had already finished collecting the “Dreamflower” and were heading toward the third point.

“Damn it! Where the hell are those guys!”

The instructors who reached the riverbank shouted desperately. But Kaito’s party was already several kilometers ahead. There was no way their voices would reach. The sun had started to tilt. One returned to the second point, while the rest continued the search.

“ROKSANEEEE!!”

Kaito screamed at the sight of his collapsing Saint Knight Paladin. The moment the giant bear’s red-black eyes locked onto him, a stone smashed into its face.

“Hey! Over here! You big dumb bear!”

Stefan and Carlos were hurling stones. The giant bear changed direction and charged toward them. But in Kaito’s eyes, none of that registered. He could only see his beloved wife bleeding out.

“R-Roksane…”

Kaito rushed to her side. He tore off his own clothes and pressed them against her gushing abdomen. Roksane faintly opened her eyes.

“Y-You… you’re safe…?”

“Yeah… yeah, I’m safe! Thanks to you! Hold on! Roksane!”

But Roksane’s face had gone deathly white. Her veins stood out blue. Before he knew it, tears were streaming down Kaito’s face. He called out desperately.

“Roksane! Don’t die! Please don’t die! Roksane!”

Then he screamed toward the twilight sky.

“Goddess Velos! Take my lifespan, I don’t care! Just save Roksane! I’m begging you! Give her your protection!!”

He screamed until his voice gave out. But the red-tinged evening sky remained unchanged.

Even Stefan and Carlos who drew the giant bear away weren’t unscathed. They barely dodged the swinging claws, but flesh was ripped from their shoulders.

“Shit! There was a second one?!”

Carlos kept throwing stones, but to the giant bear it was no more than mosquito bites. It charged at Carlos furiously. That moment, Sofia Volfort slashed at its belly. She had stabbed it with her small self-defense knife. But simply stabbing the flesh wasn’t enough to kill it.

GRAAAAHH!

The giant bear flailed its arms wildly. One swing caught Sofia in the head. Luckily it was the back of the hand, so she was only sent flying. Still, the overwhelming brute force knocked her out. The giant bear shook its body trying to pull out the knife in its stomach. Before anyone realized, Sasha was standing right in front of the bear.

“Ah… aah…”

Drops were dripping chorochoro down her thighs. The hopeless situation had frozen her in place. Red eyes locked onto the girl. Its mouth opened wide. Sharp fangs rushed to devour Sasha’s head. Then—

“ZAAAAH!”

A black shadow flashed across. The next instant, the giant bear was sent flying through the air. The sight of a creature over four meters long soaring through the sky looked strangely comical, almost dreamlike. The giant bear crashed onto its back with a heavy thud. In front of Sasha stood a brown-skinned woman with one leg raised. She had kicked it away.

“I am Saint Knight Paladin Gratina Wackenheim! All of you, get back!”

The phenomenon and the woman before them were so mismatched that Sasha and the others couldn’t process what had happened. Gratina was tall but slender. Yet she had just kicked a bear as massive as a boulder. Gratina’s order didn’t register in Sasha’s ears. Then a powerful voice rang out.

“Hunters, protect the students and treat the injured immediately! Tina, I leave the big one to you!”

Gratina Wackenheim began walking leisurely toward the risen ferocious beast Bloody Evil Bear. She drew her sword from her waist, a cold smile on her lips.

“What did you do to my cute juniors? Now it’s your turn to be hunted. Be good and turn into dust…”

Terrifying fighting spirit and killing intent raged. Even the ferocious beast instinctively recoiled at the presence of a Saint Knight Paladin who had gotten serious. But the beast’s madness won out. It dropped to all fours and charged straight at the Saint Knight before it.

SHAAAAAANNNNG…

The moment Gratina seemed to vanish, she was already standing behind the giant bear. The instant she sheathed her sword with a click, the giant bear was sliced into tiny pieces, forming a mountain of flesh. That power, that speed, that sword technique were far beyond human limits. It was the power of the kingdom’s current strongest active Saint Knight Paladin, who had piled mountains of corpses on the battlefield.

Though Gratina had easily slaughtered the ferocious beast, her expression was dark. One desperate cry had reached her ears.

“Roksane! Roksane! What are you doing?! Hurry and treat her!”

Kaito kept calling her name over and over, screaming. Hunters stood around him. But every one of them wore pained expressions and shook their heads. There was nothing more they could do.

“…You…”

Roksane whispered softly. Kaito gazed at his beloved wife through tears.

“You… I’m sorry. I can’t anymore…”

“No! No, no, no! Roksane! We promised! We’re announcing it in Ryune! That you’re my Saint Knight Paladin! I’m your Hero Chevalier! Your one and only…”

Clutching Roksane’s hand, Kaito cried out. Roksane smiled. Her face was as beautiful as a goddess.

“You will become… the greatest Hero Chevalier of all…”

“I don’t want that! We’re going to live together! With you!”

The light was fading from Roksane’s eyes. Her lips moved faintly.

“You… I love… you…”

Then the light vanished. A sorrowful wail echoed into the twilight sky.

They camped that night at the rocky area where they were attacked. Carlos and Sofia, who were injured, received emergency treatment. Kaito sat beside Roksane’s body the entire time. Her face was beautiful, a smile on her lips. It tore at Kaito’s heart.

“Ugh… uuuu…”

No matter how much he cried, the tears wouldn’t stop. He wanted to smash himself to pieces. A little distance away, Stefan and the others sat around a campfire. Sasha and Elsa were inside the tent, holding each other and crying until they fell asleep. Stefan muttered softly.

“I can’t believe there were two ferocious beasts…”

“It’s not Kaito’s fault. If anyone’s responsible, it’s the headmistress. We were told no ferocious beasts would appear. But they did. Honestly, I want to punch her.”

“I won’t stop you. I’m not confident I can hold myself back either.”

Stefan nodded at Carlos, who clenched his fists. Elfina and Sofia stayed silent with dark expressions. Then Walter and Gratina approached.

“We confirmed the surrounding area is safe. Looks like there were only two ferocious beasts. They also found the corpse of the one you defeated.”

“It wasn’t us. Kaito and Roksane took it down.”

At Sofia’s correction Walter nodded.

“Just to confirm, the deceased Roksane controlled wind magic, correct? Meaning she manifested Saint Knight Paladin power. And her Hero Chevalier is the one sitting over there, Kaito, right?”

Everyone nodded. Walter sighed. Gratina also wore a sorrowful expression.

“I’ve seen Hero Chevaliers who lost their Saint Knight Paladin first a few times. Depending on how deep their bond was… but it’s rare to see one fall this hard. That boy truly loved his Saint Knight Paladin.”

“I once saw such a Hero Chevalier. Overwhelmed by grief at losing his beloved partner, he quit being a Hero Chevalier and wandered off. We don’t even know if he’s still alive.”

The conversation stopped there, and silence continued. Eventually Gratina suggested to her husband.

“Either way, we can’t leave him like this. As the senior and fellow Hero Chevalier, shouldn’t you guide your junior?”

“Hey now, that’s the academy’s—”

“It won’t work. In fact it’ll backfire. If Reda tries to comfort him, he’ll just say ‘what does a woman who isn’t even a Hero know?’ and that’ll be the end. Only you can save him.”

He was a junior the same age her son would have been. She couldn’t just ignore him. At his wife’s words, Walter had no choice but to nod.

“Thank you for saving us. I bow my head. So for now, could you leave me alone for a bit?”

To the Hero Chevalier who approached, Kaito gave a flat, formal thanks. But Walter wasn’t the type to get angry at that. Leaning his back against the rock wall with arms crossed, he spoke coldly.

“Pathetic. You’re disqualified as a Hero Chevalier.”

Kaito’s back twitched. But he didn’t turn around, continuing to stare at Roksane.

“Do you understand why I said you’re disqualified as a Hero?”

“I let Roksane… my own Saint Knight Paladin die. I couldn’t protect her…”

Walter rejected the words Kaito squeezed out while shaking.

“Wrong. A Hero’s role isn’t to protect the Saint Knight. It’s to create an environment where the Saint Knight can shine. The Saint Knight protects herself. She died because her own power wasn’t enough. Saint Knights sometimes fight enemy Saint Knights. The weak die.”

“You bastard!”

For the first time Kaito turned around, emotions bare. He tried to punch him, but Walter’s palm slapped his cheek first. Grabbing his collar, Walter roared.

“Think carefully! What did you do wrong?! What killed her!”

Still burning with anger, Kaito reflected on himself. Eventually he muttered.

“I got complacent. I assumed… there was only one ferocious beast. Even if one appeared, there could be two or three. I didn’t even consider that possibility. I should have scouted the area or chosen to withdraw.”

“Exactly. You got drunk on your Saint Knight’s power and stopped thinking like a Hero! You relaxed after taking down just one and kept advancing carefree. That’s what killed her.”

Kaito clenched his fist. Rage boiled up from the bottom of his gut at his own stupidity. Seeing Kaito’s state, Walter crossed his arms again.

“Looks like your head’s finally working. Then don’t you notice how suspicious this situation is?”

“Suspicious? Everything’s suspicious. Why am I alive? Why is Roksane dead? Why… why did beasts like that even appear?!”

He hurled his anger at the unfairness toward Walter. Walter nodded.

“Think hard. Doesn’t it feel off? She manifested Saint Knight power. Meaning she received the Goddess’s protection. The Goddess’s protection doesn’t only descend on women. You should have received luck as well. Am I wrong?”

“Yeah. I received the protection too. That’s why I found the Dreamflower so easily…”

Kaito stopped speaking there. He had realized the “suspicious” part Walter mentioned.

“Why? Why did ferocious beasts appear when I had the protection of luck?”

“And two of them at that. Ferocious beasts that normally live quietly in the deepest parts of the forest just happened to pop out during march training and attacked students. That’s an unthinkable level of ‘misfortune.’”

Walter was secretly impressed by how fast Kaito’s mind worked. This man must not break here. The way to heal the grief of losing someone precious is to create an even stronger target for anger. At this point, the target could be anything.

“There are many theories about the Goddess’s protection ‘Luck.’ Generally it’s considered the power to draw in uncertain fluctuations of the undetermined future. Luck and misfortune change depending on perspective. Your luck can become someone else’s misfortune as a result. That’s why most Heroes don’t rely on something vague like luck. They raise possibilities with wisdom and action to fix the future’s fluctuations. Now then, what fixed your ‘misfortune’?”

Kaito thought. The idea that the ferocious beast living deep in the forest “just happened” to appear was impossible to accept. Then there was only one possibility.

“Someone… set the ferocious beasts. They raised the possibility of their appearance and fixed the fluctuation…”

“That seems the most likely. Of course, pure coincidence can’t be completely ruled out. It’s about as likely as a star falling from the sky and hitting you in the head.”

If you considered every possibility like that you couldn’t go outside. Kaito ignored Walter’s words and sank into thought. If someone set a trap, the most likely culprit was the hostile “Empire.” But he had doubts. If the Empire was setting a trap, would they do something this half-assed? Even if it was exposed, they were already enemies. The fact that they made sure it couldn’t be traced back lowered the Empire’s likelihood.

“If not the Empire, then barbarians? Or the Theocracy? No… domestic nobles?”

Either way, without solid evidence it was all speculation. Kaito stopped thinking. A cold, dark anger remained at the bottom of his gut.

“Information is lacking. We need to investigate thoroughly. Were there any suspicious people who passed through Ryune this past week? Any unfamiliar cargo carts? That kind of ferocious beast. They probably transported it in a pretty big cage. It couldn’t have gone unnoticed.”

“As a kingdom punishment there’s exile to the small southern nations’ armies. Because of that, seeing prison carts in Ryune isn’t rare. But prison cart movements are always recorded. Cross-referencing witness info with records should reveal any suspicious activity.”

Kaito closed his eyes. Until a moment ago he had been thinking of quitting as Hero Chevalier and returning to Lente village. But Walter’s words erased that thought. He had something he must do.

“I’ll find them. No matter what, I’ll find them and take revenge. Even if the culprit is the king, the pope, or even a god…”

He crouched beside Roksane and stroked her cheek. One single tear fell from the corner of his eye, then Kaito stood up. The depressed man from before was gone. In his place stood an avenger hiding dark anger and strong resolve.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I found what I must do.”

“Thank your friends who are more worried about you than I am. Go on.”

(For now this is fine. But will this lead to this man’s happiness? I may need to keep an eye on him…)

Watching Kaito’s back as he walked toward the campfire, Walter thought to himself.

“…I’m sorry about Roksane.”

The next morning, the academy staff and medical teams who had rushed over joined them. Upon learning of the successful subjugation of the ferocious beast and Roksane’s death, Headmistress Reda Factlin simply nodded. Before Kaito and the other eleven lined up, Reda stood and expressed her regret. Something inside Carlos snapped.

“…That’s it? Roksane died and all you say is ‘it’s unfortunate’!”

He clenched his fist and tried to punch her. But Stefan stopped him because Kaito had already stepped in front of Reda.

“Carlos. I want to do the same. But Kaito is holding it in. So we will too.”

“Kh…”

Carlos’s body trembled as he somehow held himself back. Kaito spoke to Reda with an expressionless face.

“Headmistress. The academy bears no responsibility for Roksane’s death. I’m the one who let her die. The moment the ferocious beast appeared, the premise of the training had already collapsed. I should have decided to withdraw then. I failed to do so. That’s why Roksane died and everyone was put in danger…”

“No. It’s my responsibility. I knew ferocious beasts lived in the Alsace Great Forest. Yet I neglected countermeasures for when they appeared. In the past, not once had a ferocious beast crossed the river to this side. Because it had never happened before, I assumed it wouldn’t this time either. Everything is my fault. I sincerely apologize to all of you.”

With that, Reda bowed her head. Kaito said nothing and simply stared at the bowing Reda.

“Headmistress. If you truly feel responsible, there is something I want you to do. Unfortunately, it’s something I can’t do alone. I need the power of the academy and the headmistress.”

“What is it?”

“I had sexual intercourse with Roksane. Roksane manifested Saint Knight Paladin power and I received the Goddess’s protection of Luck. Despite that, two ferocious beasts appeared. Evidence that the appearance of the beasts was artificial, as it surpassed even the Goddess’s protection.”

“So someone set it up? And you want me to investigate… Understood. The academy will use all its power to thoroughly investigate. No matter who it is, I will make them take responsibility for this.”

Kaito simply nodded silently. In his heart, he decided that he would be the one to make them take responsibility. No matter who it was, he would find them and kill them in the most cruel way human imagination could conceive. He swore it firmly.

Thus, the turbulent march training came to an end. The provisional first place went to the three parties led by Kaito, Stefan, and Carlos. They were three hours from the third checkpoint and roughly a day and a half from Ryune.

The consolation party in Ryune was lively on the surface, but everyone held complicated feelings. No one touched on the subject of Roksane. To make it even a little brighter, at the academy’s request Walter and Gratina also attended. The appearance of the kingdom’s strongest Saint Knight Paladin and the legendary Hero Chevalier was more than enough to delight the students. Kaito sat a little apart, drinking water alone. He had no appetite, so his plate remained untouched. Then Elsa and Sasha came over.

“Eat, Kaito. I went out of my way to bring this for you.”

“Elsa, so bossy. But you have to eat. Kaito is a Hero Chevalier, health comes first.”

Besides meat and bread, sweet fruits were piled on. The combination made no sense at all. Kaito smiled faintly and reached out.

“Good. You finally smiled.”

Elsa peered at him. Sasha nodded vigorously too. He put bread in his mouth and chewed. It tasted good. As long as he was alive, he would get hungry and feel lust. That was inevitable. Guilt remained that he, who let Roksane die, was allowed to live. He looked up at the night sky and remembered Roksane’s words.

You will become… the greatest Hero Chevalier of all…

(Roksane, I will live. And I will definitely become a Hero Chevalier. One you can be proud of for staking your life on… I will become a “True Sacred Hero Chevalier” that everyone knows the name of Saint Knight Paladin Roksane.)

A single streak of light flowed across the star-filled sky.