Chapter 45: Each Person’s Circumstances, Each Person’s Schemes

He was deep inside the forest. The stench of beast filled the air. Soon it showed itself—a massive body covered in coarse fur, crouched low, red-black eyes staring straight at him. The unforgettable vicious beast.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment… I got no grudge against you personally, but against your kind? Oh yeah. I’m gonna slaughter you and eat you alive!”

The chestnut-haired man’s eyes gleamed as he drew his sword. The beast’s roar shook the trees. Savage killing intent stabbed into him, freezing his body. But the man twisted his lips into a grin. He took one slow step forward—then charged. The vicious beast’s range closed. A claw with terrifying power slashed down. The man swung his sword to meet it head-on…

“……”

Sasha woke with a gasp. She sat up quickly. On the next bed Elsa was still snoring softly. In the two-to-a-room dorm the toilets were shared, so Sasha slipped out quietly.

“………”

While she took a quick piss she thought. Should she tell Kaito about the dream? But it hadn’t shown the outcome. If she told him, could he avoid it? Sasha thought for a second and shook her head. Telling him would only make him happily hunt the beast instead.

“I can’t let Kaito go deep into the forest… I’ll talk to the other three.”

Psh psh—the water sounds echoed while Sasha whispered.

Second-year hero candidate runner-up Stefan Landsberg was running around like crazy. First he gathered the remaining forty-eight hero candidates excluding himself and Kaito and held a meeting. Compared to Kaito, Stefan’s circle of friends was much wider. Especially the commoner Arthur and the viscount’s son Oscar Verlaine—he planned to introduce both of them to Kaito this time.

“Five gold coins is a fortune for a commoner like me. But like Landsberg said, if we have to last a whole month including travel, it’s tight. Money talks are always brutal.”

“Even with three Saint Knight candidates that’s only twenty gold total. If four of us try to move alone, just renting a carriage eats half. We should think of transporting the whole year—194 people. Large covered wagons without canopies would be best. Split by team, load luggage on separate wagons.”

“If two teams per wagon, forty-nine people means about twenty-five wagons. One will be lighter, so load extra supplies. Water and food too—overall maybe forty wagons.”

Arthur scratched his head. He wasn’t very tall, with flaxen hair and chestnut eyes, a slightly wild but handsome face. Oscar Verlaine, on the other hand, was a tall, slender pretty boy with black hair and blue eyes. Now that Stefan had Afrodia as partner, these two were currently the most popular among the second-year Saint Knight candidates.

“So what did our top student say? Knowing him, even after the headmistress warned him, he probably slipped you something.”

Oscar asked with a thin smile. Stefan nodded and pulled out a sheet of paper.

“It was stuck to my door last night. A letter from Kaito. Let’s see… One: negotiate directly with wholesalers in the capital, not retail shops. Ask Marco Bolfes, head clerk at Grupp Trading Company. Two: plan rest spots and meal locations in advance. Don’t forget horse-change points. Three: treat the wagon move from Luca settlement to Ryune as a business chance. Offer hunters cheap transport for pelts and charge them. And finally: come back alive no matter what. If it feels impossible, retreat immediately… that’s it.”

Arthur and Oscar exchanged glances. Written yesterday meant Kaito had already predicted exactly how they would move. Arthur gave a wry smile.

“Man… he read us completely. That’s the top Hero Chevalier for you.”

“Good thing he’s not our enemy… though the empire probably has someone just as scary. Chasing a guy’s back isn’t my hobby, but to catch up to him I’ll have to work even harder.”

(With these two we’ll definitely succeed. We can’t keep relying on Kaito’s ideas forever.)

Watching them, Stefan thought exactly that.

At the Supreme Council meeting held once a month in Rugran, headquarters of the Velos Great Theocracy bordering the southeastern Holy Felcis Kingdom, the cardinals wore grim expressions over a single report.

“This weapon called the Cannon is already being built not only by the empire but by the kingdom too. At this rate heroes and Saint Knights will vanish from battlefields, and the performance and numbers of man-made weapons will decide wars. When that happens, our Velos Church’s influence will shrink to nothing.”

“Crossbows and catapults still rely on human strength at the end, even with pulleys and levers. But this Cannon is different. It uses something called gunpowder, and its power far exceeds humans. Plus, being a tool, that power will only grow over time. It could easily burn an entire battlefield or city to ash. This is strength beyond human limits.”

“But the Tolmakia Empire has never accepted our influence deeply. Especially Crown Prince Austro Tolmakia—he’s trying to abolish the state religion entirely and ban the Church from politics. How do we stop the spread of these Cannons?”

Whispers continued. The Velos Great Theocracy had spread its faith and political power by letting the kingdom and empire bleed each other. Especially in the kingdom, where it was the state religion, the Church enjoyed tax exemptions and extraterritorial rights—all because the “symbols of the goddess,” heroes and Saint Knights, held crucial positions on the battlefield. The appearance of firearms threatened the Church’s very influence.

“…What if we remove Austro Tolmakia and install Second Prince Noias as the next emperor? Then force them to ban Cannon and gunpowder production?”

Several voices murmured approval. The cardinal continued.

“Reports say Belgarad Phalanx, protector of the north, hates Cannons. He’s only starting production as a countermeasure. If the empire abandons them, it shouldn’t be hard to make the kingdom follow. Then we have the kingdom destroy the empire.”

“Change our long-standing policy of letting them fight each other?”

“Once people get a tool they don’t discard it easily. There’s no guarantee Cannons won’t resurface. Better to wipe out the empire itself and erase every Cannon. Inside the kingdom we have countless ways to expand our power.”

Voices of agreement rose. The chairman-like man called for a vote. Then they moved to the next topic.

“Next, how to handle the Royal Knight Academy…”

“For now we should observe quietly. After last year’s incident they’re already on edge. Any move from us could create unnecessary suspicion.”

“But what about this man called Kaito? Reports say his vitality is so strong he can take four Saint Knights. He doesn’t fit the normal Hero Chevalier frame.”

“True, but he’s only one. Abnormal cases happen. The vast majority of heroes still live under the goddess’s blessing and restrictions. One freak doesn’t require special caution, does it?”

Some nodded, some folded their arms—reactions varied. The chairman-like man took out another paper.

“His vitality alone might be fine, but this man has another face. He could completely change the very nature of heroes.”

All eyes turned to him. The paper came from a different route than the academy infiltrators. The man stroked his beard and laughed low.

“It seems this Kaito is trying to unite the kingdom’s heroes and Saint Knights. He’s plotting to create a new organization separate from our Velos Great Theocracy.”

The cardinals exchanged glances. One snorted.

“Something similar happened over ten years ago, right? We crushed it from the shadows. Same thing this time.”

But that opinion was flatly rejected. The report proved such methods would no longer work.

“That won’t cut it. This guy apparently goes into heat every single day. Sending him to the front lines and shortening his life with drugs won’t work. His vitality is on a completely different scale.”

“Then send assassins. He’s still just a student. Plenty of openings.”

“Have you forgotten? He has four Saint Knights. What if an assassin gets caught? Even silencing them won’t be easy. Fairchild Ducal House has already backed this Kaito. No matter how much we scheme, with clear evidence and witnesses the kingdom can’t ignore it.”

“………”

Only then did the other cardinals realize the gravity. A single academy student had somehow gained the power to oppose them—and stopping him would not be simple.

Once everyone shared that understanding, the chairman-like man gave his opinion.

“At least he’s still a student—that’s our only saving grace. In short, we just need to make him give up. Or make him cooperate. He’s a young man. Dangle beautiful women and money and we can tame him easily.”

“I see. Soft power, then. True, with Fairchild behind him, assassination would be rash. Send a Church operative as a Saint Knight candidate to become his fifth. Or soften him through marquis and count houses we control… plenty of ways.”

At this moment the core of the Velos Great Theocracy still hadn’t realized one thing: they themselves had created the trigger that produced the current Kaito…

In the southern city of Ryune in the Holy Felcis Kingdom, Walter Wackenheim and his wife Gratina were resting. During the fierce fighting on Kabachi Plains, Walter had taken continuous drug doses. No matter how strong his vitality, it was a dangerous act that could shorten his life. Gratina personally gathered medicinal herbs, brewed detox baths, and nursed her husband. Thanks to her care, Walter had recovered considerably.

“I’m fine now. Heartbeat’s steady, joints don’t hurt. Sorry for the trouble.”

Her husband said so, but Gratina was still uneasy. They were both nearly forty. His vitality was gradually weakening. Continuing the drugs could actually kill him.

“Darling… isn’t it time to retire? The next generation, starting with Kaito, is growing up. There won’t be any major wars for a while. You can think about stepping down…”

This wasn’t the first time the couple had this talk. For years the wife had urged retirement. They had enough savings to live luxuriously through several lifetimes. But Walter’s answer never changed.

“I’m a Hero Chevalier. Heroes live on the battlefield. I want to die in battle.”

Until now those words had made his wife back down. She had always believed her husband would survive. But this time was different. The summer battle on Kabachi Plains wouldn’t leave her mind.

“This summer’s fight was completely different from before. Even General Phalanx lost! The next battle will be even worse! No matter how strong you are, you might really die this time. Please, just retire!”

“…Tina. I’ve fought on battlefields for twenty years as a hero. I gave you Saint Knight power, planned strategies, and made you slaughter countless enemies. With these hands I’ve killed more people than I can count. How can someone like me quit just because I might die?”

Gratina fell silent. They were praised as legendary hero and strongest Saint Knight, but that also meant they had committed that much slaughter. Maybe, like her husband said, they couldn’t escape the chain of hatred. Still, Gratina wanted to scream.

(Why can’t we be allowed happiness? I don’t want luxury. I just want peaceful, quiet days with my husband. That’s all…)

When a woman had nowhere left to turn, she always did one thing. Gratina simply cried. Walter hugged her from behind and endured her sobs.

“Stefan’s taking the lead and things are coming together nicely. Looks like everyone will make it through. Just checking—you haven’t done anything, right?”

“Of course not. Nothing at all.”

Lilia Shurisupu narrowed her eyes at her shameless disciple. He was obviously lying. Tell him “don’t do X” and he’d do it anyway. He had definitely slipped them some advice without getting caught.

She was sure of it, yet Lilia simply nodded. Then she told her disciple the thing he cared about most.

“The Luca settlement, the city of Ryune, and the Great Theocracy all look normal. No prisoner transports scheduled, no reports of unidentified groups. Just in case, we’re stationing heroes and Saint Knights along the rivers that border the forest, and putting troops at key points. The officers in command are candidates and the patrols are mostly trainee soldiers, but it should still be effective.”

“Miss Lilia. If… if that bear shows up…”

“You want it to show up?”

“Just if. If it does, I can take it down, right?”

Lilia stayed silent for a moment, then sighed and nodded.

(If it shows up? Of course it will… Because the hero blessed with luck wants it more than anyone…)

She prayed her disciple would not act recklessly.

A single sword lay on the desk. A masterpiece forged by a master craftsman. Even the kingdom’s greatest swordsman had called it “a fine blade.” Kaito slid it into his belt and gripped the hilt. With a sharp shing the shining blade appeared.

“Thanks, Dad…”

It was the sword his father Draig had forged to celebrate entering second year. His mother had sent potent wound medicine. His face reflected on the blade. But his eyes weren’t looking at himself. They were fixed on the vicious beast living in the forest he was about to enter. The headmistress had warned him. The professors had cautioned him. His own Saint Knights had opposed him. Yet Kaito still longed for it. One more time—he wanted to face that bear…

“Watch me, Roksane… I will win for sure!”

The face reflected on the blade wore a twisted grin.