Chapter 31

Reunion (1)

"AAAGH?! Hey, Dunkel, I'm begging you, go easy on me...!"
"If I go easy, there's no point doing it at all. Now, one more time!"
"AAAAAGH-!"

The second day after the Order suffered the large-scale assault by the cult.

What awaited me as I groaned from accumulated fatigue and muscle pain was the knight-order-style massage personally administered by Dunkel.

Crack! Craaack?!

"Hey, wait! What was that sound just now? Nothing broke, right?"
"It won't break. Stay still."
"No, one of my joints bent somewhere weird? You call this a massage?"

After being twisted into every conceivable shape by Dunkel's hands for an entire hour, I was finally released.

Letting out a deep sigh, I reached for the book lying on the desk.

Still, perhaps because the massage really had worked, my stiff body felt noticeably lighter.

"It actually works, which just makes me more annoyed."
"A knight of commander rank personally taking care of you, and you don't know how grateful you should be?"

At the voice coming from behind me, I turned my head.

Ian was standing against the door, staring at me with a sigh.

"Couldn't you at least knock before coming in?"
"I did. You just couldn't hear it because of your screaming."

Saying that, Ian casually entered the room and sat down on the sofa.

"You got hit once and spent two whole days bedridden? At the Imperial Knight Academy, you'd get expelled for that."
"That's great. It only took me ten minutes to master all their swordsmanship manuals anyway."
"Good grief, yeah, yeah, you're amazing."

Shaking his head like he'd given up after hearing my rebuttal, he grabbed a cookie and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Ah! That one was mine!"
"Hm? What's this now?"

Arin, who had been watching her cookie get stolen from the side, immediately protested.

That.

At the way Ian addressed Arin, I subtly observed his expression.

He looked completely relaxed, like someone playing with a child, but his mana circuit remained tense at all times.

'So he's already figured out part of it.'

I was thinking that while watching the two of them run all around the room fighting over cookies.

Knock knock.

"Young Master Klein."

A knock on the half-open door.

Turning my head, I saw Berkman standing there in full uniform.

"His Grace the Duke is looking for you. And…"

While speaking politely to me, Berkman's gaze shifted toward Ian and Arin running around the room.

"He also requested that Sir Ian accompany you."

At those words, Ian tilted his head at Berkman as though surprised.

"Heinkel wants me?"
"Yes."

Berkman nodded at Ian's question, then gestured for both of us to follow him.

"He said there is something important he wishes to ask."

***

"As you said, a letter arrived from Paul Wyvern."

When we arrived at Heinkel's study, the first thing I saw was a letter bearing Laia's seal.

"It says they are transferring ownership of farmland located near the border between Paul Wyvern and Leinrant."

I nodded as I checked the document handed to me.

"The sender is unknown, but it's probably the same insider who provided information before, correct?"
"That's right."
"Hmm."

After thinking for a moment, Heinkel handed me another document.

"This is…?"
"A letter Helian sent directly to me."

A letter from Helian to Leinrant.

I already knew exactly what it contained.

"She's demanding custody of me, isn't she?"
"Yes. She likely believes you were involved in Hector's murder."

Pigs draped head to toe in gold.

But they were neither stupid nor weak.

A small crack may have formed between the Empire and the branch families, yet their common target remained Leinrant.

Using this incident as justification, they immediately began applying pressure.

"What do you intend to do?"
"I'll have to run."

I answered Heinkel's question without hesitation.

The reason I'd been able to infiltrate Helian's base before—

It was because of Rudel.

A Death Knight possessing strength comparable to Heinkel's.

But, in other words, that also proved that without a force that powerful, I would never have made it out of there alive.

'If it hadn't been for Arin, Sanchez alone might've finished me off.'

While I was thinking that, a smile spread across Heinkel's lips after hearing my answer.

"Yes. I thought you'd say that."

And the instant I saw that smile, my thoughts froze.

He smiled? Heinkel?

An impossible sight.

A terrible premonition flashed through my mind as I glanced toward Delline, who stood behind him carrying luggage.

'He's grinning too.'

The exact same smile Heinkel wore.

"We received another letter saying the Empire and the branch families intend to visit again soon."

As I hurriedly tried to think of a solution in growing unease, Heinkel spoke first.

"I'll handle them. You should hide yourself somewhere remote for a month or two."

As he said that and gestured with his hand, Delline immediately placed something on the desk.

'Ah, wait. I've seen this somewhere before…'

A winter cloak made from brown fur.

It was the same cloak Delline had accepted in despair the first time I'd been summoned to this study.

"Delline… don't tell me this is…"
"It's exactly what you think it is."

Around the time Delline spoke with an expression that clearly said he was enjoying this far too much, Heinkel, wearing a similar smile, drove in the final nail.

No, seriously, that smile was terrifying.

Because I had never seen him smile even once in my life.

"You'll stay at the Northern Great Wall for two months. I've already informed the Watchers stationed there."

My breath caught in my throat.

The Northern Great Wall.

After the Archimond Incident, it had been built as the continent's shield to block the undead and monsters still remaining in the northern territories.

A barren land where even breathing could freeze from the brutal cold.

To the people of the continent, it was known as the 'End of the World'—the iron wall.

"Father, perhaps somewhere else instead…"
"I've already prepared everything. I even created an excuse to give the branch families."

An excuse?

As I mulled over Heinkel's words, another document was placed atop the winter cloak on the desk.

No, this wasn't just a document.

It was an official ducal decree.

And written in the recipient field was my name—Klein Leinrant.

"This is…?"

I picked up the document and read through it.

[Order]

[Klein Leinrant, Second Young Master of House Leinrant, is hereby assigned to the 77th Watch Post of the Northern Great Wall. Join the Watchers currently stationed there and carry out border guard duty for two months.]

[Issued by: Duchy of Leinrant, Heinkel Leinrant.]

An official military order bearing the seal of the Duke of Leinrant.

This wasn't some simple joke.

It was a genuine deployment order.

"It's true that thanks to you, I was able to resolve the bitterness between myself and your grandfather. I'm still grateful for that, Klein."

Heinkel, who had been smiling far more often these days, spoke to me like that.

"But you still need to properly pay for digging up the family mausoleum."
"…Ah."

Only then did I finally remember the words I'd blurted out two days ago.

"You may bring one companion. I'll designate one guardian for you, so travel together with him."

For all appearances, Heinkel was an extreme stickler for principles.

Once he made a decision, there was no overturning it.

"…Understood. I'll prepare."

If something couldn't be avoided, the best course was to give up quickly and accept it.

And honestly, it wasn't even that bad of a decision.

'Maybe this turned out for the best. The Empire, the branch families, and even the cult are all after me now.'

The wall stretching across the entirety of the northern continent was itself a natural fortress.

If I could hide inside it, there would be no better refuge.

And the far northern reaches of the continent, where the wall stood, also happened to be one of my old strongholds as Archimond.

'If I'm eventually going to face Helian head-on, I may need to visit the Ice Fortress first.'

I was sifting through memories of my previous life when—

"PWAHAHAHAHAHA-!"

Perhaps intending to mock the fact that my transfer to the wall had been decided in an instant, Ian suddenly burst into loud laughter from where he'd been watching.

"To think you'd send that weakling to the wall—Heinkel, you really have become vicious! Hahahahaha!"

Ian laughed as he repeatedly slapped Heinkel on the shoulder.

"Ah, and Brother."

But the laughter only lasted a moment.

"Klein's guardian will be you."
"…Huh? What did you just say?"

As though he'd heard something absurd, Ian asked again with a frozen smile.

In response, Heinkel tossed an entire set of winter gear at him.

"What are you doing? Hurry up and get ready to leave."

***

"To think that thing is my younger brother… that thing is my younger brother…!"
"You're being noisy, Uncle."

The northern gate of Leinrant.

When the guards saw me carrying winter equipment, crampons, and a sword strapped to my back, they opened the gate with salutes full of sympathy.

A snowfield and mountain trail that stretched on for an entire week.

As we trudged across the snow-covered ground, Ian's complaints never ceased.

"Damn it, maybe I should just run away to the eastern jungles even now…!"

"Didn't you hear Father?"

Ian had naturally opposed Heinkel's request-that-wasn't-really-a-request.

After all, he wasn't even officially a member of Leinrant, so there was no reason for him to obey Heinkel's commands.

But Heinkel's net had no openings whatsoever.

'Your whereabouts have already been exposed, Brother, and every border of Leinrant has been sealed. Imperial knights are expected to arrive soon as well.'

In other words, there was no escape route left.

Of course, the very fact that Heinkel had arranged a hiding place at the wall in this situation was practically an act of consideration.

"Fine. Since we're here, I'll just force you to swing your sword nonstop."

Soon after, sounding completely drained as though he had given up, Ian started walking ahead of me.

"You know."
"What, is there a problem?"

Had we walked another ten minutes like that?

When I answered his voice calling me, Ian turned back toward me with a nod.

"Let's say your swordsmanship is just some bizarre mutation of Heinkel's bloodline."
"And?"

Ian nodded at my response and continued.

"Then where exactly did you learn necromancy?"

Silence.

But I immediately gave the answer I had already prepared.

"My mother researched necromancy. I merely inherited that knowledge—"
"That's a lie."

Cutting me off, Ian smiled at me.

An inorganic smile.

The unfocused eyes of a blind man stared directly at me.

"I've traveled across the entire continent and encountered countless necromancers. The Empire, Phryssian, Gallamur. Even the undertakers of the East."

Quietly, I clenched my fist.

This wasn't a question.

It was an interrogation.

Depending on my answer, I might have to flee right here and now.

"But there was never anyone who handled souls the way you do."

Silence fell again.

This time, it lasted longer.

"What you use isn't modern necromancy. It's something far older. A form that's practically the very origin of necromancy itself."

The answer to Ian's relentless questioning came from behind me.

"A unique school of necromancy first discovered two hundred years ago, developed by a single man, and eventually influential enough to affect the entire continent."

The voice was so familiar that goosebumps rose across my skin.

Turning around, I saw a priest standing there with a body as massive as a mountain.

"Garrison… Berkman…"

Revealing his white teeth in a grin, he continued while staring directly into my eyes.

"The name of the necromancer who shook the continent with an undead army numbering in the millions… was Archimond."

As he spoke, Garrison stepped closer.

It was the same benevolent smile I'd seen countless times since childhood on that damned priest.

"Didn't I tell you? That we would meet again."