Two weeks later, on the island of Baldur.
"Kanashimi! Have you heard the news about the monster continent?"
Kanashimi looked away from the window and turned to Shiro.
Shiro grinned from ear to ear.
"Here!"
Kanashimi glanced at the leaflet, which boldly announced: ATTENTION! The first successful expedition to the monster continent in history. The state of Dorst has successfully conducted an expedition to the monster continent. This time, the expedition included a record-breaking 500 people! This is their fourth expedition! This time, the greatest knight from the brotherhood, Damian Angelis, embarked on the journey!
Kanashimi stared at the leaflet, examining it rather than the text.
'I've never seen such leaflets before.'
Shiro looked at Kanashimi disappointedly.
"What a boring reaction. I expected you to be excited and jumping for joy."
"This isn't the kind of information that makes you want to celebrate."
Shiro sighed.
"Fine, I'll leave it with you if you liked it so much."
Kanashimi nodded and turned back to the window. The next thing he heard was the slam of the door.
Kanashimi didn't stay in his room for long, eventually deciding to go to his morning training. His father should have been waiting for him.
Leaving the house, he cast a quick glance to the right, where Shiro sat under a large tree about ten meters away. The tree's foliage was very low, almost covering Shiro even in his seated position.
Kanashimi turned left, heading to the place where he always trained with his father.
A massive, bearded man with red hair turned at the sound of footsteps. His face was sweaty, as was his bare torso. He lowered his sword and smiled, breathing heavily.
Andrian, his father.
"Good morning, my warrior. Here to train?"
"Yes."
Andrian sat on a nearby bench and wearily waved at Kanashimi.
"Warm up while I rest a bit."
Kanashimi nodded and began stretching his muscles and doing physical exercises. He wasn't as massive as Andrian; instead, he was blessed with height, being the tallest in the family, just like his mother and his paternal grandfather.
After warming up a bit, without tiring himself too much before the sparring session, Kanashimi picked up a wooden sword.
These swords were made by their mother, Ran. She was a jack of all trades, and it was hard to find something she couldn't do. Almost everything she knew was taught to her by her cousin, who now lived on the other side of the world.
"Ready already?"
Kanashimi nodded, taking a fighting stance.
"Today, we'll give it our all!"
Andrian lunged at Kanashimi, threatening to cleave him in half, even though he only held a wooden sword. Kanashimi's father was a battle-hardened warrior who had once traveled the world. In the end, he met their mother, married her, and returned to Baldur, his homeland.
Kanashimi easily deflected Andrian's sword and kicked him. Andrian took the blow to his shoulder without flinching, despite the force of the kick. Then he grabbed Kanashimi's leg and pulled him closer.
Kanashimi didn't try to break free from Andrian's grip. Instead, he used the fact that his leg was firmly held and jumped, attempting to kick Andrian in the head with his free leg.
Just before the kick landed, Andrian released Kanashimi, ducked, and immediately delivered an upward strike aimed at Kanashimi's head.
If someone unfamiliar were watching, they might think these two were trying to kill each other. But this was their usual training routine.
Perhaps that's why their mother had long since stopped watching them train...
Kanashimi shifted his body just before the strike, the wooden sword grazing his ear, causing a slight burst of pain and a rush of adrenaline.
Kanashimi finally had the chance to launch his own attack. His fighting style involved creating a relentless series of attacks, forcing his opponent to defend continuously.
Even Andrian didn't always emerge victorious when Kanashimi started attacking; his son was very skilled.
Andrian switched to a tight defense, waiting for the right moment to counterattack.
Under the barrage of constant blows, it was difficult even to hold the sword, let alone launch a counterattack, which rarely succeeded.
Eventually, Kanashimi knocked the sword out of Andrian's hand. But this seemed to have no effect on the formidable soldier. Andrian's leg shot out like a bullet, hitting Kanashimi in the left side and knocking the seemingly victorious opponent off his feet.
Then Andrian himself collapsed, exhausted, and smirked.
"Looks like it's a draw today?"
Kanashimi didn't respond, silently clutching the spot where Andrian had hit him.
After training, Kanashimi went to the city. He wanted to read more about the news of the monster continent in the library. However, his attention was caught by the commotion in the square.
A man was selling newspapers with the news. He shouted, trying to attract as many people as possible, and he succeeded. When Kanashimi noticed him, a crowd had already gathered, and more people were coming. Kanashimi, intrigued, approached as well.
"Everyone's heard about the successful expedition to the monster continent? That's not all that happened. I'm willing to give you all the information for free! Cursed monsters, ruins of a civilization that once lived there, and much more! In return, I only ask that you share this information with everyone you know!"
Honestly, Kanashimi didn't want to take anything from this man.
The reason was that the man selling these news was engaged in illegal activities. In Baldur, the distribution of news was handled exclusively by a specially appointed royal agency.
In a special building, all the news was displayed, and citizens could come at any time to learn about any events of interest, which were posted on special boards. Of course, only a brief summary was available for free...
Anyone else trying to profit from this or do the same as this man would be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Even those who took anything from him would be implicated.
Kanashimi intended to watch as the guards apprehended this man.
Kanashimi waited calmly. More people gathered, eagerly taking the papers from him, but the guards still hadn't arrived.
The guards took so long that Kanashimi began to suspect they might have been bribed.
'Can the guards be bribed?'
The guards in Baldur were extremely patriotic, true fanatics who cared little for anything unrelated to their work.
Kanashimi had been there for almost 10 minutes, but the guards still hadn't shown up.
'I need to check the guard posts.'
The main city square, where the news seller stood, was built like a large intersection in the city center, surrounded by traders' stalls and administrative buildings. There were no residential houses here.
Guards always patrolled the alleys, maintaining order, or simply stood somewhere resting. Kanashimi decided to check one of the alleys to the left of the news seller.
It was almost empty, with most people gathered in the square. Only traders sat in their stalls and shops, along with a small group of people selecting products and other items.
Usually, guards patrolled these alleys, maintaining order or simply standing and resting, but they were nowhere to be seen. All the guards had disappeared.
'He's definitely not acting alone.'
Andrian, in the past, had been a high-ranking official in the service and commanded almost all the city's guards. Although he was long retired, he still had connections. If Kanashimi could gather any information and tell his father, he might help apprehend the criminals.
With these thoughts, he turned into a passage between buildings.
Walking a short distance, he approached a small, spacious area and peeked around the corner.
There he saw where the guards had gone.
He also saw a group of people and their potential leader, dressed entirely in black, with massive boots and an unbuttoned coat revealing a white shirt. He sat facing the guards, who were huddled together like trash, while other people stood around him, their faces covered with cloth.
There were four of them, and the fifth was currently on the square, surrounded by a crowd of people.