Early dawn.
The walls of Malidan slumber peacefully in the silence and darkness.
In the farthest corner, a faint light flickers like a match.
Antonio, standing in front of the forge, lights a cigarette to start his day before work begins.
As he exhales the smoke, he reflects bitterly on yesterday's outburst with the Margrave.
"I knew it wouldn't work out, but it's even more disappointing than I thought."
The divine incarnation of the sword.
What an honor it is for a blacksmith to forge the weapon that would bring down Helmut.
Antonio was reluctant to let go of this opportunity and was contemplating alternative approaches.
"It's strange."
When he shared his thoughts with his apprentices, they were shocked and tried to dissuade him.
They argued that it made no sense to entrust such a man with a sword capable of defeating Helmut when he had shown nothing remarkable.
Antonio couldn't offer a solid rebuttal.
It was, after all, an investment based purely on intuition.
'But I still want to try.'
Antonio felt an intense pull toward Isaac like never before.
Vision.
'That boy has vision.'
A behavior that radiated confidence in his future self, not his present.
A profound contemplation of the sword that set him apart from others, combined with an almost disturbingly violent ambition.
Antonio couldn't figure out where this came from, but Isaac had a tenacity as if haunted by a ghost that had died wielding a sword but never fulfilled its purpose.
Of course, mere determination alone wouldn't be enough to defeat Helmut—anyone could do that if it were.
"Antonio."
A soft, feminine voice slipped through the dawn air.
"Young lady?"
There stood Silverna, her spear slung over her shoulder.
"Are you heading out on duty?"
Antonio, extinguishing his cigarette, asked, and Silverna shook her head slightly.
"No, I just have something to ask."
"To me?"
After a brief hesitation, Silverna cautiously began to speak, worried that others might overhear.
"Why are you so obsessed with Isaac's sword?"
"Haah."
"He's certainly growing, but not to the point where you'd go so far as to use Frostsilver to craft a sword."
It was true that Isaac was growing.
In duels with dispatched nobles, he now boasted a high win rate.
In physical training, where he used to lag behind, he was now leading.
His rapid growth was inspiring enough to motivate others.
But was he impressive enough to justify using a treasure like Frostsilver?
Not really.
"Ha-ha."
Regretting the extinguished cigarette, Antonio swallowed his breath.
"You could say it's a new challenge. What the boy wants is something I've never created before."
"..."
"And he, too, is taking on a challenge. It might be inappropriate for his age, but I felt like I wanted to dip a toe into that challenge myself."
A seemingly trivial reason.
Silverna thought the explanation was inadequate, but she found herself empathizing.
After all, she had similar thoughts, which is why she approached Antonio to sort them out.
"Antonio."
With her mind made up, Silverna handed him her spear.
"Use this."
"Young lady?"
Silverna's spear.
A weapon crafted from Frost Silver.
"I'm sorry to ask you to melt down a spear you made, but can you do it?"
"Young lady, that's a very reckless thing to say. No matter how much—"
"And who was it that marched straight to the Margrave to pick a fight?"
"..."
Antonio fell silent.
Hiding her smile in the early morning darkness, Silverna spoke.
"Please."
Antonio noticed that her feelings were not entirely aligned with his own.
He could sense a hidden tenderness in her voice, and it left him unable to respond.
All he could do was accept the spear she offered.
"Thank you."
With those words, Silverna turned back the way she came.
'What a strange feeling.'
Silverna honestly assessed her own emotions.
Even after giving up her precious spear, she found herself regretting that she couldn't do more.
This must be what tenderness feels like.
This must be what unrequited love is.
"It's fine."
With a bright smile, she looked up at the sky.
Beyond the walls of Malidan, the sunrise peeked out as if praising her.
"Though I cannot walk beside you."
She decided to be thankful that she could at least offer a small help on his path.
"This is enough."
She resolved to be content, knowing her secret affection would accompany him in his journey forward.
"This is all I need!"
Her cheerful shout was met with the wind brushing past her hair.
A new day had begun, full of clarity.
***
"Sharen."
"Big sis?!"
Early morning.
Sharen was startled to see Liana visiting her room.
After learning that Liana had been staying with the maids, Sharen had worried she might lose her room to her sister, and her shoulders stiffened.
"W-what is it?!"
But Liana paid no attention to Sharen's nervousness and handed her a neatly folded letter-like envelope.
"This contains my thoughts about Isaac's sword."
"Oh."
Relieved that her room was safe, Sharen accepted the letter.
She debated opening it but decided against it for now.
"Sharen, I heard that your group will soon be operating outside, like the other reconnaissance teams."
"Huh? Yeah, that's right. We're starting to understand the giant assassins' movements, so we're fully transitioning to recon duties."
"I see."
Liana's voice carried a hint of unease.
She gently stroked Sharen's hair.
"Be careful, Sharen."
"H-huh? Big Sis?"
"I wish I could come with you, but it would attract too much attention. That's not an option."
"That's true."
"I'm counting on you to protect Isaac."
At Liana's request, Sharen's eyes sparkled as she nodded.
"Of course! Don't worry, big sis!"
This was the first time her sister had asked her for anything, so Sharen was excited and responded enthusiastically.
Seeing this, Liana felt her own heart lighten slightly.
'Was she always this bright?'
Back when they lived in Helmut, she hadn't noticed.
She'd simply thought of Sharen as a naïve, clueless child.
But now, seeing how happy she was just from a simple pat on the head—
"Sharen."
Liana decided to push a bit further.
"Yes?"
"When you use the Crimson Descent, you worry about the faded shade of your Crimson Aura, don't you?"
"H-how did you know?!"
Sharen's Crimson Aura occasionally took on a soft reddish-pink hue, which had been a significant concern for her.
After all, Helmut's crimson was supposed to be as deep as a blooming rose.
"Don't let it bother you too much. That shade will become your unique Crimson Aura."
"But… it's not like Father's at all."
"You're not Father."
"That's… true."
"Don't worry. Just let it flow naturally. Helmut's sword isn't about being tied to something. It's not about striving to become something."
For Helmut,
It wasn't about trying to be great.
It was something else entirely.
A person destined to be great.
Not by forcing themselves to strive for something, but by fully embracing what is theirs and letting it bloom within their sword.
"Don't be confined by limits. Father… doesn't acknowledge us because of that."
"...."
"Is that too hard to understand?"
Sharen shook her head.
"No, I'll give it a try! Thanks, big sis!"
"Good."
Sharen, beaming, picked up her sword.
It was a satisfying sight, but Liana couldn't help repeating the advice she'd given countless times.
"And remember, don't tell anyone about Isaac and me. Not even by accident."
"I know! Honestly, you and Isaac both treat me like I'm some kind of fool."
'Why do I feel so uneasy?'
***
"Nothing much today. They've given us an easy mission to let us recover from all the hard work lately."
At the rear wall facing the kingdom,
The frontlines were a chaotic battlefield, but the rear wall was practically pristine, serving mainly as an entrance.
"We're just heading to a nearby village to collect some simple taxes."
Silverna spoke smugly, her tone implying that even with the looming threat of a large-scale beast attack, their duties had to continue.
The others tilted their heads in confusion.
"Why do we have to do that?"
Sharen raised her hand to ask, and Silverna nodded as if it were a good question.
"Good question. Truth is, we're not really there to collect taxes. Even if we do, it's just for some provisions."
Silverna rested her spear on her shoulder and smiled.
"The real purpose is patrol and reassurance. With all the commotion about the beast hordes, we're just letting the villagers know that they're safe because we're here."
"Ah, that sounds annoying."
"You're not allowed to speak when we're there. That's an order."
Sharen, silenced in an instant, lost her chance to speak further.
"Anyway, we'll just be reassuring the village chiefs as we go. Given my reputation in Caldias, it'll help."
Having fought at the frontlines, Silverna saw this as a light-duty mission.
"Let's get through today quickly."
Silverna pointed to the horses.
Thus, Reconnaissance team 5 got a brief respite from their intense days on the battlefield.
As everyone packed their supplies onto the horses, Anna quietly approached Silverna.
"By the way, My lady, where's your usual spear?"
"Huh? Oh… I left it behind. I figured I should get used to using other spears too."
"Really? That's unlike you."
"I didn't think there'd be much need to wield a spear today anyway."
No matter how well Anna knew Silverna, she couldn't have guessed that she had ordered her spear to be melted down.
"I see."
Thinking it was no big deal, Anna let it go.
Meanwhile, the others mounted their horses and chatted among themselves.
"There was something similar back in Helmut."
Jonathan, seated on his horse, smiled as he spoke to Isaac.
"We'd visit nearby villages to handle bandits or beasts when they appeared."
"Ah, yeah. I remember that."
Isaac's expression darkened for a moment.
Before he could give a proper response, Meladik cut in.
"Didn't Helmut's reputation keep bandits away?"
"I thought so too, but these idiots were so ignorant they didn't even realize they were in Helmut territory."
"Good grief, that's why they end up as bandits."
It was a typically aristocratic remark.
But, different worlds had different ways of living.
Anyway,
Regardless, they set off on their journey toward the nearby villages.
***
The first destination was Andes Village.
Though it was labeled the first, it was actually the furthest village from the wall.
The plan was to visit the farthest village first and work their way back in sequence.
"…My back hurts."
Isaac muttered as he tapped his lower back while riding his horse.
He had no less than three swords hanging at his waist.
Two were longswords, and one was the Pearlsun.
The longswords were test weapons that tended to break easily, so he carried two, and the Pearlsun was a backup in case the other two broke as well.
"You're carrying an absurd amount of weapons."
Anna chuckled wryly, and Isaac gave a bitter smile in response.
"I'll probably keep doing this until I get a proper sword."
"Let's hope Antonio does a good job for you."
"At least it's lighter than Helmut's greatsword."
"Really?"
Anna glanced at Jonathan and Sharen's greatswords with surprised eyes, as if she wanted to try lifting them later.
Silverna, leading the group on horseback, cleared her throat and interrupted.
"Ahem, Antonio will finish it soon. He's an excellent blacksmith."
"Still, it might take some time."
"No! Don't underestimate Antonio. He'll make something amazing for sure."
"..."
Her firm tone made them wonder why she was so confident, but Silverna didn't offer any further explanation, shrugging her shoulders.
As soon as Reconnaissance team 5 entered Andes Village,
"…Everyone, Dismount."
Silverna quickly issued the command, her voice sharp.
The thick, sickening stench of blood filled the air, while the village sky buzzed with countless flies.
Even though the Malidan Wall rarely saw many casualties, the smell of decayed bodies and stench here was far worse than any battlefield.
Weapons in hand, the group cautiously entered the village, where they were met with a horrific sight —
Piles of corpses, stacked high.
"They haven't been dead for long."
"Specific body parts, like eyes and hands, were carved out."
Isaac and Anna analyzed the situation coldly.
Isaac and Anna assessed the situation coldly, while others either shook with rage or retched at the sight.
Then—
"Hehe."
A strange sound echoed from behind.
Everyone turned toward it.
The source of the laughter was one of their own.
"Heh… hehe."
It was Jonathan.
Suddenly, the words of a Helmut knight resurfaced in Isaac's mind.
[He's a deeply unsettling man.]
Isaac had thought the knight's disdain was due to rank differences or some petty grudge.
After all, Helmut knights valued chivalry.
[We often provide aid to nearby villages.]
"Kehehe… Heh."
[Sometimes, we find ourselves in tragic situations, where villagers get caught in the crossfire.]
"Kik-kik, ah, tch. Khuh! Khuhuhut!"
[And whenever there are many casualties…]
Jonathan's laughter grew louder, more unhinged.
"Heh! Heh heh…! Ah, damn it! Kehahahah!"
[He laughs. As if he's enjoying it.]
Isaac began to doubt whether the man standing before him was truly the clumsy knight he had been traveling with.
No, could he even be called human? In the midst of such carnage, with the air thick with death —
"Hahaha… Ah, damn! Pfft, haha!"
Even as he covered his mouth with both hands, he was laughing so hard it seemed his face would split.
It wasn't as if he was trying to stifle his laughter.
Nor was he struggling to stop it from escaping.
The bright, natural smile on his face- He was merely trying to hide it, not suppress it.
"Snrk, hoo, hah… Pffft! Kehihihik!"
Even as he bent over and buried his face in his hands, Jonathan's chilling laughter showed no signs of stopping.