Chapter 71

—Boom!

—Boom!

—Boom!

Three years had passed.

Leonhard was now fifteen, while Matthias was eighteen.

Matthias’s actual fighting skills improved in every mission. Now, even without Leonhard, he was able to defeat a tolerable group of monsters by himself. On the day he single-handedly blew up the head monster after concentrating his mind for about an hour, Leonhard quietly admired it.

“That’s great.”

“That’s a compliment without a heart.”

“Is it too obvious?”

“…Do you still ask even when you know?”

Leonhard responded with a grin to his question. He could match Matthias’ rhythm now, but his admiration was sincere.

As the years passed, he learned that the other mages did not have a very different temperament from Matthias.

No, it wasn’t necessarily limited to wizards. Everyone was like that. Everyone but Leonhard himself was afraid of monsters and wanted to back out if they could. Even those who fought against monsters without running away fought with that fear.

Although because he didn’t feel any fear from his first monster and cut it in half, it took quite a while to realize that simple fact… Matthias was not a coward, but actually a very ordinary person. Nevertheless, he fought against the monsters together with him.

Leonhardt was not so stupid as to not know how lucky he was.

“….?”

“Greetings, Grand Prince and Lute.”

The moment Leonhard was about to drink the cold water, a messenger from the Imperial Family appeared.

“What is going on?”

There was a sharp edge in his voice.

Another mission right after a mission… He sometimes seemed to think that the imperial family thought he was a horse that would never get tired.

“The commander-in-chief will speak directly to you.”

“…It’s a mission?”

“I don’t know.”

The messenger respectfully bowed his head, but as he moved to the Capital, Leonhard’s anger rose to the top of his head. It was because he hadn’t seen his family’s face in over a year already. Natasha, who had been waiting for his return, no longer sent a letter.

‘She must have been disappointed.’

He thought that after this mission, he could get a short vacation, but another mission came.

“You seem very angry.”

“….”

Matthias stabbed him in the side. It was a sign for him to keep his expression.

“No.”

Silence passed.

The commander-in-chief stared at him for a long time.

‘What is this all of a sudden?’

Leonhard frowned openly. It was going to be a hauntingly difficult task anyway. It would have been better to tell him quickly, as nothing would change if he waited.

“This is the last time.”

“The mission… you mean?”

Leonhard questioned, doubting his own ears.

“Yes.”

The commander-in-chief’s heavy voice echoed throughout the commander’s room.

“Once this mission is successfully completed, you will no longer take orders from me.”

“What?”

“Once that happens, Leonhard, only His Highness the Crown Prince and His Majesty the Emperor will be above you.”

“….!”

His eyes widened.

Wasn’t this the position he so longed for?

“And the entire Imperial Knights will follow your orders. Congratulations in advance, Leonhard.”

“Are, are you sure—”

“Yes. An official notice will go down soon.”

His mind went blank. If it weren’t for the fact that Matthias hadn’t stepped out and asked for a detailed explanation, Leonhard would have shown ignorance.

“Then, tell me the mission.”

“Ah.”

The commander-in-chief glanced over at Matthias, blinking as if he had finally noticed Matthias’ presence.

“It’s a warlock.”

“….!”

While Matthias’s eyes widened in horror, Leonhard’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Finally…”

“Yes.”

The corners of his lips went up.

There was no one who did not know what magic swordsman meant.

The only one who could drive the warlock out of this Empire. The arduous training he had undergone so far was not simply to develop the power to slaughter monsters, it was to defeat the warlocks who drove the entire Empire into pain and ruin.

“…Where is it?”

“The North.”

“….!”

“After this mission, you may rest for as long as you like.”

Leonhard grinned over the snow-covered plain. He had been out of the North longer than he had been in the North, but still, his home was his home.

Glancing to the side, Matthias was visibly stiff.

“Aren’t you too nervous?”

“How can I not be nervous…”

He heard Matthias’s sigh.

“Don’t worry too much, because I am a magic swordsman.”

“I have to do my part, too.”

“You’re doing well enough now.”

“…I’d rather you not mention it.”

Matthias squeezed the pouch containing the magic stone.

Leonhard thought his hands were shaking excessively, but he didn’t point it out. After all, he was Matthias, who was unable to kill a single monster before, so of course, killing a once-human warlock would be even more nerve-wracking.

Meanwhile, he continued to drive his horse in silence as they had to travel quite a distance to get to the warlock’s stronghold.

It didn’t take long for him to find the warlock’s stronghold. It was because a frighteningly evil energy was flowing from a certain place, quite different from a group of monsters.

“For a moment…”

Leonhard stopped.

“What’s the matter? Is it a monster?”

Matthias asked with a frown.

“No. Just… something is wrong.”

He hesitated and answered. Apart from the evil energy, he felt strange. It was the feeling he always had right before he or Matthias got hurt…

“Something… I have a bad feeling.”

Matthias’ reaction exceeded all of Leonhard’s expectations. As if it was funny, he burst into laughter.

“I didn’t expect Leonhard to be nervous.”

“Not nervous, just… ominous. Something is wrong.”

“Leonhard, there is no one stronger than you. I’m past the stage of grabbing your ankles now. Have confidence.”

“…Is that so.”

He sighed before replying. Perhaps, Matthias was right.

Hasn’t he been training just for this moment? Now, among the wizards belonging to the Imperial Family, there was not a single wizard who could subdue him. It didn’t make sense that he couldn’t defeat a rookie warlock who had recently appeared.

Matthias continued brightly.

“And this mission, I have a good feeling.”

Leonhard smiled.

“I’d like to bet who had a better intuition. I’ll bet your hunch is right.”

“Huh? Me, too.”

Their nonsensical jokes continued even as they approached the source of the evil energy before Matthias spoke in a slightly surprised tone.

“But, isn’t this power quite strong? Something… I don’t think it’s just black magic.”

Leonhard grimaced.

“Don’t joke. I can only feel the disgusting energy that makes me feel sick.”

“What? As a wizard, I can even feel… awe.”

At those words, Leonhard interrupted him with a hard voice.

“…Matthias.”

“Yes, yes. It’s just something I’m saying.”

Finally, the appearance of the warlock came into their eyes. At the same time, the two froze on the spot. Now that he thought about it, it was nothing more than a weak warlock. However, to the two, seeing the warlock at the source for the first time in their lives, it felt like the source of evil.

Leonhard pulled out Rashir.

A blue flame rode the blade and burned brightly.

Meanwhile, Matthias nodded very weakly. It was a sign that he was staying away.

Leonhard immediately ran towards the warlock.

Leonhard couldn’t quite remember how he had slashed the warlock.

He blocked the constant stream of attacks with Rashir, and only vaguely remembered in his memory as he aimed for the neck. At one point, Rashir split the warlock and black blood gushed out. He barely caught Rashir as he was about to fall to the ground and put it in the scabbard.

“You’re not, huuuhhk, as big deal, huukk, as I thought.”

He turned to face Matthias, who stood nailed to his spot, gasping for breath.

“Matthias?”

Confused, he called for him. Obviously, Matthias, who always looked out for their safety, was now staring at the remnants of the dead warlock.

Matthias’s mouth opened slowly.

“…Strong.”

His blood was cold.

Only then did Leonhard realize that he had never received Matthias’ support when fighting the warlock. Just like Matthias, who was frozen and unable to do anything when he met monsters in the past… however, the current Matthias was far from his former self, who couldn’t kill.

Then, there was only one reason why he didn’t attack the warlock.

It was because he didn’t want to attack.

“Matthias!”

He ran towards Matthias.

At that moment, a considerable force sent Leonhard flying into the air.

It was obviously black magic.

* * *

“After that, I stayed away from all wizards… no, I insulted them. All of them are useless and dangerous people, so don’t come near me.”

“Why would you do that…”

“Because His Highness Ricardo always wanted me to be with a wizard.”

Leonhard replied bitterly.

“So, when I humiliate them that much, is there a magician who would come close? Occasionally, I scared away one or two who approached.”

Leonhard did not say how he killed Matthias.

He didn’t even say how he got back to Bernoulli Castle, covered in blood, still with Matthias’ red aura. Those memories were still buried in the back of the chest of an eighteen-year-old boy, and it would feel like digging a grave if he was to speak it out of his mouth.

“So that’s why in Agathirsus, I told you never to use magic…”

“…Because Matthias passed over so quickly.”

Even though his tone was light, Leonhard could not hide his sorrow.

“Warlocks attract like a magnet. No wizard can deny that power.”

“….”

“Anyway, just as I don’t like wizards, wizards hate me too.”

“Lute Carl is different.”

Leonhard snorted.

“He is father’s man. He’ll be mine someday, so he can’t say anything bad about me. However, wizards belonging to the imperial family are different.”

“…Still, I’ll try.”

“Yes.”

Leonhard nodded his head at her words.

It’d been almost nine years since he insulted and distanced himself from wizards. Perhaps, there are wizards who don’t care about old feelings…

All of a sudden, a dove came in through a window he didn’t even know was open. As the two stared blankly at the white dove, the dove sat on Celine’s hand and, in an instant, turned into a piece of white paper.

“I heard that even monsters appear when you talk to them.”

Leonhard was a little stumped.

“What is this?”

“An invitation.”

He then took the paper from Celine’s hand, who was still bewildered.

“….?”

Immediately, he tore up the paper.

Before Celine’s bewildered eyes, golden letters appeared.

[ If you don’t mind, I’d like to meet you in Flua. Rose. ]