124……………………..
A New Chapter
Leonhardt Empire.
Countless noble families follow the first emperor, who unified the continent and founded the empire.
Among them, there are two families that are the oldest, the closest, and possess the most secretive and powerful abilities.
Families unknown to anyone unless they are high-ranking nobles or boast an ancient lineage.
In the public eye, these two families are called the “Shadow of the Lion.”
The Crow family, Croben—eyes and ears for the empire.
The Wolf family, Diak—claws and fangs for the empire.
Both families avoid the spotlight and have devoted themselves entirely to the emperor and the empire.
“Say it again, Wolfgang.”
The imperial palace conference room.
A long rectangular table.
Among the dozen or so chairs lined up, a man sat in the seat reserved for the emperor.
First Prince Calix Raimond glared into the darkness, growling.
“Who… what happened?”
“The administrator of Karzeha and the lord of Seradra have been killed.”
Calix exhaled deeply.
The veins on his clenched fists bulged ominously.
“Ishara… Hakir… neither of them are easy targets… What’s the situation?”
“Not certain… It seems someone is deliberately controlling the flow of information.”
“Not certain…”
Calix clicked his tongue at Wolfgang’s voice from the shadows.
“Leonis, it has to be him.”
Just as the Diak family, with wolf’s teeth and claws, is attached to Calix,
the Croben family, with crow’s eyes and ears, is attached to Leonis.
“If information is being controlled, nine times out of ten, it’s the work of the crows. Right?”
“……”
“At times like this, I think crows are better than wolves. What do you think, Wolfgang?”
“……”
Wolfgang remained silent.
He hid deeply in the darkness the urge to say, Absolutely not.
But Calix’s words were meant to provoke.
Calix knew Wolfgang well enough to anticipate his thoughts.
“If you don’t want to hear this kind of nonsense, then do your job properly. If you don’t want to hear that you’re a wolf worse than a crow.”
“……I will do my best, Your Highness.”
“I don’t need your best. I want results. Find out for certain who eliminated my people in the East.”
“I won’t disappoint you.”
“Go.”
Wolfgang disappeared into the shadows without a word.
From a figure that was already invisible, even his presence vanished completely.
“Phew…”
Calix, left alone, sighed as he looked at the empty chairs.
“Leonis, Leonis, my dear little brother…”
Though the sigh carried regret and bitterness, the corners of his lips curved slightly.
“You always give your big brother trouble, even to the end.”
Leonis’ bombshell declaration.
He carefully examined Ronan’s face.
The black eyes shook violently.
“I-I… me…?”
“There are two reasons I’m telling you this now.”
In contrast, Leonis spoke calmly, without any hesitation.
“One is to keep the promise I made to you. The other… is because I trust you.”
“Trust… me?”
“You didn’t even know your mother’s birth details. Your father’s name was unknown. Even Bardo struggled to uncover his existence. Calix… had no connection to him, and above all, he fought alongside me to protect me several times.”
Leonis lowered the arm he had rested on his chin.
A smile played at his lips.
“There’s no reason I can’t trust you.”
“……!”
Ronan clamped his mouth shut.
Ah, his rigid posture naturally made Leonis laugh.
“Don’t you like me a little too much?”
“Wh-Who says I like…!”
“Come on, you do, don’t you?”
When Hog and I teased him, Ronan even stammered in response.
Trust.
The knowledge that someone believes in you.
For Ronan, who had carried the unfair stigma of being an impostor of the royal family, that trust was more precious than anything.
And it felt all the more genuine because it came from a member of the royal family.
“Ronan Raimond.”
Leonis rose and called Ronan’s name.
As everyone turned to look,
Hassim, somehow, handed Leonis a long sword.
Swish.
Leonis drew the sword and brought it down.
“Kneel before me.”
“……!”
Ronan glanced at me.
Though it was a magical contract, he seemed to worry about the “Knight’s Oath” we had taken.
I shrugged and gestured, signaling it was fine.
There was nothing to worry about.
Of course, it would be a lie to say I wasn’t a little disappointed…
Ronan nodded and slowly knelt before Leonis.
“I, Leonis Raimond, Second Prince of the Empire, hereby appoint you as a knight of the empire.”
Leonis placed the sword on Ronan’s shoulder.
“If you serve the empire with loyalty, you shall receive the honor you deserve.”
The sharp sword gleamed in the light as it moved to the other shoulder.
“From now on, you shall be the sword of the empire.”
Thud! Leonis drove the sword into the ground in front of Ronan.
Ronan slowly raised his head, gripping the sword’s hilt with both hands.
“Rise, my knight.”
The man who had been called an impostor was no more.
In his place stood a knight recognized as a member of the royal family and the sword of the empire.
By the end of summer.
Vrrrrrr…
The previously empty circle was now almost filled with mana.
“Phew.”
It didn’t normally take this long just to consume and replenish mana.
This was the backlash from pushing magic to its limit.
Even to stabilize the circle that had been destabilized during the circulation and burning of mana, it required ample time.
“This level of recovery… should be fine, right?”
He took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes.
The book held in his mind.
Magic.
The contract holder casts magic.
The later parts of Magic, accessible only after using Grand Magic.
Records of the Grand Magic used by the contract holder are preserved.
The contract holder is granted permission to view the Grand Magic.
The contract holder views the Grand Magic they participated in.
Viewing the records of Grand Magic.
Of course, he already knew all of it.
Some were even written by him personally.
He wasn’t studying it for knowledge; simply accessing the Grand Magic held immense value.
The source of mana within Magic resided in this very chapter.
Vrrrrrr…
Merely observing the chapter containing Grand Magic allowed faster absorption of mana.
When Naira and the Karaime tribe held a rain ritual, mana filled the surroundings for a similar reason.
Grand Magic alters the fixed rules and order of the world.
It’s natural to draw in mana that isn’t even nearby.
Magic was no different.
The abundant mana of the chapter containing Grand Magic.
With the circle stabilized, he could fully absorb it.
Vrrrrrr…
Carefully, he filled the circle with mana, ensuring no surge occurred.
He felt the circle swell with mana, cresting like a powerful wave.
“…This should be quick enough.”
A smile appeared naturally.
The 8th circle was within reach.
At the start of autumn, the eastern sunlight remained harsh.
“…Shall we wait a bit longer?”
Leonis, riding confidently, grimaced at the heat.
“We must go.”
“We can’t stay here forever.”
“We won’t die.”
With Ronan, Hog, and Sirina all chiming in, Leonis received a scolding.
Thanks to them, I didn’t need to say a word.
“You were the one who suggested leaving. As Sirina said, there’s no danger, so bear with it.”
“Watch your tone! How dare you speak to a prince like that!”
“He said it’s fine.”
“I…! Your Highness, I should accompany you too…”
“No, no, no.”
Leonis waved off the flustered Hassim.
“Zahkt will join us. Hassim, stay here and help Samaran.”
“…Understood. Please take care of His Highness.”
Hassim spoke to Ronan, who nodded in agreement.
After being knighted, he had completely become Leonis’ man.
“All grown up, and yet some stubborn one takes the credit.”
“Not stubborn, I’m not. Better than a fallen noble, a royal knight is much better.”
“…Very impressive, indeed.”
With trivial chatter like this, we quietly left Seradra.
Except for Hassim, no one had come to see us off.
“Is it really okay to leave like this?”
“If we don’t, we won’t depart today anyway.”
Hog’s innocent question earned Leonis’ grimace.
“I barely stopped Samara from coming to see us off anyway.”
“Well done. If she had come out, everyone would have rushed out too.”
“Exactly!”
Days passed in travel, exchanging trivial banter.
“Long time no see!”
We joined Zahkt, who had been in Nasradin, to guide us.
Hassim’s student and captain of the Golden Tooth Bandits, Zahkt was now a proper captain of the Nasradin guards.
“I received your message, Master. You’re returning north…”
“Yes, just guide us until we cross Saharam.”
“Leave it to us. Our guards will ensure your safety!”
“Leave it to us!”
Next to confident Zahkt, Piru popped out.
Little Piru had grown noticeably in just a few months.
“Kids grow fast!”
“Usually, kids don’t say that.”
“I’m not a kid anymore! Come on, follow me!”
Amid the cheerful atmosphere, we marched after Piru.
A few days later, we finally re-entered the eastern desert, Saharam.
“It’s still… barren.”
“But it’s fall now, so it’s cooler.”
“…Really?”
“For people from the East, yes, haha.”
Zahkt chuckled awkwardly, changing the topic.
“Plus, those red-clawed guys are barely around now, very safe!”
“Red Claws?”
“The infamous, cruel bandit group.”
“Oh.”
Ronan recalled the name buried in memory.
The Red Claws, the largest bandit group in Saharam, captured anyone traveling the desert, regardless of age or gender.
And the last news he heard…
“I heard a Paladin of the Solius Order was dispatched?”
Najif, once the chief appraiser at the Merchant Guild auction, now the administrator of Karzeha, told him.
“Wasn’t that months ago already?”
“Yes. After the Paladin was dispatched, they’ve been very quiet.”
Zahkt said excitedly.
“They’re probably almost eradicated.”
“I don’t think so.”
Sirina poured cold water on Zahkt’s excitement.
“Excuse me?”
“Look there.”
A sandstorm rose faintly where she pointed.
Within it, dozens of bandits in red hoods rode toward us.
“Red Claws…!”
“Prepare yourselves!”
“Draw weapons!”
The guards with Zahkt drew their swords, ready for battle.
Zahkt also drew his sword, but…
“Do we really need to prepare for battle?”
He glanced at us as he asked.
“No.”
“Right? With you here, we don’t need to…”
“No, not because of us…”
I gestured toward the bandits riding toward us.
“This should be enough, don’t you think?”
Chasing them was not dozens or hundreds of troops.
Only one person.
A Paladin, radiating golden divinity, running across the sand…
