01 – Hero Garden
“Who do you think is the strongest person in the empire?”
A bar in one corner of the imperial capital.
Shabby would be one way to describe it. A poor place when compared to the cafes and pubs of Alexander Street, but it was an establishment that had been loved by commoners for over a hundred years.
Their large sausages stuffed with a variety of herbs, combined with their beer, was something quite special, so that people traveled from far away just to taste it.
The bar was mostly filled with workers who lived in the city. As they drank and ate, their conversations often moved in this direction.
The empire put a lot of importance on combat ability. And the Twin Moon Festival came with one of the greatest events, the Combat Technique Tournament.
It was not easy to acquire a ticket. But even if you could not watch it directly, it was still a popular subject for conversation.
“Well, it’s the Sword Saint, obviously.”
“You stupid bastard. I’m excluding him.”
The others nodded.
Jin Raido was a living legend.
Many had not seen him for years, but then he appeared during the tournament. And the excitement from that was still fresh in their minds.
“In that case, it’s got to be Cutting Sword?”
“Cutting Sword Harvay? Well, he will probably be the next Sword Saint.”
The other men muttered in agreement.
“Wait, wait. If we are just talking about the strongest, then couldn’t it be someone who doesn’t fight with a sword?”
“I agree. In fact, my vote is for Ragnard, the Beast Tooth.”
“What about Behemoth? Aren’t those two equal in strength?”
“Wait. My pick is Spirit Bow. With a bow, you can kill your opponent before they even get close.”
“Do you really think that would happen if Spirit Bow and Sword Saint fought?”
“We agreed that he’s an exception!”
After that, many other names were brought up.
It was little wonder. As people who were not fighters themselves, there was no way they could tell just by watching. After all, appearances had nothing to do with strength, and sometimes luck came into play.
And so it was quite possible that some new hero would appear who could surpass the Sword Saint. Though, it was hard to believe.
However…
There was one man who drank alone in the bar, excluded from the conversation. But under the hood of his robes, he grinned slightly.
(They do not know. The strongest ist Black Spear.)
The Yugrile hero that had appeared a few years ago.
Ever since he had appeared on the scene, the Yugrile people started to be accepted in the empire little by little.
With one spear, he was changing the perception of them after the war.
He had no love for his country. It had fallen due to foolish leaders who had chosen tyranny and death. And he could not understand those who could not admit this, while still holding a grudge towards the empire.
Indeed. He was born after the war. So he could not feel patriotic towards a place he had never been to.
(GIleus Marion. The real star of Yugrile…!)
◆ ◇ ◆
Gileus suddenly sneezed.
(What? Is someone spreading rumors about me?)
His sneeze echoed down the hallway.
The large, long, beautiful hallway.
Sanct Alexander castle. The most beautiful castle in the city. Only a few Yugrile people were allowed to enter it, and Gileus was one of them.
He let out a sigh.
He wawa currently not wearing his usual military uniform, but formal attire that he bought just for occasions like these. However, his feet were heavy not because of the clothes, but due to the tiring work of the last few days.
(…Well, thanks to that, we got rid of most of them.)
The Arviness liberation army that was hiding in the city. The remains of the royalists had been crushed in one night.
It was not actually Gileus who had done it, but the men from Black Tower Dragon. But it would not have been possible without the aid of the Central Intelligence Investigation Office.
It wasn’t that he had no feelings at all towards the country of Yugrile.
However, what was most important for Gileus now was his young sister, Sumia. To protect her, he did not mind being called the empire’s dog.
But…
(…To use Yukito like that. What a fool.)
…Indeed, without Yukito and Grafios, Black Dragon Tower would likely not have acted. The Arviness liberation army was that strong.
If the empire’s army moved, they could have dealt with it in an instant. But if that happened, it would have destroyed the appeasement policy, and it would affect their authority.
If the aristocratic faction could no longer be suppressed, they would advocate for a southern expedition.
In other words, war.
In order to stop that, Ravalo had worked with Wan Taren and used Yukito.
However, in spite of the reason, it did not change the fact that they had gotten him involved.
On top of that, he was the Sword Saint’s apprentice. But Gileus’s superiors seemed to not understand how dangerous this was.
“Hey, Gileus.”
As he was walking and thinking, someone called to Gileus.
A tall man with a scar around his mouth was standing there. Grafios.
“Graf. Well, this is unusual.”
“These clothes are so uncomfortable. Why don’t we just wear normal clothes?”
“Surely they wouldn’t allow that in the imperial castle?”
He chuckled as Grafios tugged uncomfortably at his tight collar.
“That’s why we gotta get out of here. Why is it always in this castle anyway?”
“We…probably because the prince participates.”
“And why is that? That little brat calls over for every little whim.”
“Don’t talk about him like that. We are soldiers, remember? I don’t want to see you get in trouble for defamation.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
The two of them walked through the castle until they reached their destination.
“Well…let’s go then.”
To the Garden.