“What are you talking about?” Seran looked at Kyle in disbelief.

“Right back at you, what are you on about?” Kyle let out a dubious voice.

They still had the same smiles on their faces as before, but their eyes were not smiling at all.

“I won the last practice match, right?” Seran remembered their mock battle half a year ago.

As this was held under the supervision of Leyla, it was their last direct encounter since.

“Stop lying, that was a draw,” Kyle answered, also reminiscing about the time back then.

Leyla ended their match as they ran out of time, which made it a draw.

“I was superior from start to finish, so objectively speaking, it’s my win. You should know that, right?” Seran spoke with a gentle voice.

In fact, Seran was right about that fact, so Kyle couldn’t deny that.

“..Not wrong. However, that was back then. Strength can change in a single day. It’s been quite some time since back then..and, it was only a practice match. You should have seen my true strength after watching me fight before.” Kyle didn’t back down either.

Naturally, Seran was also aware of this, as he was with him this entire time.

“..That’s my phrase. You should be perfectly aware of my strength right now.” Seran flashed an arrogant smile.

He seemed to be confident enough to not back down from this conversation. Angela watched their continued exchange with open eyes, and eventually clapped her hands together.

“Then, why don’t you have a sparring match?” Angela happily brought up an idea. “I’d love to see you two fight. I can prepare a location, so how about we hold the mock battle tomorrow?”

However, the second the two heard that, their tension dropped drastically.

“..No, I feel bad for wasting your generous offer, but I don’t think there’s any need for that. Now that I think about it, Seran is probably stronger than me.” Kyle spoke modestly.

“Well, there’s always magic and other techniques to consider in an actual battle, so adding all of that, I’m pretty sure you have more choices to use against me, Kyle.” Seran equally spoke more humbly than before.

The tense atmosphere from before had vanished, and now the two were complimenting each other.

“H-Huh?” Angela was confused at this sudden change of tone.

Before she could say anything, Kyle moved.

“Anyway, I’d like to excuse myself for now, I cannot make Prince Maizar wait much longer.” Kyle dropped Maizar’s name and quickly moved away from that location.

“Just what am I doing?” Kyle stepped out on an empty balcony, letting out a sigh.

The cold evening breeze entered his lungs, cooling down his hot temper from the inside.

“I got way too into it..Even though measuring my strength with Seran has no meaning at all..”

Rather, there’s nothing to gain. If it was anybody else, he would have managed to just push his way. Memories of his past came back to plague Kyle. If things escalated after that..Right as he was busy disciplining himself, a voice called out to him.

“Um, is something wrong?” It was a gentle female voice.

The woman must have seen Kyle feeling off, and was worried.

“No, I’m..”

Fine—He wanted to say, however before Kyle could really finish his sentence, he saw the other person’s face, and froze up. She should be in the latter half of her twenties about now, a woman a bit taller than Kyle, wearing a dress with red as its basic color. Her figure was quite excellent, and with her charming face, she was immediately standing out as a beauty. The moment Kyle saw her face, he lost his words. Of course, not because he was simply entranced by her, but rather for a different reason.

“But, you seem a bit pale, are you sure..?” She continued with a gentle voice once more, but Kyle couldn’t even react.

Why are you here, Minagi?

Running into a former ally of his, a talented assassin, Kyle had to focus first and foremost on not blurting out these words.

***

During the war with the demons, borders between countries and races were vanishing—or more accurately spoken, erased—which forced humanfolk to stand as a single entity to fight off the demons. Amidst humanfolk were people you truly couldn’t call good individuals, rather reaching more towards the evil spectrum, but you were forced to work together with them—to survive. One of those evil people was the person standing right in front of Kyle at this very moment.

She wasn’t all too far from Kyle in terms of age, but she belonged to a prestigious assassin family that existed since her ancestors a long time ago, doing the dirty work necessary. In other words, she was raised inside the dark side of the world. Finally, after rigorous training and self-discipline, she inherited the family’s techniques and became a valuable strength for humanfolk. However, as this was right before the world fell to ruin, she should not be present during such an official location.

What is she doing here?

“Is that so? I’m glad to hear that..Ah, excuse my late introduction, my name is Rona.” She grasped the skirt of her dress, showing a polite bow.

Remembering how she always wore black and easy-to-move-in clothes during his past life, Kyle felt a sense of discomfort to see her wear an extravagant dress such as this.

“I am a relative of a feudal lord living in Zenof, which is why I am participating here but..I don’t feel all too comfortable here..”

The girl Kyle knew would always show a provocative and confident smile, most definitely not something so docile.

Also, you were born on an island to the East, right!

Minagi’s origin was an island located in the East of the continent, possessing a peculiar and interesting culture. Zenof however was to the North of the continent, a small country that had been under the rule of the Empire for several years. It was a somewhat relocated location not playing any major role, so using that to hide her true identity was probably the most convenient. There, Kyle caught on to a sweet and alluring fragrance coming from Minagi. It was probably perfume, but it made Kyle feel like smelling it more. Kyle knew that this kind of fragrance had a faint hypnotic effect, which lowered the ability to judge situations and lowered their guard.

Oh yeah, she was originally an assassin, right..I forgot her main profession because she’s been acting as a scout during the war..Eh? Am I her target?

Kyle knew of Minagi’s abilities. She was regarded as the world’s strongest assassin during the war. Kyle didn’t know why, but now that she interacted with him like this, he must be related to her goal in some way. Considering that she was an assassin during this time, there was a good chance that he was her target..Kyle reached that conclusion, and the second a cold sweat ran down his back, he instinctively took a step backward.

“Um..as I thought, you don’t seem to be feeling too well, so should I bring you something to drink maybe?” Minagi spoke up with a worried tone in her voice.

“N-No, I’m feeling fine.” Kyle frantically shook his head.

It’s gotta be her special poison in there! Seriously, how did she manage to make a poison that even affects demons..

With their strong vitality, demons were known to have strong poison resistance, and yet Minagi developed something that worked even against them. In a way, Kyle may have strong resistance to poison, but he didn’t have the courage to accept any drink from her right now. Around the time he started to get exhausted with the conversation, another individual appeared.

“So you were here. Are you done talking with Angela?”

“Ah, M..Prince Maizar.” Kyle quickly corrected himself.

Minagi seemed surprised with the sudden arrival of the prince, lowering her head and retiring from the place. Right as Kyle thought he was saved, he felt regret at letting her run away, as he watched after her.

“Acting faster than expected. Did I get in your way perhaps?” Maizar spoke with a teasing tone.

“No, we were just talking for a moment. So, what did you want to talk about?”

Kyle was curious about Minagi, but Maizar had his utmost priority. He probably won’t get many more chances to talk with a noble like this.

“..I don’t like beating around the bush, so let me get to the point. Who are you, and what is your goal?”

Just as he stated, he jumped right into it, not allowing Kyle much time to think.

“What exactly do you mean by that?” Kyle played dumb.

“Watching you, I feel oddly restless. Like I have a bad premonition..like you’re plotting something.” Maizar scratched his head, looking at Kyle.

“Plotting something..Is there any problem with what I’m doing?”

“Not at all. It’s just my intuition.” Maizar said.

“Intuition, is it.” Kyle showed a bitter smile but was actually happy deep down.

As always, he’d had a good nose for this type of stuff..No, I guess it started around this time.

Maizar was born with power, or a divine intervention, which allowed him to see through other people quite easily. It was something different from his brother Eldorand, a disposition that allowed him to stand above others. Many times Kyle was saved because of that. In Kyle’s past life, these two met when the war against the demons had cornered humanfolk. Normally, Emperor Maizar and your average magic swordsman Kyle normally would never even cross paths, but amidst the war, boundaries and social ranks were destroyed, as their relationship deepened. They both had respect for each other, which then slowly changed to friendship, or that’s what Kyle thought at least.

“..Personally speaking, I don’t dislike people like you. Why don’t you swear allegiance to the Galgan Empire instead?”

It was a straightforward attempt at scouting Kyle.

“No matter who you are, you won’t be a problem if I keep you in my reach. You’re not a vassal of Zilgus, yeah? We will put your talent to great use.”

The history of the Galgan Empire was quite short, barely lasting three hundred years. That is why they treated their resources with respect and took in people regardless of their origin. This was the strength of a newly-founded nation, not differentiating in terms of races, even taking beastmen under their wings, which led to their rapid growth.

“That is true. However, you’re also famous for purging those who try to run and escape, yes?” Kyle calmly responded with a smile, pointing out the darker part of the Empire.

The stronger the light it may give off, the larger the shadow it leaves behind. Those who are free often live in chaos and in opposition. The Empire was quite famous for its strictness in that regard. They may take good care of their vassals, but any opposition will be punished. A truly simple but effective mindset, really.

“Saying that straight to my face..I could accuse you of insolence towards royalty, you know?” Maizar spoke with a threatening tone, but his expression was clearly one of joy and excitement.

“I spoke too much, my apologies. I was just happy being valued this highly..I didn’t mean to insult you,” Kyle said. “However, I have no intentions of hurting the Empire. At the same time, I have not sworn allegiance to Zilgus either, I am simply at the beginning of my rising. I have other more pressing matters.”

“Oh really? Then, do tell.”

“..I want to become a hero. One whose name will remain in history.”

Naturally, becoming a hero was just a necessary step in order to save the world, but there was no need to explain that much.

“Ohh? Aspiring to become a hero, is it? You coincidentally saved a princess in peril, defeating demons invading humanfolk territory..Quite an exciting few weeks for you. You sound like the hero out of a heroic tale.”

“Yes, it’s going quite well. At this rate, I should be able to achieve my dream in about three years.”

More accurately, he needed to become a hero until then, but he kept that part a secret. Maizar looked at Kyle, his expression distorted in excitement.

“He he he, that’s some admirable confidence..However, it won’t be that easy, don’t you think? There are not many heroes who managed to reach their status while being alive. Most heroes receive that honor after dying in battle, saving humanity. The only hero I can think of is my old man,” Maizar explained with a gentle smile.

Kyle remembered that Maizar had great respect for his father and oldest brother.

“Right. Any major setback would be a simple stroke of luck, and most people would probably die in the attempt..However, I cannot afford to give up. I will definitely become a hero.”

Seeing Kyle exclaim that with such determination, Maizar’s smile stopped. After they both looked at each other for a moment, Maizar averted his gaze, turning his back towards Kyle.

“Well, once you’re back to zero, and yet still alive, remember that our doors are open. If you’re lucky, we might take you in,” Maizar waved his hand as he walked away, seen off by Kyle who lowered his head.

“..Don’t you worry, I’ll become a hero no matter what it takes. I can’t afford for the Empire to fall to ruin, and you will have to survive as well.” Kyle raised his head, and watched Maizar’s back, remembering his final moments.

The situation during the war grew worse, and when the Empire, humanfolk’s greatest military strength, fell to ruin, Maizar chose to die with the Empire, saying he did not want to be the emperor of a ruined country. Only being able to watch that was one of Kyle’s biggest regrets.

“This time, for sure..”

***

Following this, Maizar fully retired from the banquet, heading to the adjacent room, where Eldorand was waiting.

“So, how was it?” Eldorand asked in regards to Kyle, but Maizar simply shrugged his shoulders.

“We talked a bit, but..He’s hard to grasp, that’s for sure.”

“So we’ve learned nothing.” Eldorand let out a sigh after he had high expectations of his younger brother found out something.

“He said he wants to become a hero. Either he’s blinded by the honor, a booster, or an absolute moron. However, he seemed dead-set on becoming one, and his confidence even made me fall quiet for a moment.”

“Maybe he is just a fool who doesn’t know his place?”

“No, he’s clearly no moron. That’s what makes his dream of becoming a hero even more confusing..Either way, he’s hard to really figure out.” Maizar scratched his head.

“Hmmm..It seems like he’s an unstable entity after all. Maybe we should dispose of him before he swears his allegiance to Zilgus..” Eldorand argued, but Maizar stopped him.

“No, he mentioned that he wasn’t planning on swearing allegiance to any country, and neither does he have any intention of bringing harm to the Empire. I don’t think he’ll get in our way at least.” Maizar oddly enough sounded like he was panicking, which was perceived as weird from Eldorand.

“What’s wrong? Weren’t you the one who said we should dispose of him if we can’t use him? To think you’d change your mind..” There, Eldorand caught on to something. “I see, you’ve taken a liking to him?” He spoke with a teasing tone, to which Maizar shrugged his shoulders.

“He’s a weird fellow. But, I was thinking that he’d be fun to have a drink with.”

“Maizar, just to let you know..”

“I know. I’m not letting my personal feelings take over and I will only do what is necessary. I just wanted to keep an eye on him for a bit longer.”

“..Fine. Either way, we’ll have to wait for the report of our spy.” Eldorand said and stood up.

***

At the same time, after being left behind by Kyle, Seran was still with Angela. Right as he wanted to walk away, Angela frantically stopped him. She looked up at him, with a charming but equally deviant smile.

“Um, I have one request.”

“Y-Yeah..?”

Seran got a bad feeling, but he didn’t see him successfully denying the girl, so he just smiled with a tense grin.