Ch.106Report on the Downfall of Kindness (Complete)

“When I lost, I was beaten for losing. When I won, I was beaten for crushing my opponent’s spirit. So I tried desperately to win more. If I won, at least I got beaten less.

When I became unbeatable with the Imperial Sword Style, my father began matching me against practitioners of lesser-known fighting techniques. From the East. North. South. West… even techniques from distant foreign lands.

When even that wasn’t enough, he put me on horseback. He probably thought I wouldn’t have talent for mounted combat. But by then, I had already grown taller than most people. Like my father.

Eventually I defeated everyone in the tournament. That’s how I became a Valkyrja. My father didn’t want to give me succession rights or knight me—he only wanted to keep me as a practice dummy in the training grounds…

But the White Blood Knights rose up in protest. They said that even the Grand Master couldn’t ignore the traditions of the White Blood. So I became a Valkyrja, and because I was a Valkyrja, I became a ‘knight.’

I told you before. I never wanted to be a knight. I just ended up this way because I was trying not to get beaten. Not to get hurt. Not to be injured. I was simply…”

As if gathering strength, Lily fumbled for Kain’s hand.

“I was simply raised to be a knight. Though that wasn’t my father’s intention. When I was finally able to decide my own future, I came to the capital. My father didn’t oppose that much. Having someone at the Academy wasn’t bad for the White Blood.

Joining the Security Bureau was my own decision. I heard they don’t ask about your past there. But throughout my training period, all I heard was ‘the noble daughter of the White Blood Knights.’ Whenever I heard that… rather than getting angry, I was too sad to respond.

I’m taller than others so I stand out. The scars on my back make me easy to identify. And then… my background on top of that. The only person who saw past all that was you, Kain. Do you remember?”

Kain remembered. He had said he would take her because she was the best fighter in her class, without asking anything else. What had been a simple decision for him apparently meant something completely different to her.

“Just as you chose me first, I chose you too. I won’t leave the castle I found, the home I chose. Never. So please don’t tell me to leave. It’s something I cannot—will not—obey.”

Kain didn’t know what to say. So he gently held Lily’s hand. As he patted it softly, like comforting a child, Lily’s eyes slowly closed.

“…Don’t go.”

With those words, Lily fell asleep. Her hand gripped his tightly, but when Kain stroked it, she relaxed.

“Well, well,” Maria smirked. “Looks like she’s coming with us till the end.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You’re so heartless.”

With a tsk, Maria lay down. Kain also reclined in his spot. But sleep wouldn’t come.

“What was Roberta, in the end?” Maria murmured while lying down.

“No. The heroes. The heroes we’ve met… what are they, really? They’re all strange. Like broken people.”

“They’re not ordinary people,” Kain answered. “They’re the ones who pushed through the Demon King’s shadow to the very end. They’re not ordinary.”

“I know that. But who would have thought they’d be doing such insane things?”

“Perhaps.”

“Hm?”

Maria turned toward Kain while still lying down.

“These heroes. Maybe they’re acting the same way now as they did back then.”

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said. These people, maybe they were always like this. The reason they defeated the Demon King seems to have little to do with any sense of mission or justice. Don’t you think? From what we’ve found, it’s mostly desire. Longing. Self-interest… those kinds of things.”

“What kind of desire?”

“The desire to become a hero.”

Maria fell silent. The phrase “I didn’t want to become a hero” had come up quite often.

Become a hero. Become someone else. Become a better person… live a different life than before.

Kain recalled his time at the Academy. A fragment of conversation with Anna came to mind.

“She said heroes aren’t made alone. They’re born from the applause of countless people who want a hero. The complete opposite of emperors who rule and dominate whether people want them to or not.

That’s why a hero can become an emperor, but an emperor can never become a hero.”

“Why not?”

“Because heroes are made by people’s hands and can be pulled down anytime, but emperors can’t be pulled down no matter what people do.”

“Ha. So once you become emperor, no one can touch you—something like that.”

Maria burst into giggles.

“Then what was Roberta? She seems different from the other heroes. She wanted to be a ruler. Was she a hero who wanted to be an emperor?”

Sparks flew from the campfire. Kain poked the wood with his staff. The fire calmed down again. Suddenly, Kain repeated the words that the Knight of the Scabbard always said when meeting heroes.

“‘Because they know it’s not theirs.'”

“Huh?”

“Maybe she wanted to be loved forever? Even if it meant turning people into dolls. Like a hero who became emperor…”

Almost all the “heroes” they had met so far were like that. After becoming heroes, they all refused to step down from that position.

Even as their lives became twisted and broken, they refused to step down from their status as heroes.

Arianne. William. Arius. Roberta.

“What a stupid thing.”

Maria, who had been listening quietly, pouted.

“What’s more fickle than love? Even when people love other people it’s fickle, but the world? Ha. There is one kind of love that isn’t fickle.”

“What is it?”

“Dying at the peak of love. Then you remain in that state forever.”

Kain didn’t answer. He looked at Lily, who was sleeping with soft breaths. She occasionally moaned as if she wasn’t feeling well.

Kain got up and covered her with his blanket. She squirmed a little, but then seemed more comfortable.

“You?”

“I can’t sleep. Even though I took medicine. Maybe I have too much on my mind.”

“You’ll fall off your horse tomorrow if you keep this up.”

Kain grinned and moved closer to the campfire. The reason he couldn’t sleep was clear. Now that they had lost the trail they were following, he couldn’t decide where to go next.

On top of that, the three of them weren’t in good shape. They probably needed to rest for at least three or four days. Assuming they could get proper treatment and rest comfortably.

“Why can’t you sleep? Is it because you don’t know where to go?”

At Maria’s question, Kain nodded.

“To be honest, yes. I’m wondering if we should find the other heroes. But that would mean crossing almost the entire Empire. It would take quite a while. And the situation here… although cleaning it up isn’t our responsibility. We came here and gained nothing. It feels like such a waste.”

The goal had been to get clues about the truth of the incident from Roberta. But that plan had failed miserably. Although they should be grateful just to have survived, it was clear that things had gone very differently from the original plan.

Above all, in this covert state, it would be difficult to approach the heroes and question them about the truth. Even if they met other heroes, Kain worried that the same scenario would repeat itself.

Kain stirred the embers again. As his sleeve rolled up, some of the bruises on his arm became clearly visible. He couldn’t help but laugh. What he had thought was just bad luck had actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

The thugs. The officer with feathers in his hat… the boar flag. Count Bördem.

Kain thought about the Count. Did he really know nothing? About what had been happening here for 10 years. Did he truly know nothing?

“What was the relationship between Roberta and Count Bördem?”

Kain asked abruptly. Maria, who had been dozing off, woke up startled.

“Huh? What? Oh. Relationship? How would I know? No, wait. You’re the Security Bureau agent. I don’t know much about nobles’ personal details.”

“I don’t know anything either,” Kain replied. It was truly strange.

What he knew about Count Bördem was that he was a benevolent old man, serving as the chief advisor to Elector Reinhardt, and providing him with funds.

His internal governance and control over his territory were extremely poor, which is why there wasn’t much gossip when he gave the Black Forest to Roberta.

But Kain’s information didn’t include anything about thugs blocking roads or guards dispatched to nameless rural marketplaces.

The guards’ armament was also bizarre. Their appearance, as if several people were sharing one set of armor, was awkward in many ways.

The quality was also terrible. They spoke casually with thugs and demanded money from travelers under the pretext of “protection fees.”

In the past, he might have dismissed it as “poor territorial control.” But after what they experienced on the way to Berta Village, he couldn’t put it so simply.

Kain searched his memory. Events in the capital that now seemed so distant. On his way to submit his resignation, Lily had held onto a report she couldn’t understand.

‘They spent a lot of money on hiring new soldiers and buying weapons, but actually reduced the budget for maintaining troops. Isn’t this a declaration that they’re deliberately lowering the quality of conscripted soldiers?’

‘What did Bohemond I say about it?’

‘He said there were too many bandits, so he had to increase patrol guards. He prioritized quantity over quality. It sounds plausible, but there aren’t actually many bandits in Taranto.’

‘Because of the robber knights?’

‘Yes. People like Goetz have drawn bandits to their side, causing them to frequently join standing armies or knights’ forces.’

Of course, this was about Bohemond I and the Kingdom of Taranto, not Count Bördem’s territory or Elector Reinhardt’s lands.

But then, Anna had said:

‘It’s not just the Kingdom of Taranto, Kain. It’s happening everywhere. The same thing is occurring in every elector’s territory.

Robber knights are maintaining the order that soldiers should be maintaining, and in return, the electors are hiring them like mercenaries. Like creating small territories within territories.’

“Small territories within territories…”

That phrase stuck in his throat like a fishbone.

Thugs are maintaining order instead of soldiers. But while the electors claim to be increasing their forces, they’re not providing proper equipment or sufficient personnel.

Then, the money supposedly spent on hiring soldiers—where did it all go?

‘Did Count Bördem really know nothing about what Roberta was doing?’

Even the thugs had been cautious and apologetic when told they were going to Berta Village. That means they already knew.

It’s impossible that the Count wouldn’t know about something that had been going on for ten years—something even local thugs were aware of.

“Maria. This Knight of the Scabbard. Does he seem connected to the Life Tree Order?”

“In many ways.”

“What Roberta was doing was twisting the sacred sites and doctrines of the Life Tree Faith to suit her own taste.”

“That’s right.”

“The Black Phoenix Faith too. Unlike the Life Tree doctrine, it excessively emphasizes revenge and retribution. Different from the original meaning of purification and protection of purity.”

“All correct. What are you getting at?”

“What if someone deliberately designed all of this?”

Maria drew in a breath. Kain took a moment to organize his thoughts.

“William also wrote in his letter to Arianne: ‘Either the seal wasn’t as strong as we thought, or someone broke it.’

Strange things have been happening recently. The electors are embezzling money, a heretical religion worshipping the Black Phoenix is spreading, and the Knight of the Scabbard started his activities less than half a year ago.

And the Knight of the Scabbard’s actions are… irrational by anyone’s standards. Considering his power and influence… he could complete his revenge right now and it wouldn’t be strange at all. But he moves slowly. He even coordinates with us. This time, he even waited for me.

What if even the Knight of the Scabbard is just a piece on someone’s board…”

“Kain.”

Maria stopped Kain mid-sentence.

“Yes?”

“I understand what you’re trying to say, but thinking like that leads to an endless rabbit hole. Above all, don’t forget you took Asas Pul medicine. Accelerated paranoia is one of the side effects, you know? Do you have any evidence for what you’re saying?”

“No.”

“Then let’s find evidence first before talking. We need to rest.”

“…You’re right.”

Maria cleared her throat.

“Slowly. Let’s take things one step at a time. I’m troubled too. But for now, let’s focus on recovery. We can think more clearly later.”

“Thanks.”

Maria looked at Kain with proud eyes.

“See? And what? Go home? Ha. Don’t be ridiculous.”

With those words, Maria fell into a deep sleep. Kain also drifted off. Until dawn broke and the morning dew on the leaves fell on his cheeks, waking him up.

Kain rose to his feet. His body was stiff from sleeping on the ground, but he felt better. There were no unusual signs. The horses were still in place, and Maria and Lily were sound asleep.

And there was also a pair of brown eyes watching them from behind a tree.

Kain stretched his body with an “oomph.” It was a simple stretching motion. While doing so, he casually picked up a stone from the ground. Pretending to twist his upper body, he quickly threw the stone.

“Ugh.”

Someone fell. Kain drew his Imperial Sword and walked toward the bushes.