episode_0031

The Shadow Faction.

They were a cancerous growth that stood in opposition to the Empire, the light and justice of the continent, and had to be eradicated.

As Danoa recalled their existence once more, her expression began to darken.

“Once this war ends, we’ll have to fight them without rest, won’t we?”

“Probably.”

“It’s sickening.”

As Danoa wore a bitter smile, even Nemo, the normally taciturn old knight, made a fed-up expression and frowned.

“…Elder, I didn’t know you could make such an expression?”

“I am a person too.”

He had dedicated himself to the great cause and the Empire for over a hundred years.

In the process, countless riches and honors followed, and now Nemo was qualified to leave his name in the history of the continent forever, turning the star in his soul into a star in the sky.

No matter how iron-willed an old knight he was, after nearly half a century of war against calamity, he yearned for rest.

The thought of fighting the Shadow Faction, whose strength was unknown, immediately after ending the war against calamity, was enough to make even Nemo utterly fed up.

“I want to retire now.”

Seeing Nemo’s face, where the wrinkles seemed even deeper today, Bradamante, who was beside him, asked in her typically cheerful tone.

“Then why don’t you just retire? If Grandpa says he’s retiring, who in the world would stop him?”

If anyone else had said it, it would have sounded like a roundabout jab, but Danoa, knowing how simple Bradamante’s personality was, sighed deeply and said.

“If His Imperial Majesty doesn’t grant my resignation, how can I retire?”

“Ah…”

Only then did Bradamante realize her grave mistake, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead.

Seeing that, Danoa stared at Bradamante as if she were genuinely dumbfounded.

“You’re an idiot, aren’t you?”

“……”

Normally she would have bristled, but this time, she couldn’t refute it.

Nemo, who had his eyes closed and was lost in thought, said quietly.

“At times like this, I envy that child.”

Nemo looked at Kara.

On Kara’s face, as she stood alone on the highest nearby hill, looking east, was a mix of fatigue and a hint of relief.

“Will the Impurity family allow it?”

“It would be difficult. Especially since…”

The Prophet of Light, Lucas.

As the illegitimate son of Impurity, and a Prophet consumed by lust for power, befitting a member of Impurity.

As Kara’s master and advisor, he would never permit Kara’s retirement.

After all, the one who arranged Kara and Astolfo’s engagement was none other than Lucas.

“Even so, she’s nominally the Vice-Captain of the Knights. Couldn’t Sir Kara retire if she put her mind to it?”

“……”

Nemo kept his mouth tightly shut and said nothing.

As if there were complicated circumstances, he looked at Kara with a sorrowful gaze.

Bradamante might not have noticed, but Danoa, who was quick-witted, sensed Nemo’s strange mood and quickly changed the subject.

“Alright, then!”

*Clap!*

“Shall we go ask Sir Kara, who’s about to retire, what her thoughts are, and approach that beautiful lady standing forlornly over there?”

“Beautiful? You’re already taken—”

*Thump.*

“Alright, alright! Let’s go, kiddo!”

Danoa, who had shut Bradamante’s mouth, dragged her away by her cloak.

***

“Sir Kara!”

As they approached Kara, who stood alone, her long ears twitched.

“Danoa? Why is Bradamante like that?”

At the sight of Danoa walking over with Bradamante held in one hand, Kara seemed quite flustered.

“Hahaha, it’s just that…”

“I said it was annoying, but she dragged me here by force.”

Seeing Danoa patting the back of her head and Bradamante grumbling, Kara let out a small laugh.

“What was that all about?”

“……” “……”

As she stood with the rising sun behind her, a faint smile on her lips, the two people’s expressions involuntarily turned blank.

It was a face they had seen for over ten years, yet when such an incredibly beautiful person smiled while bathed in sunlight…

““Wow.””

It was truly like looking at a masterpiece.

After a brief moment of involuntary admiration, Danoa snapped back to reality, put down the clinging Bradamante, and stood beside her, watching the sunrise.

“So, why were you looking in the opposite direction, not towards the west where Numenlora is?”

“Why? Are you curious?”

“Yes.”

Danoa looked at the allied forces’ encampment below the hill.

“While everyone else is looking only to the west to end this war, Sir Kara is looking east, the opposite direction.”

At that, Kara gave a bitter smile.

“My hometown is in the east.”

“Your hometown, you say?”

“Yes.”

‘Now that I think about it, I don’t recall ever hearing where Sir Kara’s hometown is.’

I had only heard she was roughly from the slums, but thinking about it, despite fighting side-by-side for so long, I had never once asked where her hometown was.

“I only heard your hometown was roughly a slum. Could you perhaps tell me exactly where it is?”

“It’s at the eastern end.”

“The eastern end?”

At that, Danoa fell silent in thought.

‘The eastern end, a city that would be at the eastern end…’

The cooled warmth of the sun began to blaze anew, and the sun rose from the east with a bright light.

Therefore, the eastern part of the continent, which received the least and weakest heat from the sun, was colder than any other place, and had many cities with long winters.

‘That’s why most of the people there have rugged physiques.’

“No matter how I look at it, Sir Kara doesn’t seem like she’s from the East.”

Regardless of gender, the people there generally had a lot of muscle and strong facial features.

In contrast, Kara’s face, which had the opposite characteristics, didn’t seem to have any of those traits at all.

At that, Kara gave the answer.

“I’m from Fallen.”

“…What did you say?”

At that, Bradamante, who had been distracted behind them, also looked over with a surprised expression.

“You’re from there, Unnie?”

“……”

Kara kept her mouth tightly shut and said nothing, but that reaction itself served as an answer to the two of them.

“You were wondering why I wanted to retire so badly? Actually, I have someone I love in Fallen.”

Hearing something for the first time in their lives, the expressions of the two began to grow serious.

“I loved and cherished him so much, I thought we’d spend our entire lives together. But when the Prophet of Light came, we had to part ways there.”

“You had someone you loved, Unnie?”

“Yes.”

Bradamante’s eyes began to sparkle.

“What does he look like? What color is his hair? His eyes? Is he a handsome man?”

To the barrage of questions, Kara slowly replied.

“First of all, his eyes are fierce. His eyebrows are thick, and he always frowns, so he looks angry all the time. And his hair is black, and his eyes are black too, so when I first saw him, he felt really scary.”

Black hair and black eyes.

And a fierce impression.

‘Could it be…’

“To be honest, he’s not a handsome man. He has many scars on his face, so his impression is closer to scary. But…”

The corners of her lips turned up.

“Though clumsy, he possesses a kindness that always puts others first, and sometimes, when he looks at me and gives a gentle smile…”

*Widely.*

“When I see that look, it makes me smile even when I’m crying, without realizing it. He’s that kind of warm person.”

Hearing those words, Danoa’s expression changed to one of astonishment.

‘It can’t be…’

It was that man, the one she had seen fifteen years ago.

The man who had desperately called out Sir Kara’s name was the man Sir Kara loved.

For a moment, Danoa’s expression was filled with shock as she realized the forgotten truth, then Kara wore a bitter expression.

“But I did something terrible.”

“Something terrible?”

“……”

With a very sad expression, Kara simply kept her mouth tightly shut.

And then, forcing a smile, she said:

“Anyway, for now, he’s living safely in Fallen, which was purified at the request of the Prophets. We exchange letters every month, and we’ve reconciled, so he says he’s waiting for me in the city until I return.”

“Hmm… I don’t know what happened, but it worked out, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then, Unnie, are you going to marry him after the war ends? What about Astolfo? He has a terrible personality, so he won’t stay quiet if you break off the engagement.”

“Uncle said he’d help.”

“Uncle Orlando?”

If Kara herself tried to retire and annul her engagement at the same time, she would undoubtedly get caught up in many troublesome affairs, but if Orlando offered to help, it was a different story.

No matter how powerful the Impurity family was, they could never disregard the words of Orlando, who held the title of Emperor.

Even Bradamante, simple and oblivious as she was, knew such basic common sense, so she congratulated Kara in advance.

“Wow! Then you can marry him! Congratulations, Unnie! If you get married, you have to invite me too, okay?”

Bradamante took both of Kara’s hands with an innocent smile.

Seeing Bradamante’s utterly pure smile, Kara also gave a faint smile and replied.

“Yes. I’ll definitely invite you.”

‘…Sir Kara.’

No one knew who would survive and who would die in this final war.

‘May at least this person return safely from this war.’

How much suffering and pain must she have lived through?

As Danoa was the one among their comrades who had been by her side for the longest, excluding their master Nemo, he knew better than anyone how much Kara had struggled.

Furthermore, as he was the only one among their comrades who had learned the hidden truth between Kara and that man, he couldn’t help but sincerely pray to the Navigator for her future to be filled with nothing but happiness.

‘If you are not merciless and heartless, please let only happiness fill this person’s path.’

Danoa prayed, looking at her.

Just then.

“Oh? But what’s that?”

Bradamante’s gaze went towards the magical reaction she felt beyond the horizon.

“Teleportation magic?”

At her words, Kara’s gaze also turned there.

However, unlike the other two, Danoa’s expression began to grow increasingly serious.

This was because, to Danoa’s eyes, which had superior eyesight thanks to the blessing of a fairy, the state of the ‘mages’ visible as dots in the distance came into full view.

‘Imperial Mages.’

Numerous mages, their entire bodies covered in blood and in a state of mana exhaustion, had urgently used teleportation magic to reach this place.

And they had come all the way from the capital to here in less than a day.

‘No way…!’

The worst-case scenario formed in Danoa’s mind.

***

“A coup d’état has occurred.”