Every time Erich faced Günter, he felt uncomfortable. Of course, part of it was simply that their personalities didn’t match, but there was another reason.

Whenever he stood before him, he often felt as if he were standing with the grand duchess.

‘Royal blood really is thick, isn’t it.’

Blonde hair and red eyes. Günter possessed all the distinct features of the imperial family.

In particular, Erich especially disliked those cold, penetrating eyes.

It was because they seemed to bring back the trauma of the past.

Of course, since returning—especially after he’d given even the grand duchess a taste of trouble—Günter didn’t feel overwhelmingly burdensome anymore.

Still, dealing with him wasn’t exactly a pleasant task.

Adorned with golden embroidery on a black cloak, Günter, the commander of the 5th Fortress, addressed Erich.

“Deputy-Commander Erich, this is a restricted area. You have no business coming here.”

“The Commander gave a direct order: apprehend the traitor Albrecht.”

A twitch flickered at the corner of Günter’s eyes.

He withdrew his hand from his pocket, playing with the elaborately decorated sword at his hip.

“I’ve heard he refused the summons. But does that alone make him a traitor?”

“Refusing the Lord Commander’s summons is more than enough for treason. Or do you, Fortress Commander, plan on making the same mistake?”

“Watch your tongue. With people like you at the Lord Commander’s side, no wonder his judgment is clouded.”

“You put a lot of faith in the chief adjutant? In that case, why not accompany us below and see for yourself? They’re up to things down there you’d never stomach with your eyes open.”

“What’s happening inside—are those acts being done to citizens of the Empire?”

Erich narrowed his eyes.

‘… Does Günter know about Albrecht’s experiments?’

There was no other reason for him to ask with such confidence.

At the very least, Günter likely wanted to argue that, by his own standards, whatever was done to barbarians wasn’t a problem at all.

Of course, it was difficult to claim his thinking was exactly wrong.

When it came to barbarians, no one would take responsibility for whatever happened in the Watch. In fact, most people would probably find it satisfying.

“Albrecht stands accused of multiple charges. Among them, collusion with barbarians.”

“He’s been guarding the Great Wall since before you were out of diapers. An upstart like you has no right to put the word ‘betrayal’ in your mouth concerning him.”

“Hm… Even sycophants can be heard in the Imperial Palace.”

Günter’s sharp gaze grew harsher. He radiated killing intent as if he might draw his sword at any moment. The members standing with him slowly readied their bows.

A situation where things could devolve into a civil war in the blink of an eye. At that moment, Mikhail, who had been silent, spoke up.

“Günter, have you not learned by now that in my presence, any bravado of yours is mere foolishness?”

“Chief Mikhail, I too am simply fulfilling my duties.”

Erich was secretly impressed. How many would dare say their piece even before ‘that’ Mikhail?

At least, he had to acknowledge Günter’s guts.

Still, that was just Erich’s personal impression. As the foul-tempered old man Mikhail stepped forward with a glare, Günter’s face twisted.

“Then should I show what it’s like when I fulfill my duties?”

“Do you pledge loyalty to the Lord Commander, chief Mikhail? I, for my part, am loyal to the Watch. I’m quite suspicious of the direction your loyalty takes.”

Mikhail’s expression contorted instantly. What Erich saw in Günter at that moment was extreme arrogance—the confidence of one utterly convinced that no harm could befall him.

‘In the end, it’s the royal blood in him.’

If Mikhail handled things as usual, he’d have to withstand the backlash for staining royal blood.

‘It’s not for nothing that Milon has left the grand duchess—his object of revenge—untouched.’

Günter was a fallen royal.

To be precise, he was from a collateral line of the imperial family; his family was wiped out in a rebellion, and he himself was sold to the Great Wall in lieu of a bounty on his head.

Even that was said to be thanks to Albrecht’s intervention in saving his life…

It wasn’t so strange that Günter reacted so violently to the words ‘Albrecht’ and ‘treason’.

He would see it as an attack on his benefactor, in exactly the same way his family had been attacked.

To defuse this hair-trigger situation, Erich spoke up to Günter.

“Commander Hern was attacked by the dead. And these dead are controlled by Albrecht. That alone is already a grave crime.”

“… Hern was attacked?”

Apparently, Günter hadn’t known this. After all, the incident had only just happened.

This area could not be entered easily, due to Hern’s lockdown order; of course, news would travel slowly.

Albrecht refusing the Commander’s summons counted as treason, but, depending on circumstances, it left room for mitigation if well explained.

Günter seemed to be hoping for just that.

However, with the Fortress Commander having been attacked, no excuse would suffice.

While Fortress Commander skirmishes weren’t unheard of, attempting to murder another commander was outright a heinous crime.

‘Even now, will you still shield Albrecht, Günter?’

Erich smirked. From any angle, it was a tough situation for Günter—unless he intended to side with Albrecht entirely.

Soon, Günter released his grip from his sword. The members of the 5th Fortress with him also relaxed their bowstrings.

“The facts will be clarified in court. But the order restricting access to the research facility still stands.”

“Then how about letting us know where Albrecht is, so we don’t wind up tearing through every other research facility?”

“… Fine, I shall send word.”

Surprisingly, Günter withdrew smoothly.

Erich was briefly reminded of his days before regression, when he’d always doubted Günter’s intentions.

‘He serves the Watch, yet never truly acts as I wish.’

Günter, too, wasn’t a fool. It wasn’t that he defied Erich’s intentions at every turn.

Rather, whenever a situation was open to interpretation, his opinion always clashed sharply with Erich’s.

Today was just another extension of that pattern.

Right now, though, Erich had overwhelming justification, so Günter couldn’t act rashly.

‘A Fortress Commander is essentially a sovereign warlord. Their word is law, so in the worst-case scenario, we’ll have to be ready for an armed confrontation.’

Soon Günter’s forces withdrew.

Freed from the encirclement, Erich went to see Ceres, but she was already thoroughly engrossed in the research facility.

She said she would need a few more days to uncover the secrets here, and Erich did not want to miss the key behind how they were creating this power.

Thus, the first encampment of Erich’s squad was established here, at the research facility.

Building makeshift fences and fortifying the area, Erich’s squad now stationed themselves here.

Thus began the uneasy coexistence of Erich’s squad and Günter’s 5th Fortress.

*

During their stay at the research facility, Ceres remained visibly excited.

She made a face of distaste at handling the barbarians, who seemed as if they were still alive.

Fortunately, as they truly weren’t ‘alive’, she grudgingly accepted that much.

It was a sort of suspended animation, apparently. Any moans coming from their mouths were purely reflexive; they had no consciousness, nor could they feel pain.

Therefore, no one raised objection to Ceres conducting research on them. In addition, Erich handed her the two cores he’d gathered, asking her to refine them.

She was surprised, asking how these could possibly be refined for human use, but as she realized the logic behind Erich’s reasoning, she happily accepted.

‘Well, I suggested it because it’s possible, after all.’

Before his regression, Erich had already used cores as a source of aura energy.

If it became something mages of the future could do, then surely even mages now could do so.

As those processes continued, Erich trained with Mikhail.

― Kaaaang!

Under the moonlight, Erich’s blade gleamed as it caught the light.

These days, he had been sparring with Mikhail—his skills, after several battles, gradually catching up to what they once were.

Even Mikhail’s lips would sometimes curl into a smile during their fights.

― Kwaaang!

At Mikhail’s counter, Erich slipped back. Then Mikhail spoke:

“You’ve definitely become more useful than before.”

“It’s all thanks to having such a brilliant master, isn’t it?”

“But there’s something bothering me. By now, you should have long since awakened your ability.”

The power that comes only when a Swordmaster reaches the pinnacle.

The power Mikhail referred to was the ability to unleash sword strikes without even wielding a sword himself.

Of course, Erich wasn’t ignorant of such powers. In fact, if he wanted to, he could already use such ‘powers’—but there was one problem.

Mikhail gauged Erich’s reaction and continued.

“… Could it be you have already awakened your ability?”

“Yes. But it’s not exactly a power I can make much use of.”

“Let’s see, then.”

Erich raised his hand into the air. Aura surged, forming a blurry shape above it.

A bead of sweat dripped down Erich’s temple. After a moment, a small, pointed spike appeared above his palm.

― Whik!

Erich hurled it quickly. Mikhail watched the spike embed in a tree and narrowed his eyes.

“… A strange power, like yourself.”

“At my current level, I see no way to use it properly.”

Mikhail slowly nodded. Yet even as he did, his eyes remained fixed on the spike, still embedded and not fading away.

Normally, the power a Swordmaster produces is transient. Being formed from aura, it usually vanishes soon after use.

But the residue left behind by Erich was not like that.

“It’s an impressive ability, but if it costs enormous energy just to produce something like that, it’s pointless. Still, there’s some advice I can give you.”

“What is it?”

“Your ability is a window into your own heart. A Swordmaster’s power is a projection of the swordsman. For example, my power is…”

― Kwagagagak!

An invisible slash struck the ground beside Erich. The deeply gouged earth split sharply. Mikhail continued:

“Originally, it wasn’t a sword strike. At first, I used it to block attacks, though it consumed a lot of aura. But then…”

“Sir Mikhail, you forged it into a slashing attack, then.”

“Exactly. Your power defies conventional sense, but if you ponder it more, you might find it’s not so useless after all.”

Erich hung his head, gripping his sword. Many thoughts flickered past.

‘One projects oneself as a swordsman.’

He’d heard this advice from Mikhail before.

‘When I first learned my power, I was terribly disappointed.’

A question he’d pondered for a long time: what does it mean to project yourself?

The living sword, Mikhail—his essence is his blade.

But what, then, should Erich himself become? He had no answer to that question, not before regression, not now.

Mikhail’s lips curled again.

“Well, you’re a genius, aren’t you? Surely you can live up to my expectations.”

Erich blinked quietly. Every time he heard the word ‘genius’ from Mikhail, it felt strange.

He thought it a word unsuited to himself, who’d overcome his lack of talent with pure grit and intuition.

But, considering that no one knew his secret of regression, it was only natural for others to mistake him for a genius now.

‘…’

Soon after, however, Erich smiled.

‘It’ll work out somehow.’

If the miracle of his regression could happen, then who was to say another miracle wouldn’t too?

Erich walked back to camp with Mikhail. The shadows of teacher and disciple stretched long over the snowy field, cast by the moonlight.

————-= Clacky’s Corner ————-=

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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