Chapter 138

Ten full days had passed since Hastings and Renania’s party left the Great Jungle and headed for Valaris. After burying the prisoners in the Southern Desert, the group hastened their steps and arrived at the Valaris territory.

“Uh…! U-uh…! Th-that…! That’s…! It’s Valaris’s flag!”

“What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Why would Valaris’s flag be visible out there? We didn’t even hear news that they were returning— ack! I-it’s real!”

The brilliant flag proving Valaris fluttered in the wind, and the soldiers on duty atop the walls widened their eyes in shock. After a brief commotion on the walls of Valaris, the group led by Renania passed through the gates amid a grand welcome from the Valaris territorial forces.

Immediately after passing through the gate, Renania turned her horse for a moment, sought out Hastings, and bade him farewell.

“Phew… we’ve finally arrived. Thanks to Your Highness and the Viscount, we were able to arrive safely without any trouble. Thank you. You really worked hard.”

“No. I merely did what I was supposed to do. You, Young Lady, have also endured much hardship.”

“Yes. Then… I suppose we should keep our farewell brief. I’ve heard news that Father is coming to see me immediately. Don’t worry about the children. Since this too is fate, I will take responsibility for them and raise them as pages of our family.”

Renania stepped forward first and readily extended her goodwill. Hastings glanced at the children behind her and did not refuse the offer.

“Thank you for taking such care. I felt uneasy about simply leaving them at an orphanage… this is a good outcome for the children as well. Please take good care of them.”

“Shouldn’t you at least say goodbye to the children one last time? It seemed you’d grown rather attached to them….”

“Attached, you say… well, since you’ve suggested it, I’ll excuse myself for a moment.”

Though his words said otherwise, his actions differed. Hastings turned his gaze and headed toward the children.

Unable to understand the conversation between Renania and Hastings conducted in the imperial language, the children had huddled together behind Hastings, staring only at his back. Their eyes were filled with worry and anxiety.

‘They must be very afraid.’

How could they not be, having been thrown into a world filled only with an imperial tongue they could not possibly understand? Since becoming a shadow, Hastings rarely let his emotions show on his face, yet now he wore a rare warm expression as he approached the children and lowered himself to their eye level.

“…We’ve arrived. From now on, this is the place where you’ll live. Living in a foreign land without parents and without understanding the language won’t be easy. Still, since you were the ones who made such a great decision yourselves, you’ll manage well. Follow that person over there. That person will take you in personally.”

“What about you, mister…?”

“My help ends here. I have something I must do.”

Knowing that he should not grow any more attached to them, Hastings spoke firmly. Perhaps understanding his meaning, the eldest of the three children stepped forward and replied bravely.

“Thank you, mister. Thank you for everything up to now.”

“There’s no need to thank me so much.”

In response, the child simply smiled bashfully instead of replying. At that warm smile, Hastings found himself at a loss for words. He returned an awkward smile, bade the children a final farewell, and then stood once more before Renania.

“Then I’ll be on my way.”

“Yes. I wish the Viscount good fortune in battle.”

“Thank you. May you remain well until we meet again, Young Lady.”

Srrk—

That was the end of it. Leaving his final farewell with Renania, Hastings hid his body within the shadows cast over the back alleys of Valaris and vanished in an instant.

‘Somewhere here… there are traces of Marcellus’s… of my teacher. If my lord thought so, then something must surely remain. I cannot be away from my lord’s side for long. I will complete His Majesty’s command swiftly and return.’

As if waiting for this, several suspicious shadows rippled and followed after him.

“One suspicious fellow mixed in among the returning Valaris soldiers… and as if his objective had been here from the beginning, he stepped straight into the back alleys. Chase him. He’s suspicious.”

“Yes!”

In the distant past, when humans could not yet wield mana, there existed beings in the Southern Desert known as demons.

Assassins—murder weapons that once decided the outcome of wars in place of knights. The assassins, thought to have quietly disappeared ever since humans began to use mana, had begun moving once more. Following behind Hastings, who deliberately let his presence leak.

‘Were there such masters even in the south…? There’s definitely something here. My lord’s judgment was correct.’

Sensing those presences, Hastings silently let his eyes gleam in the darkness.

The dark back alleys of Valaris. The Shadow Raven began his pursuit, chasing after the will left behind by his teacher.

To survive and return from that Great Jungle, from which almost no one who entered on their own feet ever came back alive!

The fact that Renania Valaris, the next head of Valaris, had returned alive from the Great Jungle caused an enormous stir throughout the empire. Starting with the Valaris territory, the entire empire became abuzz.

“It’s truly fortunate. To be honest, when I heard the young lady was headed for that cursed land, I never even dreamed she’d come back alive. To think she really did return safely….”

“Well, it wasn’t just you who thought that way. Everyone was worried. The Great Jungle isn’t called cursed land for nothing. I heard it’s not just folk like us either— even the high and mighty are in an uproar over this.”

“Really?”

“Of course. When has the Great Jungle ever permitted human entry? And that’s not all. I heard the forces Tindal dispatched all died there. Only Valaris’s forces returned almost completely intact. That’s why it’s such a mess!”

“They may not have sent many, but Tindal wouldn’t have dispatched just any rabble… how did that happen?”

“Oh, come on. That’s exactly why there’s such an uproar, I’m telling you. This is a rumor you can’t just go around spreading… but since it’s you, I’ll tell you. Be quiet and listen carefully.”

“W-what is it? Why the suspense? Is it some big news? What, is there a dragon in the Great Jungle or something?”

“A dragon? There is one. Just not the one you’re thinking of.”

“Huh?”

The man who had been checking his surroundings lowered his voice and whispered into the other man’s ear.

“In that Great Jungle… there’s a rumor that the White Dragon— that His Highness the Fifth Prince is alive and well.”

“Gasp…! Th-the White Dragon?!”

“Hey, shh! What are you doing? Do you want trouble, shouting like that? I said be quiet!”

“Th-then… that news… is it true?”

“Hey now… I said it’s just a rumor. But it’s not something completely unbelievable either. You know Dilly, the butcher in the market, right?”

“Of course I know Dilly. I even bought meat there yesterday.”

“Well, Dilly’s eldest son is a private soldier of Valaris, you know.”

The man listening replied as if he already knew.

“Yeah, I know that. His name’s Rodi, right? Rodi. I’ve seen that kid since he was running around knife-fighting in his underwear at the marketplace. Even now, whenever Rodi passes by my shop, he always greets me.”

“Well, of course. You’ve made your living here for years— it’d be strange if you didn’t know Dilly’s butcher shop.”

“But why Rodi? Did he go to the Great Jungle this time or something?”

“No, not that.”

“Then why bring up Rodi?”

“Rodi heard it from, you know… someone who knows someone— a senior of his who’s an expert— who went this time.”

“Come on, ‘someone who knows someone’ is a stretch… go one more step and I’ll be saying I know His Highness the Fifth Prince myself.”

“What did you say?”

“What! Am I wrong? Don’t flap your gums with unverified nonsense and scare people. Just sell your fruit. Today you’ve got nothing but flies, not customers.”

“Tch, honestly… you’ve lived your whole life being fooled, haven’t you….”

With that rebuke, the quiet listener ended the two men’s conversation. Thanks to that, the man would never learn that the claim of knowing Yuwon through three intermediaries was not a lie after all.

The rumor that began in Valaris’s marketplace spread faster than any before it, crossing the central regions and reaching even the far northern reaches of the southern empire.

“To think His Highness is alive… my waiting was not in vain. Just hearing news of His Highness makes my heart race so— today I realize once more that the object of my loyalty can only be Aphahiel.”

Whether the rumors were true or not did not matter. They stirred the entire empire, prompting the young heirs of noble families— who had lost their hearts to Yuwon at the Houkijisu Tournament— to steel their resolve once again.

News that the Fifth Prince, Yurion Aphahiel, was alive!

The nobles of Aphahiel, who had lost their center and scattered in all directions, gathered their hearts once more over that flimsy rumor, like grasping at straw. Like words with no legs, the news shook the entire empire and crossed borders into foreign lands.

In those foreign lands, the first to receive this news was the Crown Prince, who had long since gone into hiding when chaos erupted in the empire.

“I hear rumors that Yurion… that brat is alive.”

“Could it not just be false rumors…? For something like this to surface now….”

“No. That can’t be. He must be alive.”

“Yes? Why do you think so…?”

“This very rumor was likely spread by Yurion himself. For news of someone who’s hidden away without a trace to suddenly surface— it has to be that way.”

“What you mean, Your Highness, is perhaps….”

“That’s right. He’s preparing to return. I’m only just barely settling into my own position, so I didn’t expect it to be this fast… but it’s certain. This news isn’t a coincidence. It’s inevitability and design. The Yurion I know is that kind of man.”

It wasn’t only the Crown Prince. Princes hiding across the empire while leading their own followers pricked up their ears at news of Yuwon.

“Yurion… stubborn bastard. So he was alive.”

The Second Prince as well.

“…So he really was alive.”

And the Fourth Prince too. The princes reacted to the news surrounding the Fifth Prince, Yurion. Just a single floating rumor that Yurion Aphahiel was alive shook the entire empire.

There was no way that news would not reach Gion’s ears, and Gion— who had seized the throne in Aphahiel’s Great Hall— reacted sensitively to it as well.

“Yurion Aphahiel… truly worthy of being the next emperor chosen by the late emperor. I showed no greed and treated the people kindly, yet what is it about that name…? If kindness will not do….”

Muttering to himself in frustration, Gion curved a chilling smile at the corner of his lips.

“…Then it will be fear and power.”

In truth, this method suited Gion far better. Spurred on by Yuwon’s emergence, Gion prepared to cast off the clothes that had never truly fit him.

“I will not simply hand over the throne. If you want it, come and take it. Wraith of Aphahiel. Fifth Prince.”

At the same time, far away in the Great Jungle, Yuwon picked at his itching ear and spoke.

“Who’s badmouthing me…? Of the ones most likely to curse me right now, the most vicious one is standing right in front of me… hmm… who could it be? It wouldn’t be you. Then who?”

The one Yuwon addressed— no, the being— answered by snorting hot breath through its nose.

“I didn’t ask expecting an answer, so don’t overthink it.”

With a calm smile, Yuwon continued his question toward the one standing before him.

“So, what brings you here? Mukwiam.”

Mukwiam, the Orc Great Chieftain who led the extraordinary orc horde of the Great Jungle, stood before Yuwon.

Within and beyond the Great Jungle, the name Yurion once again began to be spoken as the center of all events.

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