Real Combat
“…he did. And so Father Leonard said this. …”
After proudly laying out Leonard’s skill, Robin’s face flushed as he launched into an enthusiastic recounting of the man’s achievements. The way he rattled them off without a single stumble made him look every bit the hardcore fan. Jun had known Robin respected Leonard, but he’d never imagined it ran this deep.
“And then?”
It was a bit of a mood-breaker, but Jun had been curious about Leonard’s true identity for a long time, so instead of stopping him he played along. That only got Robin more fired up, and he spilled even more. Thanks to that, Jun learned Leonard had been a ranker in the Demon King’s Castle labyrinth—and not just any ranker, but one racing at the very front of the pack.
“The more I think about it, the more of a shame it is. If Father had kept working as a ranker all this time, he surely would have reached the deepest depths of the labyrinth by now.”
“Why did Father retire, then? His body seems perfectly fine, so it doesn’t look like it was for health reasons.”
“I don’t really know. One day he simply vanished along with the party members he’d been working with, and then just as suddenly he showed up here in Primuni—holding the infant Leon in his arms.”
Robin glanced carefully at Jun before continuing.
“Strangely enough, every time he disappeared or reappeared, something major always happened in the empire. Do you know what those events were?”
Robin shot him a look that clearly said, Go on, ask me. The story was fascinating, but Jun didn’t particularly want to ask. There were things in this world better left unknown, and he had a feeling whatever came next fell squarely into that category. If he heard it, it would definitely become a hassle. Jun knew that much by instinct.
Whii-whii whii~
Jun pretended not to care, staring up at empty sky while blowing a whistle he couldn’t actually whistle. Fortuna joined in with her own whistling, adding accompaniment. The hollow, empty wind sounds made the two of them look at each other and resolve to seriously practice whistling someday.
Anyway, despite their deliberate efforts to steer clear of the topic, Robin paid no mind and opened his mouth.
“Before he disappeared, the previous emperor passed away suddenly. After he vanished, a few days later the new emperor ascended the throne, a Saintess was appointed, and the youngest-ever vice-dean took office at the Imperial Academy—the whole empire was in an uproar. Then five years later, just days before he reappeared, the Saintess died suddenly. There were rumors at the time that the Saintess had been pregnant, but her sudden death made those rumors die out just as quickly.”
“Haa~. Just spit it out already. You’re saying that among Father’s party members were the new emperor and the Saintess, and that Leon is their child.”
Jun said it with an irritated expression, as if asking why he was beating around the bush. Robin’s face took on a sour look at the completely unexpected reaction.
“…You’re not surprised.”
“Father casually mentioned it to Fortuna. Well, I just thought he had some imperial blood, not that he was a direct imperial heir and the Saintess’s son on top of that.”
Jun shook his head as he thought of Leon. He was worried that Leon’s life was going to be even more grueling and difficult than he’d imagined. But that was as far as Jun’s thoughts went. As a friend who’d lived like family for ten years, he was concerned—but he had zero desire to get involved himself. Well, he already felt a little entangled somehow.
“So why are you suddenly telling me this? There must be a reason you’re bringing it up.”
From what he’d seen living with him, Robin sometimes tossed out dad jokes, but basically he was the type who only said what was necessary. The fact that he’d forced the topic even after Jun made it clear he didn’t want to hear it meant there had to be a solid reason.
“The current emperor married a marquis’s daughter right upon ascending the throne and had a son—the First Prince. It’s been ten months since the First Prince’s coming-of-age ceremony. And yet he still hasn’t been formally appointed crown prince. Normally, as long as there’s nothing wrong with the First Prince, the custom is to appoint him crown prince the moment he comes of age.”
“…So he’s getting desperate. And he must have been looking for the reason why.”
“I figure ten months is plenty of time to find that reason. What do you think?”
“I hate to admit it… but I agree.”
A sudden tightness gripped Jun’s chest. He tilted his head back and gazed up at the blue sky. Staring blankly at the clouds drifting peacefully by, he spoke again after a moment.
“The village is going to get a lot noisier from now on.”
“They won’t be able to act openly. Primuni Village is under Lemumni’s jurisdiction.”
The labyrinth city of Lemumni and its subordinate villages were located within the empire, but they were autonomous cities that had formally received self-governing rights from the emperor. It was practically the headquarters of the Church, and packed with skilled adventurers—even the emperor couldn’t casually mess with the labyrinth city and its villages. That was probably why Leonard had settled here with Leon. Anyway, there was no chance of the village being wiped out overnight without a trace. Probably.
He flinched.
Wait a second—am I in serious danger right now?
Obviously Leon’s enemies would try to assassinate him. Jun didn’t know the details of assassination, but from various knowledge of his past life he knew that assassins waited for the perfect timing to strike from around their target. So how would the assassins infiltrate Leon’s surroundings? Disguise themselves as travelers wandering the world or immigrants looking to settle in the village and hang around him? Jun thought the odds of that were extremely low. Primuni Village was a rural village with almost no outside influx. Showing up with no connections would only raise suspicion. So the assassins would definitely try to disguise themselves as existing villagers and stick close to Leon. And the important part was that the villager the assassins would choose to impersonate was, with very high probability…
Me.
Living outside the village meant little contact with people, so low chance of the disguise being exposed. Close to the target meant he could naturally approach near the target. Just looking at those two points alone, Jun was the perfect candidate for the assassins to impersonate. His small build and appearance could be covered with abilities easily enough. Therefore, the assassins would come looking for him first before going after Leon. There couldn’t be two identical people in this world, after all. Once his thoughts reached that point, Jun couldn’t help but ask.
“Did you have me stay in the cabin to deliberately focus the assassins’ attention on me?”
“What! You’re saying Uncle’s using Jun as bait? Is that true, Uncle!”
Jun and Fortuna both glared sharply at Robin. Whether Robin had that intention or not was still unclear, but the fact that Jun’s chances of becoming an assassin target had risen was real—so even if he hadn’t meant it that way, the looks they gave him couldn’t be friendly. Under those gazes, Robin immediately hung his head as if he had no excuse.
“You probably won’t believe me, but I had you stay here purely because I sincerely wanted to teach you. Both I and Father only recently realized how high the chance was that you’d become an assassin target.”
“And you’re saying that now!”
“I’ll believe you.”
“Jun! How can you believe that!”
Jun calmed the agitated Fortuna and pointed a finger at the cabin. His finger was aimed precisely at Heni’s room.
“If Uncle Robin had that kind of intention, he would have refused from the start or had me stay somewhere else. Heni’s here, after all.”
“Ah.”
Robin, who doted so extremely on his daughter, would never have let Jun—who had a high chance of becoming an assassin target—stay near Heni. If he stayed nearby, they’d both get eliminated together, after all. Fortuna nodded as if convinced. But the look she gave Robin was still sharp. Well, Jun felt the same way.
“Uncle Robin, from the looks of it you’re cooperating with Father, right?”
“Yeah. I owe him a huge debt from the old days.”
“Are you planning to keep helping him? Your life will be in danger. Not just yours—Heni’s too.”
As long as he wasn’t crown prince—no, even if he became crown prince—the First Prince would keep trying to kill Leon, who could shake his position. Leonard would protect Leon from those claws, and helping him meant putting your life halfway on the line. Not just your own, but everything around you as well.
“…”
Robin said nothing, his face twisted in anguish. Jun stared at that face for a long moment, then turned and started walking toward the cabin.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“I don’t want to get caught up in some big shots’ power struggle and lose my life for nothing. First I’ll go back to the church and ask Father to send me to another church. If he refuses, I’ll become Lawrence’s adopted son if I have to and leave this village.”
Jun had absolutely no reason to risk his life helping them the way Robin did. There were still plenty of techniques left to learn from Robin, but none of them were more precious than his life.
“Wait, just wait a minute.”
“…Fine.”
At Robin’s stop, Jun obediently halted. It wasn’t because he’d changed his mind.
Boom! Boom!
As if timed perfectly, from far away, he was approaching.