Kwaeinsokhaengdan
"Your face is awfully smooth. Just how many necks did you wring to wipe out every last wrinkle? Half the anti-aging elixirs produced in the Empire must have gone down your throat."
Leon spat out whatever came to mind. Since he couldn't fight, he had to work his tongue instead.
He had known which organization they belonged to — and the identity of the woman in the fox mask — from the moment the attack began.
The organization's name was Sahyang. A massive outfit that ranked among the top of the Empire's underworld.
Their roots were as an assassin guild. These days they dabbled in every profitable crime under the sun, but their main business remained assassination contracts.
Sahyang had seven executives known as the Seven Seats, and that woman was one of them.
Her moniker was Gwiho — roughly "Ghost Fox." Leon had simply filed her away as "old fox."
Her widely known traits included wearing a fox mask and being an old monster who had been active in the underworld for over forty years.
"If youth means that much to you, train hard and raise your realm. Oh — too old for that kind of passion? Joints ache the moment you try to move with any real vigor? Sure, it's easier and nicer to just keep buying medicine with money earned killing people the way you have for sixty years. The older you get, the harder change becomes."
"……"
So Leon's personal attacks weren't entirely without effect. She looked to be in her early twenties, but the odds were high she was well past sixty.
There was a reason Gwiho had put her discarded mask back on to hide her expression.
"……Hoho. Young master doesn't want to live a long life, does he? Think you'll never see me again once you get through today?"
Her fingertips kept twitching. She wanted nothing more than to rip Leon's mouth apart right then and there, but she couldn't.
Imperial forces would come swarming like a pack of dogs any moment. Once they formed a perimeter, even she wouldn't escape this place unscathed.
Leon wasn't some weakling she could kill in a few seconds. Facing him would drag things out far longer than she could afford.
Leon, for his part, couldn't rashly charge someone who was clearly a cut above him. That would be a bit dangerous.
And so a strange standoff took shape, the two of them trading nothing but venom.
That little punk.
Gwiho suppressed the murderous rage boiling inside her.
She'd only wanted a quick word with the third son of the Crusif family, who'd been making waves lately.
Who knew he'd turn out to be a complete mongrel with zero dignity or manners.
And watching him fight, he looked nothing like a young master from a prestigious house.
His overall assassination technique was highly skilled, and "brutal" was the right word for his combat style. He also seemed to have plenty of real combat experience from messy brawls like the one just now.
The killers she'd brought to infiltrate Dragon Heart Palace might have been expendable, but Gwiho had personally verified their skills.
And he took dozens of their ambushes without spilling a single drop of blood?
There was definitely something to this guy. The people who'd recently made contact hadn't put him on the watch list for nothing.
Gwiho glanced at the watch on her wrist and spoke.
"Young master, I have a feeling we'll be seeing each other again real soon. Watch yourself on those dark roads, hmm? Let's see if you can still run that mouth of yours so freely then."
"Sure. See you later, old fox, toothless fox, granny fox……"
"You just don't know when to stop!"
Gwiho's arm traced a short arc.
Whoosh— Bang!
Leon leapt sideways, dodging the black fireball that came flying at him. The floor where it landed melted into black sludge.
Countless blue thread-lines appeared around Gwiho's body the very next instant.
CRACKLE-CRACKLE-CRACKLE!
High-voltage lightning streams spread out, claiming the space around her.
Gwiho swiftly swept one hand. A circular wave of black mana burst outward and snuffed out the lightning streams.
"Tch."
Aria, who had somehow drawn up beside Leon, clicked her tongue softly.
"My, and what's this now?"
Gwiho's eyes lit up as she looked at Aria.
The next moment.
RUMBLE!
A tremor ran through the entirety of Dragon Heart Palace. It was a vibration like a barrier that had been holding something together had shattered.
"Until next time, young master. And goodbye to the pretty friend there too."
Gwiho tossed out a few last words as if this were truly the end.
Shrrrk!
At the same time, her form melted away like a shadow and vanished.
"……"
"……"
Leon and Aria looked at each other.
Leon smacked his lips and ventured a guess.
"The formation blocking teleportation magic is down?"
"Seems so."
Aria replied.
Then.
ZZZZZT—!
The mana in the hall surged violently. From empty air, the forms of knights in full plate armor burst forth in every direction.
The imperial crest was engraved on their breastplates. The moment the interference formation fell, the Imperial Knight Order had arrived.
"Defensive positions!"
"Form ranks!"
Eyes wide, they scrambled into combat stance the instant their feet hit the ground. Sword qi and Sword Thread erupted in droves along the blades they drew.
"Prepare for an ambush!"
"Don't let your guard down!"
"Damn it! The heart was stolen!"
"Good job, real good……"
Leon stood with his arms crossed, watching them blankly, then suddenly bellowed.
"Stop the nonsense and clean this mess up already!!"
The next morning.
"The ten students led by Leon Crusif, receive the will of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor."
The Emperor's messenger arrived at the Asonia household.
"……"
Leon followed the others in awkwardly dropping to one knee and dipping his head slightly.
Thump, thump.
"?"
Esabel jabbed Leon's side with her elbow.
Leon mouthed at her.
What?
You're supposed to go to the front.
Leon rounded his mouth in an O, nodded, and shifted positions.
The messenger, lips moving, continued.
"His Imperial Majesty has expressed no small regret regarding this incident……"
Leon fixed his gaze on the pattern of the floor tiles and listened.
Roughly: this attack on Dragon Heart Palace happened because the Imperial Family fell short, we're sorry, we'll compensate for the damages incurred, and so on.
"……and so, first of all, everyone will be issued an elixir corresponding to the one unused day at Dragon Heart Palace. Furthermore, Young Master Leon Crusif, who contributed greatly to the elimination of the perpetrators, will receive a premium-grade item among them."
The messenger rolled up the scroll he'd been holding. An attendant behind him approached carrying a large box.
— Master, please stand up.
Aria's mana message stabbed into Leon's mind.
"……?!"
Leon's shoulders jerked as he had been nodding off. He reflexively shot to his feet.
"……"
"……"
Leon's eyes met those of the messenger holding the box dead-on.
……Why isn't this bastard giving it to me?
Still half-asleep, Leon stared him down in silence. An awkward quiet passed.
— Sit back down, you idiot!
Esabel's scolding slammed into him as a telepathic message. Only then did Leon come to his senses.
"Ah, thank you. I'll gladly accept it."
Leon dropped to his knees with a thud and held out both hands.
The messenger maintained as composed an expression as he could manage while handing over the box.
"……That is all."
The messenger and attendant gave a short bow and exited. Their footsteps somehow seemed hurried.
Without so much as a glance after them, Leon set the box on the table with a heavy thud.
"Shall we take a look at His Majesty's generosity? Gather round, kids."
He rubbed his palms together eagerly and hummed with delight.
"Opening for inspection. Ta-da-ran, ta-da-ran, ta-dan, boom-cha-cha, boom-cha……"
The students' gazes converged.
Leon gripped the bottom of the box, wrapped in luxurious ornamentation, and opened it.
The moment the lid lifted, an elegant fragrance wafted up.
"Oh."
"This is…"
Short exclamations burst out here and there.
Glass bottles, wooden cases, ampules and the like were packaged like a holiday gift set of premium beef.
Above each different type of spirit medicine, the students' names were engraved on golden nameplates.
"Th-this is a Golden Spirit Pill!"
"The Breath of Meldes…"
They had been issued spirit medicines suited to each person, taking into account the martial arts, magic, and constitutions the students practiced.
"Oh…… they put some thought into this."
Leon too picked up the wooden case under his own name and opened the lid.
Click—.
A pill emerged, its color a mysterious blend of sky blue and ash white.
Leon read the enclosed instruction sheet.
◈ Permanently enhances reflexes, dynamic vision, and perception speed
◈ Boosts thinking speed and agility
◈ Especially effective for martial artists focused on speed training
"Kwaeinsokhaengdan. So it means recognizing swiftly and acting swiftly."
According to the description, it dramatically enhanced reflexes, dynamic vision, thinking speed, agility, and the like, making it effective for martial artists who focused their training on speed.
Apparently the Imperial Family had somehow found out Leon had recently been training in swift-sword techniques and sent this accordingly.
"There's a spirit medicine with effects like this? Goren would foam at the mouth if he saw it."
Special elixirs that produced unique effects like this were a hundred, a thousand times better than mediocre ones that merely boosted or purified energy. It didn't even compare to the Tear of Melshakra he'd given Goren.
"Something like this needs to be taken right away."
Lest anyone steal it, Leon headed straight for the dormitory to consume it.
"……"
Aria quietly trailed after him.