This Too Is My Mission
The Horde subjugation concluded successfully, with minimal losses.
A few colonies had pulled out those black pills, creating some unexpected complications—but Lyman had already wiped out the main force of orc colonies beforehand. With the enemy's strength so thoroughly gutted, Elaim's casualties were bound to stay low.
Lyman decided to accompany Leon to the capital. He claimed he had business there anyway, and figured he might as well travel with his younger brother while he was at it.
Leon suspected the real reason was to protect him—or mediate—from whatever schemes Raul was cooking up.
Either way, Lyman stayed in Elaim until the break arrived.
During that stretch he visited Elprime several times as a guest lecturer, and students and instructors alike adored him.
And just like that, the days until the closing ceremony flew by.
It was the dead of night, a fingernail moon hanging in the sky.
In the empty lot behind the inn, where moonlight settled gently over the ground, a man stood alone.
"······."
He remained perfectly still, not so much as a tremor. Both hands gripped a sword held upright, his entire body loose and relaxed.
At a glance it looked like nothing more than a man standing quietly with a blade—something anyone could mimic.
But there was a beauty to his stance that felt like a master's work of art. Looking at him was like gazing at a sculpture carved from the very concept of perfection: refined, precise, elegant.
Even a complete novice who knew nothing of the sword would have gasped in admiration at the sight.
"······."
Lyman fixed his gaze on the tip of the blade. His eyes and the sword were as still as a quiet lake. In that moment, his mind and the weapon had become one.
Then, unbidden, Leon's eyes rose in his thoughts.
A flinch—
The tip of the sword trembled for an instant. A small ripple broke across the lake.
"······Damn."
Lyman muttered the single word and lowered his blade.
"Still a long way to go."
His cultivation was still lacking, he murmured to himself.
What surfaced next were thoughts of his own blood—the very thing that had disrupted his training.
When Lyman first met Leon again, he had to work hard not to show how stunned he was.
Honestly, the boy had changed so much he nearly failed to recognize him. He could have believed an entirely different person was wearing Leon's skin.
It wasn't just the outward shift in personality, or the astonishing heights his martial prowess had reached.
It was the eyes.
Those eyes held a bottomless madness. Cruelty and savagery lived in them.
Even Lyman—who had wandered the continent and met countless people—found the intensity of it unsettling.
The thick, cloying scent of blood that clung faintly to him was no less striking. It was the kind of blood-reek that only came from killing as casually as breathing, from ending at least hundreds of lives.
Lyman couldn't easily settle the shock and unease.
Leon… what in the world turned you into this?
He had no idea what Leon had gone through, or what had driven the change. Even their parents, when he contacted them, had no answers.
······Complicated.
Did that mean Leon had become a villain?
Lyman didn't think so.
More precisely—he hoped not.
At the very least, he saw no wicked ambition that would harm the world. He saw none of the face of an unforgivable monster.
Looking at the people around him and the things he had done, one could guess as much. He wouldn't have killed the innocent.
Of course, Lyman wasn't certain.
He never presumed to see through everything. He held not a shred of that kind of arrogance.
Leon might well have committed terrible acts. He might simply have grown so used to hiding them that nothing had come to light yet.
And even if not now, there was no telling how he might fall later. Nothing was more dangerous than growing accustomed to killing.
So—
This too is my mission.
Lyman made a firm resolution.
He would not stand by and let Leon walk a path of no return.
He would not watch the tip of that sword point somewhere it should never go.
If he had strayed, then set him right.
If he had twisted, then turn him back.
No matter what anyone said, Leon was his younger brother.
Late morning.
"You've all worked hard this semester."
With Cheren's final words, the closing ceremony that had stretched since morning came to an end.
The building filled with the sound of students exchanging farewells as they left—everyone heading home to their hometowns and family estates for the long summer break.
And so the classroom emptied.
"······."
Leon sat alone, staring blankly into space.
A short while later, Cheren found him.
"Leon. You said your bags were packed. Follow me."
"Yes, ma'am."
Most of his things were already in his subspace pouch, so there was hardly anything left to gather. He fell in behind her.
Click, click, click—!
Cheren's heels echoed down the corridor.
Halfway across the hall—
"One spar before we leave?"
—they picked up Esabel from Class B, brimming with energy as always.
"Leon, where were you yesterday again······?"
—and collected a sulking Celia from Class G.
When they reached the central staircase, five students from the Magic Department were already waiting.
"Good morning, Master."
Aria stepped close and whispered to Leon.
"Hehe. We're finally setting out."
Liana beamed, clearly in high spirits.
These were the top-ranked students of both the Martial Arts and Magic Departments—the group heading to the capital for a study tour over the break. Cheren was the instructor in charge of the party.
She swept a glance over the assembled group and spoke.
"Everyone's here. We leave now."
There were only eight students present, but that was the full count. Billy and Carotin had family business to attend to first and would join a little later.
In truth, as long as they kept to the schedule, it hardly mattered whether someone was at their estate, in the capital, or in some other city. This wasn't a trip of locking people in a room and forcing them to train. The atmosphere was free. The break was long, and the itinerary hadn't been packed tight.
The ones here simply wanted to head straight to the capital, so they'd gathered from the day of the closing ceremony. Some of them already had family homes there, for that matter.
The party left the main building and made for the front gate.
"Instructor, are we traveling in those?"
"We are. Board whichever you like."
Near the gate, four splendid four-wheeled carriages stood waiting. The two in front were for the students; the two behind, for attendants and maids.
Leon climbed into the lead carriage without much thought and took the innermost window seat.
Crack—! Clatter-crash!
A sudden commotion erupted. The carriage rocked, and mana burst free.
"······?"
Leon stared in blank disbelief at Aria and Celia tangled together. Both of them were shoving their way toward the seat beside him.
Aria had gotten closer.
"I was faster. Kindly yield."
"Hey, using Blink is cheating!"
"My, how is a mage using magic cheating?"
"······How old are you two, fighting over a seat?"
"······Ugh."
Esabel, watching the scene, let out a small sigh and rubbed her forehead as if a headache were coming on.
"Leon, you sit in the middle."
"Huh? Why?"
"Just sit."
"······."
When Esabel furrowed her pretty brow, Leon tilted his head but shifted over anyway.
"······."
"Tsk."
Only then did Aria and Celia quiet down, settling on either side of him.
"Haa. Do I have to watch this all break?"
"Is it over···?"
"Looks like you've all got energy to spare."
Esabel, Liana, and Cheren climbed in after them.
And then—
"Move out!"
The carriages began to roll, climbing the road toward the warp gate.
Carriages, horses, people, carts······. The road was a sea of humanity. Most of those leaving Elprime used the warp gates, after all.
It was as congested as a holiday highway.
But that had nothing to do with Leon's party.
Rumble—!
As their carriages drew near, the road split left and right. Everyone scrambled to clear the way.
What caught every eye was the dazzlingly lavish, high-class carriages—and the ducal and imperial crests emblazoned on them.
"We're traveling in comfort this year."
Cheren murmured as she looked out the window. The sight felt unfamiliar to her.
Even considerable clout rarely produced a scene like this. Elprime was packed with the scions of renowned noble houses. Only a ducal house or the imperial family could clear a path like this on closing day.
"Indeed."
Liana drew a confident smile.
"Who would dare block this procession's path?"
"—Halt for a moment!"
Rrrumble······.
The carriages immediately began to slow and came to a stop.
"??"
A question mark practically floated over Liana's head.
"Ah, looks like he's here."
Leon muttered as if it were nothing of note.
"Brother! Climb aboard!"
He stuck his head out the window and called.
Clank— clank—
Bang!
The carriage door swung open, and a long-haired man in battered armor stepped inside.
"Oh, quite the gathering of lovely ladies."
Lyman smiled brightly and greeted them with easy charm.
"A pleasure. Familiar faces, all of you. I'll be traveling with my younger brother this time, so I hope you'll forgive the brief imposition."
"Welcome, Sir. Please, have a seat."
Cheren, who had been briefed in advance, responded with perfect composure.
Everyone present had already been introduced to Lyman. He was close to Leon, and they'd met him several times as a guest instructor. No one looked particularly put out.
"Let's go!"
Rumble—!
The carriages started moving again.
The road remained wide open ahead of them.
It was no time at all before the warp gate stood before them.
"Where are you headed?"
The mage at the gate asked the coachman.
"The capital."