The Lion King's Son
Isaac had received the necklace, a memento of Urcan's wife, from the Lion King himself. Asking for the keepsake had not been an easy request, yet Urcan had willingly handed over both the necklace and the letter. With that, their preparations were complete. Things might not unfold exactly as planned, but they would deal with whatever came when the time arrived. It was a bold approach, or perhaps a simple one, but at the moment there were no better options. Urcan had understood this as well, which was why he had given the items so readily.
Isaac returned to Nemea Fortress the moment preparations were finished. The wind blowing from the valley seemed to push him forward.
"Do you really think the chieftain's child is still alive?"
"Even if the chances are slim, we cannot give up until the very end."
"I'm sorry. I let my resolve waver without realizing it."
Zeek struck her own cheeks hard with her callused hands, steadying herself. Her master's words were right. If even they, who were supposed to be heroes, gave up, then who would ever save anyone?
"First, we should find the commander."
"Do you think the commander knows something?"
"At the very least, we should be able to obtain some information."
Isaac gave a vague answer, relying on his knowledge of the original story, but Zeek took his words deeply to heart. She wanted to be ready to act immediately if a similar situation ever arose for her.
The soldiers standing guard on the fortress walls were shocked. They had never dreamed that Isaac and Zeek would return unscathed. Thanks to their surprise, the gates opened quickly.
"The welcome is rather subdued."
At least things were moving fast. Isaac brushed it off and headed straight for the commander's tent.
The commander, upon receiving the report, came out personally to greet them at once.
"Remarkable. I never expected you to return alive. I had not anticipated it at all."
"He was a formidable opponent. Though the fight ended without a clear victor."
"That alone is more than enough. Would you like to come inside?"
"Let's do that."
For the commander, this was the only chance to break the current stalemate, while for Isaac it was an opportunity to speak privately. Their interests aligned, so the response came swiftly. The commander prepared seats immediately. Of course, the "seats" consisted of nothing more than cheap drinks and standard-issue hardtack, but Isaac did not mind since Zeek seemed to enjoy it.
"The Lion King was certainly strong. Strong enough to tear the earth and reshape the valley's terrain."
"And you faced him alone?"
"Otherwise I would not have returned alive like this."
It is not a lie. The scouts' reports confirm it.
The commander had not simply watched from the fortress. The moment Isaac and Zeek disappeared, he had dispatched scouts to assess the situation. Though the aftershocks had been too powerful and the attempt had failed, the fact that this man had returned without a single wound against that monster made his words highly credible. That was the commander's cold conclusion, drawn from the scouts' reports.
"How many years have you been fighting that monster?"
"Not fighting. Just enduring. It has been about three years now."
Three years……!!
Zeek reacted first to the familiar number. Fortunately, the commander was focused on Isaac and did not notice her response. Isaac nodded and brought out the necklace.
"Do you know anything about this necklace?"
"That necklace…… Where did you get it?"
"I obtained it while fighting the Lion King."
"How in the world did that monster come by this?"
Surprisingly, the commander accepted the necklace from Isaac without much emotion. The timing of his appointment to the fortress matched the time the letter had arrived. Most decisively, he claimed to be the owner of the necklace. The answer was clear.
Could the commander have noticed that the chieftain was his father and sent the threatening letter?
But rationally speaking, there was no benefit to be gained from such an act. Especially since the commander was already being reprimanded by the capital due to the prolonged war of attrition. Still, it was hard to understand. Why go to such lengths, even sacrificing soldiers' lives?
Zeek could not figure it out no matter how much she thought about it. She was still too young.
Isaac slowly stood up.
"That is all I know. And I have one piece of advice."
"What is it?"
"Watch out for enemies within."
Isaac took the letter he had received from Urcan out of his coat and handed it directly to the commander. The commander's expression hardened the moment he read it. Isaac left the tent immediately afterward.
"Master, could the chieftain's blood relative really be……"
"Yes. It is the commander."
"Damn it!"
Zeek could not contain her anger and stomped on the innocent ground. They still did not know who had written the letter, but it was obvious that the person who had sent the necklace and provoked and manipulated Urcan was the same individual. There was no point hiding it anymore. Edkan, the commander of Nemea Fortress, was Urcan's son. The timing matched perfectly, and he even possessed the necklace. It was the only possible answer.
The reality of father and son fighting each other was already tragic enough. In the original story, their ending had been far more cruel. Unable to endure any longer, the commander had eventually launched an all-out offensive to subjugate the Lion King. The letter's author had then sent another message to Urcan, claiming that if he killed just one more person, the attacks would stop. Already broken, Urcan had clung to the hope in that letter. Does this mean I no longer have to kill?Does this mean I no longer have to stain my hands with blood? Holding onto that final hope, Urcan had killed the man. A faint sense of liberation and relief had washed over him, followed by an overwhelming wave of guilt. But soon all emotion had vanished, leaving only despair.
Parents always recognize their children. The face revealed beneath the removed helmet had been filled with traces of her. Anyone who was not a fool would have understood. The person he had just killed was his own son.
Ironically, that had been his last pillar of support. The desire to see his son's face even once had allowed him to keep staining his hands with blood, to endure even as his mind fractured and wore away. Self-loathing and guilt had flooded in endlessly. In the end, he had killed someone for his own liberation, only to discover it was his own son. Of course it had broken him. Thus the Lion King had become a monster. Reason no longer existed within him. He simply cursed the heavens and destroyed the world, a beast that had to be subjugated.
* * *
Of course, Isaac had no intention of simply standing by and watching. Not while he was here with his eyes wide open. How dare they try to force such a bitter bad ending, one of the worst in the story? Though his heart burned with the desire to immediately strike down the culprit, doing so without evidence would only make him look like a madman who attacked innocent people. Of course, if things went south he was fully prepared to beat the truth out of them regardless of evidence, but until then he needed to secure proof and deal with the culprit properly.
Having reached his conclusion, Isaac moved quickly.
"Master! Did you notice something?!"
To Zeek, who did not know his thoughts, it simply looked like her master had figured something out. Isaac paused for a moment, considering how to explain.
"Did you not notice anything strange?"
"I'm sorry. My insight is lacking, so I……"
"Do not blame yourself. If you do not know, you simply learn."
"……"
"Keep thinking, keep questioning, keep voicing your doubts."
Isaac had said whatever came to mind to buy time, but his words instead brought enlightenment to Zeek. Even in this situation, Master is still teaching me.
"Fifty years ago, after the previous commander, a woman, disappeared, the current commander was appointed here three years ago."
"That is correct."
"Does that not seem strange? Was this fortress really left without a commander for forty-seven long years?"
"……!!"
Before the current commander, Edkan, had been assigned, the previous commander had pursued a policy of appeasement toward the Lion Tribe. And from the circumstances, that previous commander had undoubtedly been Urcan's woman. Yet she had been recalled to the capital fifty years ago. So why had the fortress been left without a commander for forty-seven years? Even Zeek could tell that something was wrong.
"H-how is that possible?"
From the perspective of the Mikas Kingdom, which was pursuing an expansionist policy and repeatedly clashing with the Lion Tribe, Nemea Fortress was nothing less than a critical military stronghold. Yet they had left its highest command position vacant for forty-seven years? There were limits to incompetence. If the Lion King Urcan had harbored ill intentions, Nemea Fortress would have fallen, and the kingdom's northern advance would have been thwarted.
"Think about it differently."
"Yes?"
"What if, from their perspective, the commander's position was never actually vacant?"
"……W-what do you mean?"
"It is obvious."
Zeek could not understand at all. How could someone perceive a position as occupied when no one was there? Was that even possible? Unfortunately, politics made exactly that possible.
"Someone had been ruling this fortress in her name."
Isaac spoke the answer he already knew, deliberately making it sound weighty.