His Existence Becomes Known Across the Continent (2)
It can't be…
Hair of pure white.
On an elderly man it would have been unremarkable, but white hair was hardly a common color among the young. Matching hair alone might have been coincidence — yet even the gray of his eyes was identical to the man she had faced so many times in her dreams.
A dream she had dreamed again and again. Those moments, every time she woke, when something deep in her chest would ache for reasons she could never name. A longing she had buried ever since she swore to live as the sovereign of the Serpina Army, heir to the blood of Aingard.
And now the man from that dream had appeared — in the flesh — in the real world?
Of course she was beside herself. The one who reined her in was Jena, State Strategist of the Serpina Army, standing at her side.
"My lord. Compose yourself!"
"…"
Only at Jena's restraint did Serpina recover her composure and release Julian's hand.
"Ghk… hrrk."
Serpina let out a soft breath, then asked, once more collected:
"…So you claim this man summoned a massive boulder from the sky?"
"Y-yes. It's true, my lord…"
Julian was still trembling, as though even now he could scarcely believe it.
"That man… was no ordinary person. A god… it was as if a god had descended upon the earth. The moment he stretched out his hand and cried out… a boulder fell from the heavens…!!"
"…Hah."
Serpina exhaled a short sigh.
A soldier dying without warning was already absurd enough — and now the vanguard commander she had sent was spouting something even more preposterous.
And yet.
Julian was no prodigy of a general, but he was a capable officer who consistently performed above the average. And it wasn't only Julian — the handful of soldiers who had survived and returned were all telling the same story.
So he wasn't simply raving.
A colossal boulder fallen from the sky without warning. And an enemy officer with white hair, performing some bizarre ritual…
…
If she thought about it coldly for even a moment, white hair and gray eyes were no guarantee that this man was the figure from her dreams. And yet what Serpina felt now was a fierce, irresistible pull — a force like destiny itself, a sensation she had never known in her life.
I need to learn more about this officer.
Serpina looked down at Julian, who stood half-broken before her, shaking with terror, and spoke.
"An unprecedented defeat — but if it was caused by a natural disaster, there is little to be done. I will not hold you accountable. Rest until new orders arrive. However — if you continue to babble like a man who has lost his wits, you will find yourself in a very difficult position. Understood?"
"…B-but…!"
"…"
Instead of answering, Serpina tilted her chin slightly upward and looked down at Julian with a gaze of pure ice.
"Ah… y-yes, my lord…"
"You may go."
Once Julian had withdrawn from the audience chamber, Serpina heaved a deep sigh and turned to Jena beside her.
"What do you make of it?"
"You mean the claim that a boulder fell from the sky?"
"Yes."
Jena bowed her head as she answered.
"I believe that much is true. Fragments of what appears to be a shattered colossal stone are scattered across our territory, and every single survivor has given the same testimony. I do not think they were deceived by some illusion or hallucination."
"Then Jena — you also suspect that the white-haired man used magic?"
"With some caution… yes."
Jena spoke in a measured tone.
"Magic exists only in legend. However… among the few historical records passed down from the old empire — though they are filled with mythic content of dubious reliability — there appear to have been several incidents of a similar nature."
"Similar how?"
"Events that can only be explained as the use of magic. Of course, no record describes anyone summoning a boulder from the sky and dropping it — but then, no one truly knows the limits of magic itself."
She paused, then continued in a somewhat more tentative tone — a marked departure from her usual near-certainty.
"So… my assessment is that this man may truly be a mage."
"On what grounds?"
"Because that is a far more coherent explanation than the idea that performing a sky ritual somehow triggered a natural disaster."
Jena steadied her breath and pressed on.
"A ritual alone could never freely command a natural disaster. I consider it outright impossible. That leaves the alternative that the man simply knew a boulder would fall at that exact time on that exact day — and in my personal judgment, the ability to read every future event is even more fantastical than the mages who appear, however rarely, in mythic records. Therefore…"
She fixed Serpina with an intense gaze.
"I still can scarcely believe it, but… he may well be a mage. The fact that he deliberately performed such a conspicuous ritual in a position where enemy soldiers and even the vanguard commander could witness it — I suspect he did something he need not have done, precisely to create the impression that 'all of this was caused by a ritual to the heavens.' And the reason—"
"—was to conceal the fact that he is a mage."
"Exactly."
Serpina fell silent for a moment, then asked again.
"So what you are telling me, Jena, is this: the first mage of this age has appeared in the Brans Army."
"Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains — however absurd — must be the truth."
Eliminate the impossible, and what remains is the truth…
"And looking through the historical records, mages have primarily appeared in ages of chaos. The timing is not so strange, I think."
"…Very well. We will need to investigate further."
Lost in thought, Serpina drummed her fingers lightly against the armrest of her throne.
Whether the man from my dreams is this person… or whether he truly is the first mage… the day will come when I must face him.
She let out a short sigh. Even that simple gesture was so alluring, so captivating, that it alone could have drawn anyone under her spell.
"Jena. Information on that man. Anything at all — gather as much as you can."
"My lord. Do not say 'can you.' Say 'do it.' I will carry out any order you give."
"…Mm. Then I leave it to you."
"Yes."
If Jena was right, and a mage had finally revealed himself — then for the sake of unifying the realm, she could not afford to leave a chess piece called "mage" unclaimed. And as a side benefit, she could confirm whether he was the man who kept appearing in her dreams.
Serpina set herself a short-term goal.
To meet the white-haired man.
And up to this very moment, she had never once failed to achieve a goal she had set.
Valharat Castle.
Though the glory of the old imperial age had long since faded after the fortress became a battlefield, it remained a vast city in the central-eastern region of the continent, still home to a considerable population.
The color flying above the castle walls was a deep crimson — a red so vivid it called to mind the color of bloodstains. The blood-hued banners danced freely with every shift of the wind.
The color of blood. The color of the Asius Army.
Their sovereign, Yuuri Asius, was rather fond of it, saying it represented the bond of blood between herself and the comrades who followed her.
And now, within the royal keep of Valharat Castle, Yuuri Asius — known simply as "Yuuri" to her companions — was speaking with a long-bearded old man.
"So. It failed."
"Yes. I am deeply ashamed."
Seated upon the throne, Yuuri — absolute ruler of the Asius Army — smiled with a touch of regret.
"Epinel must have had a hard time cleaning it up. Still… even you have moments when a scheme falls through, I see."
Her long black hair gave her a remarkably refined air. Her attire, too, was far too simple for a sovereign — plain enough that she could have passed for an ordinary officer. The only real proof of her station was the fact that she currently occupied the throne.
What set her apart was the color of her eyes. One was a deep blue; the other, a pale sky-blue. Those two mismatched irises lent her a strange, unplaceable allure that no one else possessed.
After offering the old man a word of encouragement, Yuuri sank into thought.
The plan had been to clear out the forces at Lacline Castle on the eastern border of Brans territory, then immediately invade Lacline itself, push into the central regions, and simultaneously reduce the Charam and Alefel Armies to de facto satellite states — somehow tipping the balance against the Brans Army. That plan had been cleanly obliterated.
"But how did they catch on? Did you know? Were the people in the Charam Army just running their mouths too freely?"
"No. The scheme itself was flawless. However… it seems there was someone in the Brans Army who saw through our plot from the very beginning."
"If it's that person, you mean Parfalle, right? You said so yourself — that she was the brightest of all the students who studied under you."
The old man shook his head.
"Lady Parfalle is certainly brilliant… but I do not believe she possesses the capacity to see through a scheme completely from the outset."
The Asius Army's scheme:
To collude in advance with the Charam and Alefel Armies, spread false rumors that they intended to attack the Alefel Army, and then lure the Charam Army into striking the Brans Army first.
A plan that had seemed perfect at a glance had, from the very stage of execution, been precisely anticipated by someone.
"Then who else is there?"
"That much I do not know… but in the end, the fault lies entirely with my own misjudgment. Once again, I offer my deepest apologies."
"It's fine. You did everything you could, didn't you? The fact that you realized something was wrong the moment the Brans Army failed to move as expected — I think that alone was fortunate."
That they had managed to extract themselves without being swallowed by the Brans Army's counterstroke was largely thanks to the old man before her.
Yes.
The long-bearded elder standing before her eyes. A man who had intended to bury himself in the countryside and spend his remaining years teaching the next generation.
Yuuri had spent nearly a month at his residence with her companions, persuading him again and again to become her strategist.
What the Asius Army lacked was not outstanding generals, nor the subtle and unbreakable bonds among its officers, nor the will to open a new sky without inheriting the heavens of the Aingard Empire. What they lacked was someone to take the seat of strategist — someone to serve as their mind.
And then, as she searched for a strategist, a rumor had reached her ears.
That that man — who had once served the Aingard royal house — was residing not far from Valharat Castle.
Why a figure of such magnitude had been hiding within the bounds of her own territory, she did not know… but from Yuuri's perspective, it was an extraordinary stroke of luck.
Which was why, as far as she was concerned, the failure of one or two schemes was perfectly acceptable. In truth, given that the entire plot had been exposed, they had recovered from it remarkably well.
She encouraged the old man, speaking his name.
"Don't dwell on it. Keep lending me your wisdom from now on. …Zinor."
"Yes, my lord. I, Zinor, shall work with the single-minded resolve to make you the sovereign who unifies this land."
The Sage of the Empire — Zinor Nighthart.
Now, he served as State Strategist of the Asius Army.