The Beginning of a Legend
The earthquake that had nearly claimed a staggering number of lives ended, astonishingly, without a single fatality.
A few citizens of Romandsi had been injured by the unusually violent final tremor, but thankfully no one's life was in danger. It was all thanks to the swift response of the Full Moon Knight Order.
The soldiers themselves were unharmed, though nothing could be done about the loss of military supplies. The only consolation was that it wouldn't impede the coming war. The Duke decided to rest for one more day while his equipment was restored to order.
In the midst of all this, the lord of Romandsi visited the military camp in person to express his gratitude to the knights who had protected the city. He had already once invited Duke Randert to his residence, and had been disheartened when the Duke refused on the grounds of the military campaign.
Duke Randert found it all rather bothersome, but the lord of Romandsi arrived bearing more meat and liquor than a feast would have required, and so the camp rang with the unceasing laughter of delighted soldiers.
It was a scene that could never have unfolded on the eve of a decisive battle with the Dwyer Empire — but just for this one day, they were permitted to lay down military discipline and enjoy themselves freely.
As a result, drinking parties broke out all over the camp from broad daylight on, and soldiers already dead drunk and sprawled on the ground were a common sight.
"You know, isn't it all a little strange?"
One man, tearing into two enormous chicken drumsticks with both hands, recalled the evacuation in a tongue-loosened slur.
"That dirt mound we climbed up on. Where in the world did that come from?"
"A dirt mound?"
"Wasn't there a barracks standing on that spot before?"
"Oh, now that you mention it, you're right! At the time we were so terrified of the tsunami there wasn't a moment to think — but that is strange."
"Is that the only strange thing? How do you explain the tsunami stopping halfway? I still can't believe it. The sight of that colossal sea retreating... it was the most magnificent thing I've ever seen!"
The man shuddered as if a chill had run down his spine.
"Just imagining that wave crashing down over this place makes my knees go weak. Would we be sitting here so leisurely, stuffing our faces with meat and drink, if it had?"
"We'd have been swept away and died like dogs. The last wave was as tall as a colossal castle. Who on earth could have stopped a thing like that?"
"I can only think God helped us. It was truly a breathtaking sight! God himself supports our campaign!"
"That's right, that's exactly it! Duke Randert, who has reached the realm of the divine, saved us all!"
One man slammed his cup down and shouted.
"Hold on, what's that supposed to mean? Are you saying Duke Randert stopped the tsunami?"
"Who else could it have been, obviously? The Duke is the living legend of this empire, isn't he? A trifle like that is nothing to a man of his caliber!"
"...You all think that too? I know the Duke is a great man, but... the dirt mound... the tsunami... I never knew he could do such things. Duke Randert is a knight, not a mage, is he not?"
Of all the Duke's countless tales of valor, not a single one had anything to do with magic. And even if he were a mage, no one could have accomplished what happened today. The man believed that not even a 9th Circle archmage could have pulled it off.
"Duke Randert long ago transcended the bounds of humanity! What could possibly be impossible for him? Your words are an insult to the Duke himself!"
"An insult? How would I ever dare to slight the Duke? You're being far too harsh — I think you've had too much to drink!"
"You doubted the Duke's abilities, so if that isn't an insult, what is? I hear that even the mages summoned from the imperial palace could do nothing in that situation! Then who else could it be? Tell me — who here could have accomplished something so extraordinary?"
Perhaps it was the drink, but the man was a devoted follower of Duke Randert to begin with. His face flushed red, he launched into a tirade that was more or less a speech.
"Oh, for heaven's sake, you two are about to come to blows! You just survived an earthquake and a tsunami and now you want to wound each other with fists? Today's the day we cheated death, so sit back and enjoy your drinks! I saw the Duke's son himself earlier. It'd be a fine thing to stir up trouble and upset such distinguished company."
"The Duke of Randert's son... you mean the one twin who survived?"
"That's the one. He and his friends flew in on an enormously huge bird. I saw it with my own two eyes."
"A bird?"
Humans riding birds was not merely unusual — it was downright bizarre. At this first they'd heard of it, everyone leaned in, and the man happily recounted everything he had seen.
"Hm, curious indeed."
The man who had first raised questions about the strange dirt mound that appeared during the earthquake tilted his head once again in bewilderment.
"Now what? Planning to insult the Duke's son next?"
"No, no — think about it. Hasn't everything strange happened after his lordship's son arrived? Why would such a precious young lord suddenly come to a place like this? Unless there was some urgent business."
"That's obvious — he came because he missed his father! He's still young!"
"Hm. Something's off. I smell something suspicious..."
"S-suspicious? You scoundrel! So you really do have a death wish! How dare you spew such nonsense about the Duke's son! I won't hold back any longer!"
After that, it was utter chaos. A merry drinking party turned into a battleground in an instant.
Though they were common soldiers, they were elites handpicked for a critical campaign. Drunk as they were, their fists and kicks were still fairly sharp. It was a mercy that no weapons were within reach. The two men tumbled over and over, rolling clean out of the barracks.
Wooooosh!
That was when a violent gust suddenly swept through. The wind knocked scores of soldiers flat, and the barracks itself began to sway so violently it looked about to take flight.
"Aaaagh!"
"Grab the barracks!"
Losing a barracks meant penalties at best and docked pay at worst. Even stone drunk, the soldiers scrambled to their feet and raced to seize the guy ropes.
"Tempesta!"
Figures rushed desperately past the chaos — Bayul and his friends. They shouted Tempesta's name and bolted toward the commotion.
"Ugh, that little menace! He acts exactly like the Wind Spirit King of legend, I swear!"
Eli grumbled, recalling what had been written in Guide to the Great Path, the book Professor Rothius had given him a while back.
"Rai, Tempesta will hear you. Shh!"
The moment Bayul warned him, panting for breath, another furious gust whirled through the camp.
"Aaaahh!"
The soldiers, who had been at the height of their revelry, screamed and toppled over.
"Seriously — when he becomes an Intermediate Spirit, he's just going to run even more wild than this, isn't he? Maybe his promotion should just take longer. Why all this drama!"
And indeed, ever since Tempesta learned that even Shame had become an Intermediate Spirit, he had been on a rampage. When Innocent evolved, he had sulked and wept — but now that he alone was left as a Lower Spirit, he seemed to have completely lost his mind.
Bayul tried with all his might to soothe him, but the boy clearly had no intention of listening.
Long ago, the Wind Spirit King's rage had unleashed a catastrophic typhoon that raged for ten days, devastating the continent it struck. It had taken a full year to restore the land, and that period came to be called the Twelve Months of Disaster.
Watching Tempesta now, it was precisely that — in miniature.
Tempesta, please stop! Someone's going to get hurt!
Bayul pleaded with him, but there was no response, as expected. The boy's fury showed no sign of dying down whatsoever.
"Should I just go grab him?"
At Eli's words, Bayul and the others froze. They stared at him as if he'd said something absurd.
"What? You could do that this whole time?"
"Obviously. You think a dragon couldn't manage that much?"
"...With this many people around?"
"What's magic for, exactly? You just hide it from view, that's all."
At Eli's smug reply, Aidan exploded.
"Oh, for crying out loud, then you should have done it ages ago! We've been running ourselves into the ground for nothing! I haven't even eaten — what is this?!"
"Why are you taking it out on me? I thought Tempesta would calm down soon! How happy do you think he'd be if I dragged him back by force?"
"Of course he'd hate it. But wouldn't that still be better than this mess? Some top student of the Magic Department — can't even make that basic a call?"
"You just keep pushing it, don't you! Is it my fault he's throwing a tantrum? Did I do it? Why are you venting at me? Are you the only one who's hungry? I haven't eaten since last night either, and I'm starving!"
"Ugh, not you two as well. Now's not the time. Rai, if you can, hurry and go get Tempesta..."
"He's right here."
Bayul had been just about to ask Eli to bring Tempesta back before anyone got seriously hurt. A familiar voice came from behind him.
"Death?"
When Bayul turned around, Death held something out.
"Te-Tempesta!"
Sure enough, there was the boy, dangling by the scruff of his neck in Death's grip. He flailed all four limbs furiously at the empty air, but Death's hold didn't budge an inch.
"Let go of me, you cursed demon! Right now, or I'll blast you straight down to the bottom of the sea!"
"You'd do well to shut up and behave yourself — unless you'd rather be erased from existence."
Death's tone was flat, but his expression was anything but. His eyes burning redder than ever, he warned Tempesta:
"How dare the likes of you interfere with my precious mealtime?"
In the human world, Death's cover was a servant hired by Bayul. If he ate before his master, people would find it strange. This place especially was full of watching eyes, so they had to be all the more careful.
And now Tempesta, of all people, was causing a scene — how could he not seethe? If not for Bayul, the boy would have been dead where he stood. Death was straining with every fiber of his being to suppress his murderous intent.
"We should get back to the barracks for now!"
To everyone watching, it would look like nothing more than a spoiled brat being hauled around. But they couldn't keep drawing attention to themselves like this. To calm Tempesta down, they needed somewhere out of sight.
"I said let go of me!"
The boy kept thrashing and hurling abuse, but he couldn't break free of Death. The group hurried inside the barracks and even took pains to make sure no one else could enter.
"Tempesta."
Bayul approached him and spoke almost pleadingly.
"I understand how you feel, truly. But this isn't right. We barely stopped the earthquake and are just starting to catch our breath — how could you cause trouble now? Calm down, okay?"
"Me! It's always me who stays a Lower Spirit! Even Shame became an Intermediate Spirit — so why am I still a Lower one? You hate me, don't you, Bayul?"
Tears welled up in Tempesta's eyes. Watching him, Bayul's heart ached too. But hating him? That was simply nonsense.
"Tempesta, why would I hate you? I like you so much. You can feel my emotions, can't you?"
"Liar! It's all lies! You're just going to leave me as a Lower Spirit forever! You'll make all the others Spirit Kings! Everyone but me will rise to High Spirit! You think I don't know?"
Young and childish as he was, this was a wild stretch of the imagination. Was being the only Lower Spirit really so unbearable?
Bayul clearly couldn't control the order in which spirits evolved — so the fact that Tempesta thought this way was almost beyond comprehension.
"No, wait — you'll actually be the first to become a High Spirit, Tempesta."
It was Aidan who stepped in. When a flustered Bayul faltered, unable to come up with an answer, the boy spoke to Tempesta gently, just as he had of old.
But Tempesta, the first to become a High Spirit?
Bayul and the friends stared, baffled as to what he was talking about. And so was the boy himself. Tempesta frowned deeply and looked at Aidan.
"Looking at it now, that's the pattern. Spinel, who we met last, was the first to become an Intermediate Spirit. You know that too, don't you, Tempesta?"
"Yeah, I saw it myself."
"There you go! This time it's your turn. Since you're the last to become an Intermediate Spirit, you'll be the first to become a High Spirit — just like Spinel."
"...I'll be first?"
Aidan, is that really something you can just say?
As all his friends inwardly groaned, Tempesta asked back. His tone had softened considerably in the meantime.
Don't tell me that idiot is actually being talked around by Aidan?
Eli looked at his friends with a helpless, hollow laugh. They were all equally dumbfounded — but if it got the boy to calm down, they'd be willing to toss Aidan over their shoulders in triumph. They hadn't slept a wink, and they were hungry to boot. The desire to eat and rest was becoming urgent.
"Isn't becoming a High Spirit better than becoming an Intermediate one first? If that happens, Innocent, Spinel, and Shame will all be green with envy over you!"
"Really? Innocent will envy me? That water witch?"
A new light entered Tempesta's eyes. It seemed as though the wings of his imagination were now tilting in an entirely different direction.
Spinel and Shame meant little to him. But he could see it vividly — Innocent, gazing up at him in tears once he became a High Spirit. The girl who had strutted around bragging about her evolution to Intermediate Spirit would finally get her nose flattened. The moment he imagined it, his sense of injustice melted away entirely.
"When you become a High Spirit, Tempesta, you'll look even cooler than you do now, won't you? I can't wait for that day to come!"
Perhaps it was practice from playing with his younger sister, but Aidan's skill with children was frankly staggering. More impressive than Tempesta falling for such absurd sophistry was Aidan, who had concocted it in mere moments.
"Sounds like things have finally quieted down."
Deciding that was enough, Death released Tempesta. He then sat down beside Amon and began the meal he had been longing for. A faint smile flickered across the face that, until moments ago, had radiated pure menace.
And in that moment, a realization struck Bayul.
Tempesta, wailing over a failed promotion one minute and rejoicing at Aidan's sophistry the next; Death, whose entire mood turned on a single meal — both of them were simple to the point of absurdity.
He had always preferred simple things to complicated ones, yet for once, he found himself genuinely unsure whether that was the right way to be.