A Western Outing
Mathieu Philibert, first among the Three Heroes of the Western Kingdom Coalition.
He was known as the gentlest of the three swords that protected the Coalition. Even so, the reason he stood at their center was simple: he had once crossed blades with two of the Imperial 10 Strongest.
Back when relations between the Empire and the Coalition were still openly hostile, open war would have been a burden on both sides. So they chose another way to break each other’s spirit—sending out their finest to settle it with steel. On the surface it looked like a friendly exhibition, a chance to deepen ties. Everyone knew better. It was a check, and a quiet observation. You could not afford to lose, and you could not afford to show everything you had.
In those matches Mathieu faced one opponent on the first day and another on the last.
Even now, just thinking about it makes my spine go cold.
His prime was behind him. He had long since passed forty and become a middle-aged knight. Yet the blood that boiled in his veins was still a youth’s—no, it ran hotter than ever. And when word reached him that an Imperial legion was coming, and with it Grand Duke Schrelitz and the Order of the Sword Brothers, Mathieu truly believed the greatest battle of his life was about to unfold.
If only this weren’t part of it, everything would be perfect.
He gave a bitter little smile and toyed with the small vial nestled against his chest. The Coalition’s high command had already issued the order and forced him to swear to it. If the Imperial dogs poured in beyond what they could handle—if they proved stronger than he was—he was to use it at once. In that moment the Imperials would be torn apart like paper. For thirty minutes, they claimed, he would possess power that surpassed even the Imperial 10 Strongest. Enormous funds, the labor of mages, and the sacrifices of nameless people had gone into it. Those people had met the tragedy of their own bodies collapsing, but this was not a finished product, so he need not worry, they said.
Is this truly right? As a knight, as a known powerhouse—isn’t this a humiliation?
To fight, to win, to protect—the right path was the daily, bloody effort, the bone-grinding training. Methods like this might work for a moment, but in the end they only carved away at your own flesh.
“This is no time to split hairs, Sir Mathieu.”
“The Imperials are coming. Grand Duke Schrelitz, the Order of the Sword Brothers, and those northern barbarians as well. If any of the Ten Strongest are among them, it will be the worst possible situation.”
The other two of the Three Heroes—Grushi Nicholas and Bernadotte Brun—had no such reservations. If the Coalition fell and their homeland was occupied by the Empire, a knight’s purity and pride would become nothing more than a joke, they said, and they cut him with sharp criticism. Better to use any means necessary to drive the Empire back. Better to use this thing the Coalition’s nameless warriors had helped create with their own bodies. Saying so, the two heroes had unhesitatingly tucked identical vials into their own coats.
They were not entirely wrong. They might even be right. Everything he fretted over now was a sandcastle before the tide. How could anyone stand against the wave called Empire as it rolled toward the Coalition?
“Hoo…”
He shook his head hard, trying to cast the thoughts aside. Age brought too many of them. Right in front of him an Imperial legion, the Order of the Sword Brothers, and Grand Duke Schrelitz himself were approaching. What mattered now was the battle about to begin. Victory would be a blessing. Defeat would mean surrendering everything.
Rustle…
“…Hm?”
What actually entered Mathieu’s sight was nothing he had expected. Not a gleaming Imperial legion, not a knight order famous for its prowess, and certainly not the Empire’s vanguard—there were far too few for that.
Rustle, rustle…
Even so, the three figures that had appeared kept walking without the slightest hesitation. They crossed the open field until they stood almost within arm’s reach of where the Coalition’s vast army waited. Only when they reached the very border between Empire and Coalition did they stop.
“What the hell is that supposed to be?”
Grushi, the other Hero standing nearby, strode up with open irritation in his voice. Everyone was wound tight, braced for a major battle—and what showed up was neither legion nor knight order, just three men and women. At this rate the tension would drain away at the outset and every carefully prepared edge would be lost.
The Coalition command clearly disliked the situation just as much. This went beyond provocation; it was pure contempt for the Coalition. In that case they no longer needed to observe even the barest courtesy. They were on the verge of sending knights out to threaten the newcomers when—
Hummm—
“…!”
An aura ordinary people could never sense, yet one every true powerhouse felt with absolute clarity, struck the senses of the Three Heroes and the Coalition knights. The stronger the warrior, the more completely they registered it.
“Hold.”
Mathieu hurriedly stopped the Coalition knights. Unfortunately for them, these were people they could not hope to face. If the three men and women—no, the three powerhouses—standing there chose to, they could sweep everyone away in a single breath.
He dismounted and walked slowly toward the Imperial side. With every step his certainty hardened.
This presence… there’s no mistake. These are Imperial 10 Strongest.
Only they could press down on him hard enough to make his skin prickle. He had clashed with them twice, long ago, and that was enough to be sure. The Empire had only committed a single legion because of this. One knight who could equal a hundred soldiers, and even a hundred such knights would not be enough against the rare few who stood above them. Those few before whom even such knights bowed their heads—that was the Imperial 10 Strongest. Powerhouses who had long since transcended the human category… and three of them stood right there.
“Hoo…”
He forced down the pounding of his heart and advanced with his head high. The Imperial 10 Strongest were strong, yes—but he himself was a powerhouse of equal caliber, one of the Coalition’s Three Heroes. He acknowledged their strength, but that did not mean he lacked confidence of his own. There was no reason to shrink back. He could not afford to. He had to stand taller than ever.
At last he came close enough to see their faces clearly.
…Wait.
Two facts forced genuine shock through him. First, the people standing before him were absurdly young. Second, not one of them belonged to the Imperial 10 Strongest whose faces he knew.
What… how is this…
It did not take him long to piece together who the three young men and women were. Imperial legion, Order of the Sword Brothers, Grand Duke Schrelitz—and one more that had been mentioned.
“Would you happen to be of House John Nassen?”
The young man on the far right gave a slow nod. Then he turned to the other two and asked something like, “Shall I handle this?” When both nodded, he stepped forward.
“A pleasure to meet you. I’m Kyle of House John Nassen. These two are my elder brother, Lear John Nassen, and my elder sister, Leah John Nassen.”
“…Mathieu Philibert.”
No matter how strained relations between Empire and Coalition might be, there were courtesies both sides still observed. When the other party offered a greeting first, you answered—unless blades were already swinging. He gave his name simply. The young man who had introduced himself as Kyle smiled.
“You’re strong.”
Only those two words. Yet for an instant Mathieu felt his body freeze solid. This was not someone reading auras and roughly estimating strength the way he himself did. It felt as though he had been measured with absolute precision, without the slightest error. The moment their eyes met, goosebumps rose on his skin for exactly that reason.
“Are you one of the Three Heroes the Coalition is so proud of?”
“…I am. I’m called that, for what little it’s worth.”
“That’s a relief. This should speed things up.”
Speed things up. What did that mean? Mathieu swallowed without meaning to and waited for the next words.
“If you’re one of the Three Heroes, that means you’re among the three strongest people in the Coalition. And one of the people whose voice carries the farthest inside it.”
“I’m strong enough, yes, but as for having a voice in—”
He had never set foot in politics. Unlike Grushi or Bernadotte, Mathieu simply wanted to live and die as a knight. He was about to say as much when Kyle continued.
“If you don’t want to raise your voice, I understand. I actually find that attitude admirable. Every strong person should take a page from it. Anyone with real power ought to be that way.”
“Ah… that’s kind of you to say…”
“But unfortunately, there are times when power is what matters most. Like right now. Which means you, Sir Mathieu, will be able to carry out the proposal I’m about to make.”
A proposal, of all things, on the brink of war. What scheme was this? And with Grand Duke Schrelitz himself participating, how could a mere baronial house claim to speak for the Empire?
“Send every person responsible for trying to use mana rampage to the Empire, and have the Coalition leadership itself swear never to commit such a vicious act again.”
“…What?”
“And make it explicit that if the oath is broken, you will face an all-out attack from the Empire.”
Mathieu’s face twisted slightly. The way the boy spoke made it sound as though the Coalition’s defeat were already a settled fact. He could endure many things, but not being dismissed—neither the Coalition nor himself. Even if he lost, even if he died, he wanted to keep a strong man’s pride intact.
“…And if we cannot accept that proposal?”
At Mathieu’s question Kyle made a thoughtful sound, then stepped back a little and said, “Brother. He says that.”
“…Yes, Brother. Then you’ll…? Ah, me first. You’re yielding. Understood.”
Finished with the exchange, Kyle returned to face Mathieu.
“Talk doesn’t seem likely to get us any further, so let’s move on.”
Mathieu was about to demand what that meant when the youngest of House John Nassen rolled one shoulder, then broke into a wide grin.
“Let’s have a bout—and then discuss our future again with clear minds.”