No Loose Ends
Kaizen’s cleanup was nothing if not thorough.
“Aaaagh! That damned bastard! I’ll kill him! I’ll kill him dead!!”
The next day, Kaizen came to his senses in the middle of the training grounds and swung his sword, unable to contain his rage. The knights beside him kept their distance and tried to calm him down.
“Kaizen, get a hold of yourself.”
“Yeah, swinging your sword around like that is dangerous.”
“Just endure it for now.”
At their words, Kaizen whipped his head around. Venom filled his eyes.
“What? How am I supposed to endure this? Could you endure it if you were me!?”
He swung his sword again. The tattered training dummy, already worn beyond recognition, was hacked apart under his furious strikes. The dummy that had barely clung to life finally met its end; its shape was now completely unrecognizable.
The other knights shook their heads, realizing there was no stopping him.
“So what are you going to do?”
“What do you mean, what am I going to do!?”
Thick killing intent filled Kaizen’s eyes.
“I’m going to make him pay.”
“Make him pay? How exactly? You know he’s a noble. Even if this is the kind of place where we can get away with a lot, laying hands on a noble will only bring trouble.”
“He’s right.”
“How about just scaring him a little?”
“No. That won’t be enough. I won’t be satisfied until I cut off at least one of his arms.”
“That’s too dangerous.”
“We understand you’re angry, but still…”
The knights tried their best to soothe Kaizen, who was snorting like an enraged boar.
“Oh, everyone’s gathered here. Plotting something together?”
Albert had arrived at the training grounds. Behind him stood Elena with her usual dignified posture, and beside her was the nanny, Ilaia.
Kaizen’s eyes widened at their sudden appearance. His gaze locked directly onto Albert.
“You!!”
“My, the world really is going to hell. A knight pointing his finger at a noble and calling him ‘you’…”
Albert’s eyes sank low as he looked at Kaizen. At the same time, the pressure radiating from his body made Kaizen flinch involuntarily.
“I really want to cut it off. Should I make it so you can never use chopsticks again for the rest of your life?”
“Kugh…”
“Whatever. You already know why I’m here, don’t you?”
“Why you came…?”
“I heard you earlier. Something about cutting off my arm. Wasn’t that it?”
So he had heard everything. That meant he had been here for quite a while. And yet…
‘Shouldn’t a normal person be scared after hearing that? Instead, he came over?’
His behavior was far from normal by any standard.
“You seem to have a lot of complaints. Instead of scheming behind my back, let’s just settle this with a fight.”
“W-What did you say? A-A fight, you said?”
“Yeah.”
What kind of person was this? Most nobles spoke with elegance and refinement. But the words coming out of Albert’s mouth were nothing like a noble’s. They were the kind of crude language used by street thugs or commoners—words a noble would never utter.
‘But it doesn’t matter.’
This was an opportunity. He had said he would cut off an arm, but that had only been said in anger. Without justification, he couldn’t actually cut off a noble’s arm. That would be crossing a clear line. However…
‘If he’s the one offering the match, there’s no reason I can’t accept.’
“You’ll regret this. As you know, I’m a knight.”
“For a knight, you sure pass out easily.”
Albert made a punching motion with his fist. Kaizen’s face flushed red.
“I thought you’d at least be bedridden until today, but your head’s harder than I expected. I thought I was hitting a rock.”
Kaizen glared at the man who had indirectly called him a rock-head.
“You damned bastard!”
Kaizen’s last thread of reason snapped.
Your provocation is truly impressive.
Albert grinned wickedly.
This is what they call K-provocation.
“Will you be all right?” Elena asked, looking at Albert with concern.
“Why? Are you worried? Just yesterday you were insisting I wasn’t your brother.”
“T-That’s…”
Elena’s cheeks flushed. The nanny smiled brightly at the sight.
“Hohoho, to think I’d live long enough to tease Lady Elena. It really lifts my spirits.”
“Don’t… tease me so much…”
“Hohoho, understood. You’re the lord now, after all. How could I tease you?”
“…It’s fine sometimes. Just don’t go too far.”
The nanny’s eyes widened. She never expected to hear such words from Elena. Truly, living long had its rewards. A gentle, sunflower-like smile bloomed on her lips.
“Understood. I’ll try to tease you in moderation. To do that, I’ll have to live a long, healthy life.”
“But will he really be all right? Brother, I mean.”
“He’ll be fine.”
“But Sir Kaizen isn’t weak.”
She couldn’t help but worry. Kaizen was rude, arrogant, and constantly demanded raises. The only reason he was still employed was because he was strong. If he had been weak, he would have been dismissed long ago. The fact that he hadn’t been was because his strength was needed to protect the territory.
“As much as it pains me to admit, he’s strong. That’s why I’m worried.”
“Oh my? Why? Didn’t you hear what the young master said? The young master is…”
“Do you believe all of that?”
“Well…”
Honestly, everything Albert had said about the other world sounded absurd. Gates. Iron carriages that flew through the sky. Phones that allowed communication over long distances without magic. The internet and Wi-Fi. Hunters and gates. Every story defied common sense.
“Even if I can’t believe everything, there’s one thing I can believe.”
“One thing? What is it?”
The nanny’s gaze turned to Albert.
“That the young master is strong. Much stronger than that wretched… man who has been so rude to the young lady.”
“……”
For the first time, the word “wretched” had left the nanny’s mouth. Elena understood.
She’s angry…
“Young master, now’s your chance to grovel. Who knows, I might feel generous and go easy on you…”
“Haa, you talk too much. Enough. Come at me.”
Albert flicked his fingers as if annoyed. Kaizen’s face twisted.
He wanted to charge immediately, but it seemed he was barely holding himself back with superhuman patience.
“Draw your weapon.”
“Weapon? Why?”
Albert looked at him incredulously.
“Do you really think I need a weapon to deal with someone like you?”
“……Arrogant bastard!”
Kaizen could no longer hold back and charged forward. His charge resembled an enraged boar rushing through the forest.
Would you like to use a skill?
Skills are a waste.
Would you like to analyze?
No need.
There was no need to analyze. Kaizen’s level was obvious at a glance. At best, he was around D-rank hunter level. Among D-rank hunters, he might be considered somewhat talented. But he was wasting that talent.
Even if he polished his skills, he’d only reach C-rank at most.
“It’s too late to regret this now!!! Die!!”
Killing intent gathered on Kaizen’s sword. He closed in swiftly and brought his blade down from above, aiming to sever Albert’s arm. His movements were exaggerated from excitement, but his speed was decent.
His sword speed isn’t bad.
However, his power distribution is poor. His center is off-balance.
He fell for the provocation, but this is serious.
I told you, no need to analyze.
It’s a habit. You know that.
Occupational hazard… •́︿•̀ ｡
The System complained about its occupational disease. Well, back in that world, analyzing opponents’ movements had been part of daily life. It was understandable.
He’s not even moving!!
Kaizen thought his attack had landed. Look at Albert—he hadn’t tried to move until the sword was about to touch him. He couldn’t even react to the blade. What a pathetic man.
As expected, yesterday was because I let my guard down.
He had only been caught off guard yesterday. There was no way he would lose to such a weakling. Cutting off a noble’s arm was a bit concerning, but this was a mutual agreement. There would be no consequences.
This should serve as a sufficient warning.
If she saw her brother’s arm being cut, she would come to her senses. Future salary negotiations would go much more smoothly.
Watching that beautiful face twist in despair would be quite the sight too.
While thinking this, Kaizen’s sword was mere moments from reaching Albert’s shoulder. Then, Albert, who had remained still until now, moved.
“Those sinister eyes of yours are quite unpleasant. What were you thinking about my sister?”
“……!”
Kaizen was shocked. His sword missed. It was impossible. The distance between the sword and the shoulder was less than 0.1 cm. At that range, it should have hit, and there was no one who could dodge a sword in that situation.
How… did he…?
He looked up in horror. Albert extended his hand toward his face. His hand position was strange.
That’s…
A forehead flick. He had seen children do it—a light, playful punishment where you snap your finger against someone’s forehead. Knights sometimes used it as a penalty in bets as well.
“Put your forehead here.”
Albert flicked his finger.
In that instant—
Crack!
A sound like something shattering rang out. At the same time, Kaizen’s neck snapped backward at a dangerous angle. This was nothing like the playful flicks children gave each other. The moment it connected, an immense shockwave made it feel as if his skull had been crushed. Indescribable pain followed.
“Aaaaaagh!!”
He rolled on the ground in agony.
“Perfect power control.”
You didn’t break it?
He tormented my sister. I can’t just kill him easily.
With Albert’s flick, crushing someone’s skull would be far too easy. But that would be too simple. This was the man who had bullied his sister. He couldn’t let him off that easily.
“Now then, while that guy recovers…”
Albert turned to the remaining knights with a wicked smile. Kaizen was the ringleader, but the others were accomplices. They were naturally targets for punishment as well.
“You’re next.”
“W-We didn’t do anything!”
“T-That’s right! We were just following his orders…”
“We only did what he told us to do!! It’s true!!”
How pathetic.
How can they sell out their friend without hesitation?
But I understand.
After seeing someone’s head get crushed by a forehead flick right in front of them, it would be strange if they weren’t scared.
Albert looked at Elena. She was the lord of Legrian Territory. Deciding the knights’ fate was within her authority.
You decide.
So he wants me to decide.
Noticing his gaze, Elena nodded. This had already been discussed before coming here.
We don’t need knights anymore. Let’s dismiss them.
But we need knights to protect the territory. Without them, we can’t defend it.
No. You don’t have to worry about that anymore.
Albert looked at Elena with a reliable expression.
As long as I’m here, the territory won’t face any danger.
But…
If you’re that anxious, let’s do this. If I easily defeat the strongest among them, then we dismiss them. There’s no way someone weaker than me could protect the territory better than I can. How about it?
……Understood. If it’s just that much.
She had been anxious at first. But he had proven it without a doubt. With a single move. Because she had also learned swordsmanship, she could tell from the movement Albert showed when attacking Kaizen earlier. His movement had sent shivers down her spine. With one action, Albert had proven his strength.
Could I have dodged that attack if it were me?
She imagined it for a moment, then snapped her eyes open. It was impossible. No matter what method she used, there was no way to avoid that forehead flick. It was certain to hit. No matter how she tried to dodge, his flick would accurately target the center of her forehead.
Now that she had witnessed his strength with her own eyes, there was no need to protect knights who had spoken such insulting words.
“As Baroness Elena Legrian, I hereby declare: Effective immediately, Kaizen, Line, Laten, Lek, Lerk, and Brai are stripped of their knight qualifications and permanently banned from Legrian Territory.”
“Huk!”
“Heok!”
It was like a bolt from the blue. Being expelled was one thing, but losing their knight qualifications meant they couldn’t serve as knights in any other territory either.
“T-That’s too severe!”
“That’s right!”
“N-No matter what they did wrong, stripping their knight qualifications! T-This is tyranny!”
The knights protested. Albert stepped between them.
“Too severe? You really think so?”
“……Hic…”
“You don’t actually think you have the qualifications to be knights in the first place, do you?”
“That’s!”
“Don’t you think those who don’t even uphold the basics of chivalry should have their qualifications revoked? Don’t you agree?”
Albert’s atmosphere grew heavy. A suffocating killing intent enveloped the knights. They were terrified. Albert’s demeanor had changed completely. The pressure emanating from his body intensified, and the killing intent dripping from his gaze made their hearts feel as if they would stop just from being touched by it.
H-Heavy…
A mountain… It’s too massive…
Even if there were a thousand of us, we couldn’t reach him…
He was a powerhouse. An existence in the heavens that they could never reach no matter how many of them there were. Depending on his mood, he could kill them with a single finger. Like a candle flickering precariously on the edge of a cliff. If he blew, the flame of life would be extinguished far too easily.
“I want to kill you all right now, but… I’ve decided to respect my sister’s decision. So…”
Albert whispered softly, only loud enough for the knights to hear.
“Leave everything behind and get lost.”
The knights were chased out in nothing but their underwear.
Late at night. When light disappeared and darkness fell. A quiet stillness settled, and all living beings slept until light once again pierced the darkness and illuminated the earth. It was a time when all except nocturnal animals and monsters were asleep and defenseless.
At the entrance to Monster Land, people in their underwear gathered and looked toward Legrian Territory.
“That damned bastard… How dare he… How dare he do this to me!!”
Kaizen, who had been expelled, glared at the territory with eyes full of resentment. Everything had been taken from him. His knight title. All the wealth he had accumulated!!
“I’ll never forgive him!”
“What are you planning to do?”
“What do you mean? Obviously, we have to kill them all!”
“I-Is that possible?”
“Yeah, that person is strong…”
At the thought of Albert, the men trembled in fear. Kaizen was no exception. Hadn’t he already experienced Albert’s power?
A monster…
He was literally a monster. An existence he could never defeat no matter how prepared he was. He mustn’t be deceived by appearances. His power was real. Taking revenge on such a being was impossible. However…
“There is a way.”
“What are you going to do?”
“We just need to set the territory on fire. No matter how strong he is, what can he do about spreading flames? We might not be able to kill him, but tormenting his sister is possible.”
Kaizen gave a vile smile. He knew well how much Elena cherished the territory from watching her. If she saw her territory burning, what kind of expression would she make? He could easily imagine how deep her despair would be.
“B-But what if people die?”
“Hmph, who cares! If they die, they die! What does it matter?”
He spoke as if it didn’t concern him.
“We’ll set the fire and leave immediately. The flames will erase any trace of us being there. That’s enough.”
Kaizen seemed to be consumed by madness. His eyes looked extremely dangerous.
“How dare he expel me? If he thought I’d just leave quietly, he’s sorely mistaken. I will definitely…”
“My, how impressive. Moving exactly as I predicted.”
At that moment, something fell from the tree where they were hiding. The men couldn’t help but be shocked when they saw it. And without thinking, they called out his name.
“A-Albert Legrian…”
“H-How are you here…?”
In the darkness, Albert was grinning. It was just an ordinary smile, yet somehow a chilling coldness could be felt.
“How I’m here isn’t important. What matters is why I’m here, don’t you think?”
“You bastard!! I’ll kill you!!”
Kaizen’s eyes rolled back as he charged. Because of him, he had lost his knight qualifications, had all the wealth he had secretly accumulated confiscated, and had been chased out in his underwear. It was natural for anger to cloud his judgment.
“You’re really something else.”
Most people would have learned their lesson after being humiliated to that extent, but he charged without any hesitation.
What a truly foolish human.
Albert lightly flicked his forehead and subdued Kaizen. With a single blow. However, this time it didn’t end as lightly as it had in the training grounds. Back then, his sister had been watching, so he had adjusted to a 15-year-old’s strength. But now, his sister wasn’t here. Naturally, the age restriction had to be raised. To 18 years old.
Crack!
Kaizen’s head burst open.
“……”
“……”
The men’s eyes widened at the unbelievable sight before them. The skull was the sturdiest part of the human body, created to protect the soft brain. And that had been shattered by a forehead flick. Kaizen died instantly. The brain matter and gray matter scattered around were nauseating.
“Ugh…”
“Y-You… Why… are you here…?”
“Why? Because it was obvious what scum like you would do, so I couldn’t just sit back and let it happen. Right?”
Albert extended his hand.
Summoning Gluttony.
A small slime appeared in his hand.
“Y-You were planning to kill us from the very beginning!?”
“How wicked!!!”
“Despicable!”
At their fierce accusations, Albert looked incredulous.
“So trying to set fire to the territory while everyone was asleep isn’t wicked or despicable?”
“That’s!”
“It was Kaizen’s idea!”
Albert scratched his ear as if annoyed.
“Stop shifting the blame. And you already know that excuse won’t work anymore, right? Even if he started it, you didn’t stop him and participated. That makes you accomplices.”
At Albert’s words, the men realized he had no intention of forgiving them and immediately tried to kneel.
“Please…”
“Spare us…”
“I have a family waiting for me at home!!”
“Gluttony, eat.”
Crunch!
Before they could even finish kneeling and speaking, Gluttony devoured them all. Not even a single bone remained. Their knees would never touch the ground again.
You’re not going to listen to the rest?
“Is there any need to listen more?”
Not really.
Albert turned away without hesitation. During his time in that world, he had learned many things. After spending 110 years there, he had truly experienced a lot. Among those experiences, there was one lesson Albert had learned painfully well.
“You shouldn’t leave any loose ends.”
Cleanup must be thorough. No loose ends. That was the painful lesson Albert had learned from his experiences in that world.