Drexler Ainen
"Knight... yes, Loyer should do. Bring him here."
"Yes, Your Grace."
No sooner had the servant left the room on his orders than Tiny asked with a sullen expression.
"Weren't you going to handle this yourself, Your Grace?"
"Cheeky brat... I can already tell what you're made of. Why would I bother sparring with you myself?"
"If you already know the answer, why bother with the test?"
"...Because I feel like it."
Just being petty, huh? Tiny couldn't help but chuckle at how different the Sword Emperor seemed from before—now fully in control, pulling all the strings. It irked him, sparking a mischievous urge. So, like dangling bait, he asked casually,
"Aren't you curious about the future at all?"
"...Quite a bit."
Gotcha. Tiny inwardly cheered as the duke bit faster than expected.
"Shall I tell you about the future of House Valentia, as far as I know?"
Was his playful intent too obvious on his face? The response was unexpected.
"No, I don't need that nonsense."
"...Pardon?"
"There must have been omens before the catastrophe you mentioned. What I'm curious about are those uncanny signs. I have no interest in my own future."
"Who calls their own future 'nonsense'?"
"That's what makes it nonsense. Knowing I'll survive and fight to the end is enough. If I'm fine, the family will be too. I don't want to ruin the fun of life by peeking ahead."
Oh, so the big fish's pride won't bite on cheap bait like that? But Tiny had a trump card.
"What about your children's futures, then?"
Even the confident Sword Emperor's eyes wavered at that—but only briefly.
"...Absolutely do not tell me. Or them."
Huh...?
"People grow through mistakes and failures. I pride myself on raising my children not to break under trials. Don't rob them of their chance to grow."
His words carried half a killer's intent, utterly sincere. Tiny grinned playfully in response. Truth be told, he knew Cloi's future somewhat, but her brothers... not really.
"Honestly, I don't know much. I was barely keeping myself alive—how could I know House Valentia's affairs?"
"What...?"
The duke's face twisted grotesquely. For the first time, Tiny felt like he'd landed a solid hit after being dragged around. He chuckled inwardly, but the duke's hardened expression led to another surprise.
"You do know about the world's geopolitical situation going forward, right?"
"...I know the big events that stirred up the common folk."
"That's all you know?!"
Confused by the sudden outburst, Tiny blinked back.
"'That's all'? What exactly do you want...?"
"The allied forces you mentioned are way too few, no matter how I look at it! Don't you at least know what happened in between?!"
"Ah...!"
"Ah!? What do you mean 'ah'? Damn it, this is insane..."
The duke's rage didn't stop at words.
"Aaaah! It hurts! My ear, my ear! Let go! I said let go!"
"Heh, you brat. I'm going to beat every last detail out of you."
As Tiny thrashed, the duke yanked the servant call cord irritably. The waiting servant entered immediately.
"You called, Your Grace?"
"Tell Galen or Drexler to come instead of Loyer!"
"...The vice-captains, sir?"
"Yes. Tell them there's someone who needs a thorough thrashing."
"...Understood."
The servant's worried gaze flicked to Tiny, dangling helplessly by his ear, but he thought,
His Grace wouldn't call the vice-captains just to beat up a kid, right?
With that perfectly reasonable assumption, he bowed and withdrew. The moment the door closed, Tiny unleashed the scream he'd barely held back for dignity's sake.
"It hurts! Let go! Think of your ducal dignity!"
"Ha, look at this little shit. What did future me see in this punk to entrust him with the family treasure?"
"Ask him yourself... Aaaah, it hurts! Using mana is cheating!"
"You little punk, I'll rip your brain out if I have to—spit out everything you remember. It's all for the continent's future."
"I already wrote it down!"
"...Oh?"
"'Oh'? What 'oh' now! Let go first! I was just joking, your temper..."
"My temper?"
Tiny's rude word choice grated, but the duke's eyes shifted to the parchment Tiny produced. His expression soured again.
"...Why is this so skimpy? You list over ten creepy 'catastrophes,' but the details? This is half-assed."
Tiny averted his eyes from that menacing glare.
"W-well, except for what I experienced myself, it's all rumors or secondhand from comrades..."
He hadn't detailed his own experiences since they didn't need elaborating, but to the duke, it looked utterly inadequate.
"Ugh... Goddess, why do you test me like this? Should I blame future me? Huh?"
Massaging his throbbing temples irritably, the duke reached for Tiny's head again. The air's mana froze, perfectly binding the boy.
Why waste that power on this!
Screaming inwardly, Tiny blurted desperately,
"Ah! Come to think of it, there was something at the temple too..."
"Something?"
"...Yes."
How did things turn so sour? It had felt so warm just moments ago... Tiny swallowed his frustration, sweating coldly. Pleased by the suddenly polite tone, the duke released his power and nodded.
"What is it? Speak."
"After the Demon King's army descended, a hero and saintess appeared via oracle. They marched out to fight the demons, but..."
"But?"
As Tiny trailed off, the duke's hand extended again.
"I-I only know up to there... By the time I heard, they were already clashing with Glutterni!"
"That's your idea of intel..."
The duke's mana bound him once more. Before he was immobilized, Tiny yelled,
"I-I know the hero's age! And name!"
"Out with it."
"Chromebell! And his age is..."
"Age?"
"Twenty!"
"Oh, good. Origin, then..."
"Don't know that..."
Meager info, but the duke nodded and picked up a pen.
"Well... A hero will stand out. Not hard to find. Useful enough. Lucky."
He added Chromebell's name to Tiny's scrawled parchment.
"But... about that."
"What?"
"The hero's age... he's twenty twenty years from now..."
The pen snapped with a vicious crack as it wrote the name and age.
"...No actually useful info?"
Cloi-like blue eyes blazed murderously, pressing Tiny.
In his past life, they'd been equals... Damn it, I'll grow fast just to shake this off.
He'd planned to gather info anyway—to avert preventable disasters and bolster humanity's alliance.
"F-first one's solid! In Karon..."
Tiny spilled every disaster he knew.
It's necessary anyway.
Absolutely not cowed by the duke's violence. Never.
* * *
Grind.
The training ground's stone gate opened, revealing a blond middle-aged man inside. Drexler dropped to one knee and bellowed,
"Lord! You called?"
"Oh, Drexler. Good timing—spar with me."
"Gladly."
A duel with his Aura User lord? His blood boiled naturally.
But.
"Tch, you already believe me, so why another test?"
Standing before him wasn't his lord, but some unfamiliar kid. The ominous black hair matched his impudent muttering.
Why was this brat in House Valentia's knight training ground...?
"...Your Grace?"
"Ah, testing the boy's talent. To see if his mouth matches his arrogance."
"...Pardon?"
He still didn't get it.
"So... you want me to spar with this kid?"
"Exactly."
Insane...
"...Ahem."
Drexler swallowed the blasphemy rising in his throat. But wild thoughts flooded his mind.
Is His Grace discarding me? Why send a vice-captain for this triviality? Did I err? Can't maintain my manor without the vice-captain stipend...
"...Drexler!"
"Wha—yes! Y-Your Grace!"
"Lost in nonsense again. It's important—judge him properly."
"Pardon? Ah, yes. Understood."
Often chided for his timid nature belying his fierce looks, Drexler refocused on the kid.
Moments later, gauging the boy's realm, his jaw dropped.
...2nd stage? Near Expert? Looks barely ten—possible?
Doubting his senses, more stray thoughts arose. But his lord's voice snapped him back.
"As you see, he's a genius. But is it just mana talent, or combat sense too? Confirm thoroughly."
"...I'll remember."
There was reason for calling him, a 5th-stage Superior. Drexler ignited his fighting spirit, eyeing the kid.
But.
"Huh. Warhammer? Excuse me, do you know who forged that? I'd like one a bit bigger. More cracks on the head, handle an inch longer..."
The kid fixated oddly on his weapon—very specifically.
"Focus, Tiny. Botch this, and my promise vanishes."
"...Brat."
...Did he hear blasphemy?
Hallucination. Who'd dare in the duke's house...
As Drexler dismissed the clear word, his lord grinned ferociously at him.
"Drexler, you can smash him. Just keep him alive."
The order confused him anew. His benevolent lord ordering a half-kill on a child?
Worried his ears failed, then—
"Come on, there's a limit to level gaps!"
A rude voice confirmed his hearing fine.
"My promise to help comes from future me. What you show here decides what current me gives."
His lord even chuckled at the kid's words. Drexler couldn't grasp it.
"You can't mean win, right?"
"Not even that. Scratch Drexler once, you win."
"You promised!?"
...As if, kid. Drexler found the naive guts laughable, but the kid flipped attitudes 180 degrees.
"Come on, knight! Let's go! If you won't come, I start!"
The bold shout preceded a lightning dash at his ankle. The mace's blue glow confirmed full 2nd stage.
Of course... mere that.
Boom!
"No chance, kid."
Drexler mana-infused his greave, kicking the mace aside with a savage grin. The level gap dwarfed any ambush.
But.
"Ngh!"
Shockingly, the kid held on, retreating steps to disperse the impact.
How, at that age?
Not just mana talent. Drexler grew curious about this genius kid.
Then his lord bellowed,
"Spirit sorcerer, they say. Holding back against a master?!"
The roar echoed; a massive wolf summoned at the kid's feet.
"Ho, a spirit."
Impressive, but.
Boom!
No hesitation smashing the charging wolf and rider. Yet the kid dodged amazingly.
Dodged that?
"...A direct hit might kill, y'know?"
The kid's mutter after barely evading stoked his battle lust.
"I'll hold back enough not to."
Fierce looks, timid heart—but unyielding in fight. Blue Wing vice-captain Drexler Ainen began radiating full aura.