For the Future
"……Urgh."
The first thought that crossed his mind upon waking, his entire body aching with dull soreness, was that not much time had passed. After all, the duke was standing right there beside him, dressed exactly as he had been before collapsing.
"I figured you'd wake up around now. You're recovering faster than expected."
"……How long has it been?"
"Half a day. We have much to discuss. Follow me."
……Half a day? Just that much?
My body's almost fully recovered…… Did he call a high priest? Or was it Cloi?
There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but the duke turned away without giving him the chance.
Tiny hurriedly followed, only to run straight into Cloi, who had come rushing into the room as if she'd been waiting.
"Tiny!"
"……Lady Cloi?"
"Father! You finally got him healed up, and now you're dragging him off somewhere right after he wakes?"
"I'm giving him what he wants."
"What?"
"Pardon?"
Tiny's face lit up at the duke's words, but Cloi could only look baffled.
"You're not planning to get him hurt again, are you, Father?"
"Child. As I said before, those injuries were self-inflicted. Do you think I'd do something so reckless to my own daughter's benefactor? Right, little one?"
Tiny froze for a moment at the duke's words. Not because he disagreed that the injuries were his own fault.
I'm her benefactor? ……Cloi's?
He had always seen Cloi as his benefactor, so hearing the reverse felt utterly strange.
But while he stood there dazed, Cloi's expression hardened again.
"See? He can't even answer!"
"Ah, no, it's really fine! Little one, why……!"
Tiny snapped out of it and quickly interjected as the flustered duke faltered.
"Ah…… haha, no. It's truly alright, Lady Cloi."
"You were half-dead and came back to life. Do you even realize that?"
"As Your Grace said, it was my own greed that caused it. I'm sorry for worrying you."
Cloi glanced back and forth between her father and Tiny before letting out a small sigh.
"You could act a bit more like a kid……."
A wry smile tugged at Tiny's lips at her deliberate mutter, but Cloi's gaze shifted back to the duke.
"You have to treat him well, Father. I owe him a debt, but his talent is……."
"A genius we may never see again. I'll keep that in mind."
The duke chuckled indulgently at his daughter's plea, patting her shoulder. But then his eyes narrowed at Tiny, who was smiling at them.
"What's with that look? Even a kid like you knows a pretty girl when he sees one. Consider this a warning—if you dare lay eyes on my daughter……."
"Daddy!!"
Cloi shouted in panic, but Tiny was simply dumbfounded.
"……I was just surprised because you called me her benefactor."
The duke's eyes flashed sharply at Tiny's honest outburst born of sheer absurdity.
"Isn't that obvious? We caught a high-ranking black mage thanks to you."
"Ah…… yes, I suppose so."
Tiny nodded with a bitter smile, his emotions tangled, and the duke's expression darkened.
"……Is it not?"
"……It is."
The duke's face grew more serious, while the clueless Cloi blinked in confusion.
"What are you talking about?"
"Nothing you need to know. Not yet…… Little one, come on."
"Father!"
"Rest, Cloi. If it's something you truly need to know, I'll tell you myself. Right?"
"……Yes."
Cloi nodded reluctantly, her face unconvinced, sighing softly.
The duke flashed her a gentle smile.
"Good. Focus on your coming-of-age ceremony. I've prepared thoroughly—you'll love it."
"……Yes."
Her face stiffened at the mention of the ceremony, but the duke, oblivious, just patted her shoulder with a smile.
Tiny, however, watched her retreating figure with a knowing gaze. He had a feeling he understood her heart.
* * *
"The tail that followed after we dealt with the Philes lord. In truth, I was the one helped."
The duke glanced back at Tiny's sudden remark as they walked.
"……'Dealt with.' You say killing an imperial noble so lightly."
"I killed a black mage, not a noble."
"And stirred up a bloodbath in the back alleys while you were at it?"
"Just cleaned up some trash."
"Same in Lucentia, I assume?"
"……Yes."
He must have heard a lot while I was out.
Tiny thought that was the end of it, but the duke stared at him in disbelief.
"……Not one of the continent's top ten knights, but the childhood of a promising young killer? I'd believe it."
"I've been called something similar."
The duke's jaw dropped at Tiny's casual affirmation.
"Hah…… You really……."
"It felt a bit unfair. I was just diligently clearing out the visible trash."
The duke let out a hollow laugh at his brazen confidence.
"……You'll need some character education too."
"Give up on that. Better spend the time hunting for any demon worshippers who've infiltrated the empire."
"I've already taken measures. With one tough condition attached."
"Distinguishing those hiding among the people?"
"Exactly. Cloi—a mid-level cleric—couldn't even detect a black mage right in front of her. That's serious. It might be better if you……."
"You're joking, right? I told you about the disasters to come. I need to stay officially unlinked to the empire for now. The catastrophes won't just hit the empire, and if you or the duke's elites step in directly, other nations will interfere immediately. So you should help me roam the outside as someone with no ties to the empire."
"Tch."
Not wrong, the duke clicked his tongue and turned away.
Tiny grinned, then spoke up as an idea struck him.
"Try commissioning the Tower of Sages."
The duke's expression hardened. The Tower of Sages—the holy ground of mages, the core force pulling the strings of the Eastern Kingdom Alliance, rivals to the Aslan Empire.
"……Think they'll have a solution?"
"Specifically, someone from the tower. Argon……."
"Never heard the name."
"He'll be famous within ten years."
"Hm? Could it be……."
As the duke's eyes narrowed in realization, Tiny nodded.
"Yes. One of my old comrades."
"A tower mage who's an Aura User?"
"Yeah, unique guy. Though he's probably not one now."
"Hah…… I'll consider it."
The duke nodded, but whether contact with the tower would actually happen was doubtful—their relations were poor.
And whether the current Argon can even find a way…….
It seemed a long road ahead, but for now, this was the best. Tiny sighed softly.
Then the duke paused, glanced around the empty hall, and fixed him with a stare.
"Oh, nearly forgot some crucial advice."
"Yes?"
"From this moment, the fact that you've traveled back in time must remain a secret known to as few as possible."
"Obviously I won't go blabbing……?"
Few would believe it anyway, and if some key figure heard and acted differently, it could alter the future drastically.
Tiny tilted his head at the duke's obvious point, but Eschard von Valentia saw something deeper.
"Especially, it must not reach the ears of the priests. Too dangerous."
"What do you……."
"The flow of time and space is the axis of fate ordained by the Creator, a power even the Goddess—born as the administrator of all things—cannot touch. Yet a mere human has defied it. What do you think the priests would do if they knew?"
"Uh……."
Tiny blanked at the unfamiliar lore.
Creator? Isn't the Goddess the Creator? Administrator? What?
Questions flooded his mind, but as if expecting it, the duke continued.
"You wouldn't know. It's from the true scripture, passed down only in ancient houses—deleted even from temple canons."
……True scripture?
"Hah."
"So I'll ask again. How do you think the temple would treat you, having done what even the Goddess couldn't?"
Tiny's face hardened. The first word that came to mind: blasphemy.
He already caught flak for his black hair and eyes—demon spawn, heretic, etc. Now he pictured temple holy law users, meant to be the greatest foes of demons, turning on him.
"No way the temple would……."
"Even I hear rumors of temple corruption from within the capital. Do you trust them?"
That sealed it.
"Ha…… fuck……."
Making enemies of the temple was the worst-case scenario. Cold sweat beaded just imagining it.
"Tempus is a fragment of causality, a shard left by the Creator…… That's the legend handed down in the family. No patriarch believed its power fully, yet none dared spread such tales lightly."
"……So just we know and stop the disasters ourselves? Impossible, even for an imperial duke."
"Minimal, minimal involvement. Those with heavy lips, for example…… Hm……."
The duke bit his lip, sighed, then scowled and pressed on.
"You called all the continent's top ten—no, seven knights—your comrades. Ahem, still hard to believe…… But what was our trust like back then?"
"We saved each other's lives at least once. That's why comrades."
"……Fair enough. Me and that Grid bastard? Hah, unbelievable……."
Tiny chuckled inwardly, knowing the Weapon Master's and Sword Emperor's bad blood—and what was to come.
But they became comrades in the end. Because…….
"It was the end times."
What more reason was needed?
"Right. Then just us and them know."
"Pardon?"
"……You weren't planning to face the Seven Deadly Sins' legion commanders and the Demon King alone, were you?"
"……."
No verbal reply, but his face said it all. The duke chuckled dryly.
"Foolish child…… At least all ten knights need to surpass their past lives for any chance. Most hold massive influence in their races or nations—that alone will give us the power to overcome. Minimum condition."
"Ah……."
"Of course, exclude God Hand. So we must secure the rest firmly on our side."
"Y……eah."
Tiny bit his lip, recalling his old comrade—the temple's blade who forgot his own name, the eldest human top knight, Holy Spirit Knight.
But the plan had a flaw.
"……Putting aside gathering them, how do we make them stronger than their past lives? They're already masters— what can we teach……."
Tiny trailed off, remembering another top knight close in age, not yet transcendent.
Right, Argon might…….
That reaper was in an inaccessible place now.
As he pondered, the duke spoke, clearly misinterpreting the pause.
"Yes, that's it. You detail how we fought in your past life."
"……Pardon?"
"Ancient figures like the World Tree guardian aside, non-immortals can grow from that alone. Hearing the techniques I used twenty years from now would accelerate my growth immensely."
"Ha……."
The unexpected idea left him gaping.
Not teaching new skills, but revealing his future self's techniques?
Yeah, that could work…….
Different realms, but his own future…… Hearing the future Sword Emperor's favored moves now would fast-forward the duke's progress.
As Tiny stared in admiration, the duke's eyes gleamed brighter.
"Mages too, if possible. We can't grasp their world of chants, but if we could strengthen the magic swordsmen……."
His brilliant mind extended to 7th-circle mages and magic swordsmen—transcendents like Aura Users.
Unfortunately…….
"……Magic swordsmen couldn't come to the front lines."
"Hm?"
"Their frail bodies couldn't withstand the demonic energy demons exuded up close. They crumbled easier than legends said. After the Earthquake Magic Swordsman Heider died pointlessly early on, they stuck to rear support or wide-area strikes."
"……Fucking fragile bastards. Should I make them exercise?"
The duke half-joked through genuine regret, then gripped Tiny's shoulders with renewed fervor.
"Good, then first—tell me what techniques future me……."
He launched into a tirade, but froze at Tiny's incredulous look.
"……What's wrong? Some problem……?"
No, the plan was solid.
"But what about what you're supposed to give me first, you damn geezer?!"
The unintended shout boomed through the duke's corridor.