Enemy?
“……Tch, what the hell was that?”
On his way back from training, Tiny recalled the three sons of Valentia who had blown in like the wind and vanished like a storm.
— You, let's have a go at it.
The third son of the duke's family had apparently swallowed all his manners for breakfast and charged at him without warning, so Tiny had reflexively smashed him before he knew it.
But instead of getting angry, the guy burst out laughing like an idiot.
— Puhahaha. You're one hell of a guy!
I'm busy, so I'll head out for now, but let's have a proper match later!
Oh, and... are you mixed blood or something? You really only thirteen?
The guy had been so wildly self-centered it made his head spin. If he had to put it nicely, he seemed boisterous...
'Did the Sword Emperor have a son like that?'
In his previous life, he'd only met Aaren, the heir. If it was the third son, he might have branched off and taken a different family name by then, so it made sense that he'd never crossed paths with him.
Or...
'......He died in my previous life.'
Tiny's expression hardened without him realizing it.
While staying at the duke's estate, whenever he met the Sword Emperor—who still looked young—faint memories would surface now and then.
Twenty years later, even after reaching the Aura Exceeder realm, the Sword Emperor had aged to look almost his full age, surrounded by a somber atmosphere.
Back then, everyone was depressed amid the end times, so he hadn't thought it strange. But looking back now, it was odd for the Valentia family—which had held onto its power through the apocalypse and practically dominated the empire—to have such a heavy mood.
'And I never saw that genius Jenas either.'
The third son might have been out establishing his own house, so that was plausible. But the fact that the duke's prized prodigy, expected to become a transcendent, hadn't appeared at all... no matter how he racked his brain, it didn't point to anything positive.
He didn't know the details, but the Valentia family must have suffered massive losses while humanity faced the cataclysm and the empire crumbled.
'That genius Jenas probably died too, and maybe some of the Sword Emperor's sons as well......'
The duke had said he was preparing for the second cataclysm at the imperial palace. But would that really be enough?
“......I need to do something about it somehow.”
He didn't know the exact sequence of the Aslan Empire's collapse, civil war, and reconstruction. But he knew for sure that it had halved the empire's strength more than once.
Still, he'd thought there was nothing he could do about it himself.
Not just because he lacked details on the empire's downfall.
The second cataclysm at the palace. He wasn't of a status to attend Cloi and the crown prince's wedding.
'Isn't there some way......?'
It would be broadcast via magic projection since it was an imperial event, but only a tiny fraction of nobles could actually attend.
Non-imperial family members from even the Valentia ducal house—the bride's family—were limited to direct relatives. Only top-tier nobles like dukes and marquises could enter alone without escorts.
Anyone with even a drop of Aslan blood, however, could enter the hall. It was the palace's way of clearly distinguishing imperial blood from nobles to the empire's citizens.
They believed Aslan lineage was nobler than any human on the continent.
“Noble golden dragon bloodline, my ass......”
When that measure led to the mass slaughter of the imperial family and direct relatives, he'd honestly felt it served them right.
Back then, skulking through back alleys waiting for a chance to kill Wolf, the lavish wedding scene on the magic projector he'd seen for the first time had filled him with such envy.
He'd never imagined the faint, blurry bride on screen was the Cloi who'd been his benefactor as a child.
'Wait... come to think of it......'
Racking his brain over the memory of the sudden scream and the feed cutting out, he recalled non-nobles at the wedding venue.
First that caught his eye: the imperial knights with the Gold Dragon emblem.
'......No way.'
No matter the skill or talent, only verified nobles could join the imperial knights.
But there had definitely been non-nobles at the wedding.
'......Right, the servants bringing food.'
They'd be verified too, of course. But with Valentia's influence, slipping him in as one might not be impossible.
Maybe that's what the duke meant by preparations.
'Yeah, I should discuss it with him. Ah, of course... after Karon's sorted.'
Lost in thought, he belatedly realized he'd been ignoring his immediate goal for distant worries.
“Me and my......”
Had he gone soft? Or...
'Did I get attached to Valentia in the meantime? One step at a time! Karon first. That's overwhelming enough without worrying about the aftermath. Stay sharp, Tiny!'
Slap.
“First, after getting the Stamp in a week, head to Karon and...”
He lightly slapped his own cheek to steel himself when—
“......Karon? Is the young knight from Karon?”
A strange voice suddenly spoke.
'When......?'
Too deep in thought? Turning, he saw an ordinary-looking man.
Around thirty, brown hair and eyes, plain face. But his clothes screamed nobility.
His first thought:
'A noble.'
And second:
'......That face is fake.'
Tiny's mana sensitivity—far beyond normal—detected faint mana waves around the man's face.
Focusing more, he even sensed three mana rings near the guy's heart.
'Ballsy, disguising himself with magic in the Valentia ducal estate?'
He frowned but quickly schooled his expression.
“......Who might you be?”
“Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. Rendley von Narsa, baron. Here as a guest for Lady Cloi's debutante ball.”
There'd be over a hundred such guests. And hearing him spout mana nonsense made it even less believable.
But keep friends close and enemies closer, right?
“......What business do you have with me, Baron?”
He probed with a smile, but the con artist said something unexpected.
“Ah, I just heard some odd talk and thought I'd offer advice.”
“......Pardon?”
“Golden dragon bloodline, frozen hell or whatever... Didn't you say something like that? At least check your surroundings before spouting off, kid. Could get you in big trouble.”
“......Ah!”
His fake smile nearly twitched.
“Ahem. You're right. Thanks for the advice.”
“No problem. I heard rumors of a boy who floored a knight and wanted to meet you. Black hair, black eyes... no one else fits but our friend, right?”
Come to think of it, he'd called him 'young knight' from the start.
'He does have business with me.'
His guard went up, but he didn't show it.
“Yes, that's me. But I have nothing to say about that. I'm already causing trouble for the family I'm indebted to with my reckless actions.”
Trying to brush it off, Rendley lit up with interest.
“Man, you talk like a full-grown adult. Reckless actions... and indebted to a family? I heard you were with Valentia?”
“......Guess the rumors stop there. Yes, for now, just a guest.”
“Oh ho, really? Duke Valentia must have poorer judgment than I thought. Letting a kid like you just hang around......”
Duke Valentia...? You call the duke by name?
“That might cause more trouble here than insulting the imperial family, Baron.”
“Ah...... Ahaha, true. Guess you got me. Call it a draw?”
Draw my ass.
“Good, we traded advice, so friends now? To celebrate making friends with our young knight, let me buy dinner. What do you say?”
“......Pardon?”
What the—? Friends...? Who decided?
“Ah, haha...... Fr, friends?”
“No need to refuse. Knights can't be too shy or timid. Let's have some fun with your big bro.”
......What the hell today?
“Ah, I don't know Valentino well, but what's brotherhood between men? Right, little bro?”
Ah, this guy's a tough one. Worse than Valentia's third son in sheer willfulness. Tiny's face started to twist.
Everyone he met today seemed out of their minds.
'Just beat him and find out who he is?'
His hand twitched with the urge to swing.
—Trouble? No, you did good. But lay low for a while. Need to clean up.
If not for the duke's warning flashing in his mind, his fist would've flown first.
'......You're lucky.'
Watch a bit longer. Squinting at the self-proclaimed Baron Rendley, Tiny relaxed his twitching hand when—
“By the way, I heard you're close to Lady Cloi too. Could you maybe introduce me to her......?”
There it is! Confirming the con's dark intentions, Tiny's hand shot out reflexively.
Slap!
“......Guh!?”
The sharp slap sent him spinning half a turn before crashing down. The crisp impact felt so satisfying.
But then—oh shit.
Swoosh.
“How dare you......!”
A blade was suddenly at his throat.
'Damn!'
Clang!
His reflexive Iron Body deflected the sword, but a thin cut still grazed his neck.
“I'll cut off that insolent hand first, brat.”
A middle-aged knight—suddenly appearing—raised his sword at him, unleashing a pressure that bound his body.
Space dominance through mana alone... this was definitely...
'Challenger-grade!?'
Where'd this monster come from?
No time to ponder deeply.
“Who the hell are you!!?”
Sensing danger, Tiny bellowed loud enough to be heard, surging mana to forcibly shatter the binding pressure.
Boom!
The middle-aged knight's face grew fiercer.
“Grrrrrr.”
At that moment, Wolrang was summoned, swelling to nearly 1.5 meters tall and looming behind the knight.
“What? A spirit user?”
The knight's pressure wavered in surprise.
'Opening!'
Couldn't leave it all to Wolrang without a weapon. Tiny dropped low and charged like the wind.
“Woof!”
Wolrang pounced right after.
Caught in the pincer, the knight's sword glowed red. His body blurred into an afterimage, splitting the sword swings front and back.
Kaboom!
“Kuh!”
Crack.
“Awoooo!”
Tiny barely parried the red energy and slid back, wiping blood from his mouth. Wolrang, flung aside despite its size, had a gash on its side that quickly knit closed.
The clash decided the victor in one exchange.
“Kuh!? How......!?”
Unsatisfied, the knight radiated murderous intent again, raising his sword high.
But then—
“St, stop, Iksilan! My, my fault!!”
Rendley, cheek swollen grotesquely, yelled desperately.