Road to the Imperial Capital
"As expected of a free city. Plenty of trash crawling around in the shadows."
Clink. Thud.
Tiny stuffed the pouch—now swollen to the size of a child's head with nothing but gold coins—tightly shut and tossed it over with a bright smile. Watching this, Jenas clutched his head as if a migraine were coming on.
"Do you intend to stain the title of Light Knight with filth—no, blood? What in the world are you doing...?"
"Something good! Cleaning up trash and making money."
"Hah..."
Jenas let out a sigh, his face a picture of utter disbelief.
The criminal syndicate that had ruled Enaxen's back alleys... those nobodies whose names he couldn't even remember anymore had been swept into a sea of blood by the sudden disaster that barged in.
Naturally, a few Enaxen knights who had been turning a blind eye to them drew their swords on Tiny, but they too ended up crushed in his hands—either grabbed by the ankle by his hammer or turned into nails for it to smash.
'Never mind where he learned such brutally vicious methods.'
The massacre, which unfolded in less than half a day, instantly threw the free city of Enaxen into an uproar. It was only natural that the city leadership stepped in.
And then... they received thanks.
"Heh heh, did you see the mayor's dumbfounded face earlier? Wonder why that was?"
The hero who repelled Carun's calamity, the Light Knight. For such a famous figure to show up drenched in the blood of back-alley thugs, the mayor of Enaxen had bowed his head with an indescribably bizarre expression.
"He was grateful we cleaned up the trash, wasn't he?"
Jenas stared at him, a twitch at the corner of his mouth.
"You serious?"
Of course, Tiny wasn't fool enough not to grasp the implications.
The city relied on trade with Carun for most of its revenue, so they wouldn't dare oppose the Light Knight.
But Tiny actually found it regrettable.
"If it turned out the mayor was involved too, I'd have dealt with him. No evidence, so I let him go, but..."
In a city where Carun's influence ran this deep, he could have cleaned house from top to bottom.
"...Too bad we don't have time."
Tiny frowned, recalling the mayor's face—which hadn't looked remotely pleased despite the cleanup—and Jenas gazed at him with concern.
"That's all?"
"Pardon?"
A genius with such rare talent seemed to be veering toward an extreme personality, and Jenas couldn't help but worry.
After hesitating, he added a word of advice.
"Tiny. Executing extreme punishments without proper investigation, without even weighing the severity of crimes—that's the act of a tyrant. Such extremism will only plunge society into chaos."
He meant it sincerely, but Tiny replied with a wry smile.
"...I'm not thinking that far ahead. I just clear away the trash in front of me."
That nonchalant response only heightened Jenas's concerns.
'If he'd gotten angry, there might be room to change his mind...'
This reaction suggested his actions were deeply ingrained as simply natural.
'No helping it.'
He'd likened it to tyranny, but it wasn't harming good people anyway.
So he'd just watch over him and gently steer him away from the extremes.
As he resolved himself—
"...Plus, I needed funds this time."
Tiny's addendum turned Jenas's face back to bewilderment.
Right—he'd realized his money pouch was gone and then gone on this rampage.
Hah...
"If it was for money, we could've just asked the mayor for travel funds and been in the next territory by now."
Jenas twitched his lips again, pointing to the already darkening night sky. Tiny froze for a moment.
Then he flashed an awkward smile.
"Y-Yeah, guess so?"
...You didn't think of that?!
He wanted to yell, but since his own oversight had led to this, Jenas could only sigh repeatedly.
"Morse's seed has left Carun."
Dark room. Table. The black shadow at the head rippled, and voices erupted from around the table.
"Enaxen!?"
"Where's he headed?"
"Not the capital, surely?"
"...If he's going to Asrian, we have to assume there's a spy among us."
The room fell silent at that last voice.
The Ortus incident had been a chain of variables for them.
And it had ultimately ruined everything. Every member who saw their plan as a declaration of war on the world suffered a massive psychological blow.
And the biggest cause was—
"That little Morse brat..."
"There can't be a spy among us! With the Great One's power in our hearts, who among us wouldn't yearn for the new world?"
"But how else do you explain it?"
"Still, we can't jump to conclusions."
"Things are this messed up, and you say not to conclude? You don't mean..."
"What—!?"
Chaos at the table. The shadow at the head slammed it hard.
"Quiet! That one teeters between life and death. In the worst case, we may even need to perform that procedure on him."
"No way..."
"This isn't the time for us to fight. Understand?"
The raised voices bowed weakly.
"...Damn it."
"If there really is a spy among us..."
"We can't be sure yet. But if it's confirmed he's heading to the capital again, we'll have to review everything comprehensively. Our plans, surveillance of each other... all of it, thoroughly."
"Agreed."
"Watching Morse's heir and rooting out internal rot takes priority over eliminating him now. Any objections?"
"I agree."
"Of course."
"...Agree."
"I agree too."
With that, the dark room sank back into silence.
"The weather's still rotten."
"When the Kraken appeared and left, the days before and after were far worse than this."
Jenas frowned at the still-raging storm as they walked the street, and Tiny quietly added.
They'd spent a comfortable night at Enaxen's finest inn, but the unexpected stay had cost them a day.
Because of that, neither had any intention of delaying for mere weather.
"We'll head to the capital as fast as possible. Minimize stops at cities or villages. Ready?"
"Of course."
No telling what awaited in the capital, so hurry and prepare for anything.
No plan in mind... no, precisely because no plan came to mind, the pair hurried on.
Their resolve turned into a charge through wind and rain for over half a day.
Papapapak. Dudududu.
Wolf and rider racing like the wind. And ahead, a mount cloaked in silver wind, surging even faster.
Tiny watched Jenas's back with admiration in his eyes.
'Mana Charge to that level... impressive.'
Mana Charge. Infusing mana into a mount to grant mobility and stamina far beyond its natural limits—a basic mana skill for Expert-level knights and above.
But unless it was a divine beast or spirit animal with special lineage, indirect mana enhancement had limits.
And naturally, the horse the Enaxen mayor provided had not a drop of legendary blood.
Yet—
'Already three times faster than a normal horse's full sprint. And it's been going all half-day.'
A pace that would have killed an ordinary horse with foaming blood.
Even accounting for Jenas's wind affinity, it was astonishing.
Only possible by finely tuning mana while sensing the horse's condition intimately.
Plus, few knights on the continent—even among the top ten—could handle mana that delicately.
'Talent overflowing. No wonder the Sword Emperor wanted to pull him from danger.'
And here Tiny was, dragging him straight into the heart of it.
'Please let this be even a little better choice.'
The more he confirmed Jenas's potential, the heavier his heart grew.
Neighhhh!
After piercing the unrelenting storm for half a day, with the setting sun at their backs, they set up camp in a clearing by the roadside forest where the rain had finally stopped.
Jenas moved with un-noble-like familiarity, and Tiny—who'd spent more nights on the road than in a house in his past life—finished prep quickly.
Crackle. Crackle.
Careful not to let the carefully gathered dry leaves catch too fiercely, Jenas spoke of the schedule ahead.
"At this pace, less than a week. Didn't think it'd be possible—spirits are amazing."
"...Your horsemanship is the real marvel, sir. You were ahead of me the whole time."
They bantered, flattering each other with smiles for a bit, when Jenas suddenly asked Tiny.
"By the way, how did you learn of the demon worshippers' plans?"
"Pardon?"
Tiny couldn't help but fluster at the abrupt question—one he'd never heard in three months together.
"I heard you told His Grace about their plans?"
But he sorted his thoughts quickly. He wasn't some green kid like Jenas assumed.
"Ah, I learned it killing Philes Territory's lord."
"A small fry like that knew about the national subversion plot with the Kraken? And they wrote such a dangerous plan in plain language, no code?"
"...I was in pretty good graces with that lord."
"Huh???"
Cold sweat trickled down his back even as he bluffed desperately.
It was nonsense even to him.
'Just tell him?'
He seemed trustworthy enough...
But then, annoyingly, the Sword Emperor's smirking face popped up.
—Leak to the temple, and you're burned at the stake, kekeke.
Just imagination, but it pissed him off anyway.
'...Nah, not yet.'
They'd built bond and trust crossing death together, but if he were share-worthy, the Sword Emperor would've said first.
Personal feelings aside, Tiny trusted his abilities and judgment.
"Anyway, Sir Jenas. Do you know anything about the Second Prince?"
He forcibly changed the subject.
"Out of nowhere? Hm..."
Jenas frowned but obligingly answered.
"Well, the Second Prince has a fine reputation. Rumored to get along well with the Crown Prince too."
But the reply was unexpected.
"Pardon?"
Rumors from his past life said the Second Prince caused the imperial tragedy and died with it.
Just rumors, sure.
That idiot wrecked the Aslan Empire. Without him, the human alliance wouldn't have struggled so much.
The Sword Emperor—who'd lived it—hadn't denied it, so he'd thought it near fact.
"They get along... well?"
Come to think, the Sword Emperor in this life had seemed puzzled too.
"Yes. They're known as rare brothers on good terms in the Aslan court."
...What?
'Just baseless rumor?'
Tiny could only tilt his head at the vastly different story.