Chapter 25
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Child Abandoned by God
The Strange family, the continent's greatest swordsmanship dynasty and current hegemon of the continent.
The war between the eldest and second sons that erupted within it had finally come to an end.
It didn't take long for word of this to spread across the continent.
How could anyone remain ignorant when two massive factions had vanished so completely that they couldn't be hidden?
Publicly, rumors circulated that it had been a fight over the position of next family head. Of course, even within the family, few knew the full truth, so it might have appeared that way to outsiders.
Only Roys and Valentine knew Hysteria's true objective.
'No.'
Including me, that makes three.
In any case, even the emperor grew tense upon hearing of their deaths.
He had no choice; if the balance of power supporting the continent tipped, the Imperial Army would face the greatest trouble.
With the scales, balanced between Strange and Glazer, tilting to one side, they might raise banners of rebellion against him.
The priest drew the holy sign and offered a prayer.
"In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit..."
Whoosh.
Flames erupted around the coffins containing Gunter and Hysteria.
As the funeral began, knights sent the coffins drifting down the fiercely flowing river while offering sword salutes.
Clang!
For those born as knights who met their end, the finale was colder than midwinter frost. From the moment the funeral started, no one showed any emotion.
Only stern expressions and silence.
Roys, positioned at the very back of the unit, tossed his two sons' swords into the river.
Splash!
Even as he bid them farewell, his face showed no change.
Whether out of awareness of the others' gazes, or because all the emotions that once boiled in his youth had died away...
From start to finish of the funeral, he maintained the same demeanor.
Swish.
The priest swung a white staff over their heads.
"Death is not the end of life, but the beginning of eternal life. We hold hope that we shall all meet again."
Swish.
"Let us now pray with one heart for Count Gunter de Strange and Count Hysteria de Strange, who have left our side."
All bowed their heads in silence.
The priest finished the prayer and swung the staff once more.
Swish.
Guardian Knight Captain Bess raised his sword in salute overhead.
Clang!
With that, Roys turned away. As he departed, third-born Valentine issued orders to the remaining knights.
"The surviving Golden Tiger Knights shall guard this place for 100 days. The rest return to your posts."
The knights responded in unison with low but powerful voices.
-Yes!
And so, the two cores of the Strange family departed. I gazed at the drifting coffins of Gunter and Hysteria, offering a brief prayer.
Brother Gunter, Brother Hysteria.
I did not hate you.
Your deaths were merely the fate borne by those who carry the Strange blood.
As I silently watched the river for a long while, Siegfried cautiously spoke up.
"Why make that face now? Do you pity them?"
"No."
"Then?"
"Just... because they're my brothers."
"Brothers?"
"Yes. Do you know this saying?"
"What?"
"Flowers bloom without sound. Birds cry without tears. Love burns without smoke."
"......"
"Not just me. Everyone at today's funeral must have felt the same."
Words I'd heard from an Eastern knight while climbing the tower in my previous life. A knight lives on the boundary between life and death, so do not cling to emotions.
Siegfried nodded vigorously with a satisfied expression.
"Good words."
Cat Brunhilt lightly brushed my cheek with her front paw.
"Then you're a flower that bloomed without sound?"
"A bird without tears."
"And love burned?"
"I felt no love. Thus, no smoke either. Just seeing off my brothers on their way, because they're family."
I stroked the cat's head. Brunhilt rubbed her neck against me and continued.
"Aww, did our Berddin say that?"
"......Am I a baby?"
"You look like one to me."
Well, after living over a thousand years, I suppose I might.
I stayed until the coffins of my two brothers sank into the river.
After all the knights dispersed, only Valentine and I remained to talk.
"Din."
"Yes, Sister."
"Thank you for surviving."
Valentine had said this in my previous life too. Back then, I didn't understand what she meant. But now I did.
'Thank you more, Sister.'
For seeing me as the next head of Strange.
The deaths of Gunter and Hysteria reshaped the continent's landscape. Overnight, the scales of power tipped toward Glazer.
Mages backed by authority rampaged without fear.
Adventurers aiming to become the strongest knights lost their guiding star, and the Imperial Army, which had paved their paths, fell silent.
'It couldn't be helped.'
The Strange family, the breakwater holding back the massive Glazer wave, had agreed not to interfere in state affairs for the time being.
But it didn't matter to me.
No matter who held hegemony, as long as I remained in the eye of the storm called Strange Castle, I was safe.
Two years passed. Tony, Jony, and Rony, with whom I'd traded nerves, entered the academy.
"Berddin, we're going first. See you next year?"
"Yeah! No Father or Sister Valentine at the academy, so stay on your toes."
"Train your swordsmanship like you're preparing to die until then. We won't go easy there."
I saw them off with a smile.
"Yes, Brothers."
After they left for the academy, the castle grew quiet.
No more assassins came for my neck at night, and Emma, Tony's family's backer and my nanny, stopped poisoning my food.
Thanks to that, I could focus on training.
A year later, I could wield aura on par with Guardian Knight Captain Bess.
"......Incredible, Young Master."
My swordsmanship needed no mention.
Not relying on innate talent, I practiced basics daily without fail. A hundred swings, a thousand, ten thousand—not a single day skipped.
The sweat I shed raised my swordsmanship to perfection.
Another year passed, and I reached the age to enter the academy.
"I'm sorry, but I won't be attending the academy."
I informed Bess that I wouldn't enroll.
My single statement turned the castle upside down.
Guardian Knight Captain Bess was so shocked he immediately messaged Father.
'Young Master Berddin has refused academy enrollment.'
Father descended from the tower that very day, coming to the castle in person to speak with me.
"What I need now isn't the academy, but real combat adventures."
"Adventuring alone at your age is dangerous. Plenty on this continent sharpen blades to kill you."
"Since I was born here, not a single day has been safe."
"......"
"You know too, Father. The assassins under Brother Gunter's orders. What Brother Hysteria tried to do."
Father rested his chin, looking intrigued.
"Then you're saying you knew everything they were up to?"
"If I didn't, I wouldn't be here."
"Why not tell me, knowing?"
"Because we're Strange."
My words brought a broad smile to Father's stern face.
-Kuhahaha!
"Because Strange?"
"Yes. If I truly deserve to inherit Strange blood, I'd resolve it with my own strength, not Father's help."
I patted the sword at my waist and continued.
"Not 'would resolve'—I've already done so. That's your answer."
Roys couldn't help but be surprised by Berddin's response. No one had ever faced him so boldly.
"Father, to repeat: I have nothing left to learn at the academy."
"Tell me why. Why you think there's nothing for you there."
"People go to the academy to build skills for a knight's certification. I've already surpassed that."
For an eight-year-old, it was sheer arrogance. But Father respected my view.
I explained step by step, and he permitted my adventure.
"If that's truly your conviction, skip the Knight Academy. But bearing the Strange name, you must obtain a knight's certification."
"I'll take the Imperial Knight Exam for that."
"Good choice. If you need help, contact Bess."
"Understood."
The talk was brief.
Father rose after essentials, and two knights immediately handed him his cloak and sword as he stood.
As Roys armed himself, he looked back at me.
"Berddin."
"Yes."
"Not going to the academy—where then?"
"To the capital."
"Capital?"
"Yes. I'll take Imperial Army commissions there to gain experience."
Father smirked and ruffled my hair.
"Climbing the tower?"
He saw right through me.
"Yes, exactly."
"The tower is dangerous. Beyond anything you've faced."
"I'm prepared. As a knight by birth, death holds no fear."
"Fine. Understood."
That ended it.
Father left the castle soon after.
I prepared to follow in his footsteps.
Inside a small carriage heading to the royal castle.
Two men stared blankly at the walls.
Breaking the silence first was Berddin, the youngest of the Strange family.
"Got close to your guardian spirit?"
The responder was half-human, half-beast Rox, who was climbing the tower with him. He pointed at the clown floating above his head.
"He doesn't listen sometimes. But kinder than you."
"The techniques I told you to learn?"
"All of them. That... Hysteria? Your brother's full arsenal."
"Already?"
"Yeah."
A vessel holding divine blood is different indeed. Mastering in years what Hysteria honed a lifetime.
"Well done."
"What's this? Praise from you? Sun rising in the west today."
"The sun rises in the east."
"......Can't argue with that."
"Then shut up. Can't rest after arrival, so sleep on the way."
"Can't rest on arrival? Why?"
"Busy. Capital cuts your nose even with eyes open—stay sharp."
"Cuts your nose with eyes open...? What?"
Berddin swiftly drew a dagger and held it to Rox's nose.
Shing.
"See?"
"N-no."
"Then be quiet. Rest till we arrive."
"......Okay."
Thud!
The carriage jolted hard.
I thought it was uneven ground.
"We've arrived, Young Master!"
We had reached our destination.
Swish!
The curtain parted.
As Berddin appeared, deafening cheers erupted.
"We see you, Young Master Berddin!"
Rox trembled, quite flustered by the fervor.
"Wh-what is this?"
A grand mansion with a golden roof signifying Strange. Hundreds of family knights saluted before it.
Step, step, step.
'...I'm back.'
Tower.