The firmly shut door to the reception room opened.

The imperial household had personally arranged this room so Najin could rest before leaving. It was far too spacious and lavish for a mere handful of people, but considering its occupants, perhaps it was not.

For it was far too cramped to contain three transcendent beings.

The moment the door opened, Karon gave a hollow chuckle and muttered, "So you've finally graced us with your presence." Yuel turned around without a word. An old man stood there, having just opened the door and entered. Yes—an old man.

While the world at large regarded the elderly as wise people who bore the passage of time and possessed the wisdom of ages...

In the world of warriors and mages, an old person was simply a loser defeated by the passage of time. They were objects not of respect, but of ridicule and scorn. After all, the moment one reached a level equivalent to Sword Seeker, one became completely free of aging.

Freed from aging, their bodies remained fixed at their prime, and their lifespans grew dramatically longer.

Thus, in their world, an old person was merely a loser who had grown old without attaining a level equivalent to Sword Seeker. Yet exceptions always existed.

"..."

The old man standing there now was one such exception.

His hair had gone entirely white. If Yuel's white hair was beautiful silk, his was coarse as grains of sand tumbling through the wilderness. And it was not merely his hair. The wrinkles covering his face and skin bore the full weight of passing years.

But that was all.

His back was not bent. His shoulders had not curled inward, and his eyes had not grown cloudy. He was a giant who had not been swept away by time, but stood steadfast in its current. That was the impression Najin received from him.

He was physically imposing, too.

"Would you..."

Gerd, the Empire's Sword Master, spoke.

"Leave us, Yuel. Karon."

At the sound of his name, Karon shrugged and rose. He had enjoyed himself enough and had said all he needed to say. Yuel likewise stood without a word. Both respected Gerd.

This was the Empire, and Gerd was one of its pillars.

Though transcendent beings stood on equal footing, it was their custom to accord Gerd the highest standing here at the Empire's heart. Conversely, at the main churches of the Order of the Sword and the Order of Starblood, Karon and Yuel respectively received that deference.

It was an agreement meant to reduce friction among transcendent beings. In accordance with it, Yuel and Karon yielded the room.

"Don't frighten him too much, Sir Gerd."

With that muttered remark, Karon left.

Once Yuel and Karon had departed, Gerd waved his hand lightly. That alone dispelled the reek of liquor permeating the room. In an instant, the air cleared.

"This place is too cramped," Gerd muttered.

Before Najin could answer, Gerd raised a foot and stamped it against the floor. A heavy thud echoed.

SPLASH

Something painted over the reception room's scenery. Najin's eyes widened. As though paint were being scattered across a finished picture, a new landscape was being overlaid upon the room.

Wind swept through despite the closed door.

Najin frowned against it, his hair whipping wildly. The rushing wind was followed by a single flash. When he slowly opened his eyes, he was no longer in a reception room enclosed on all sides.

An open grassland.

A grassland stretching far beyond the horizon.

2.

A heavy footfall thundered out.

Then mana burst from inside the reception room, shaking the building. The people standing outside could not withstand it and fainted, collapsing one after another. Only two reacted to that mana.

Karon the Sword Saint and Yuel the executioner.

Their heads turned at the same instant. Their swords were drawn at the same instant. It was an unconscious response, not a conscious decision. With swords in hand, they realized they were outside its range and let out short breaths.

"Well..."

Karon frowned.

"He's taking far too many liberties just because this is his territory. What a foul-tempered old bastard."

"On that point, I agree," Yuel answered expressionlessly.

"Unfolding a sword domain at the heart of the Empire is explicitly illegal. Even if the Empire's foremost warrior is above the law, this is an abuse of power. Depending on the circumstances, he can be held accountable."

"The problem is, who in the world can hold the Empire's foremost warrior accountable?"

"The Sun of the Empire can."

"He must have acted with the Sun of the Empire's permission. That's the kind of man he is."

Looking thoroughly displeased, Karon flicked his sword tip. The landscape clinging to the end of the blade scattered into the air. Yuel shook it off with a similar motion.

Had that space attempted to swallow them as well, neither would have hesitated to swing their swords. It would have been a clear provocation and a preemptive attack.

But the space was confined to the other side of that door. It remained unpleasant, but they had no real grounds for a formal protest. Karon exhaled at length and sheathed his sword. There was only one reason Gerd would do such a thing.

'He wants to see what lies at the bottom.'

Karon had been subjected to it himself. Whenever that old man encountered someone talented, he could not rest until he scraped down to their depths and saw what lay there with his own eyes. That was why Karon had warned him to go easy on frightening the boy.

"Of course the bastard didn't listen to a damn word."

Karon clicked his tongue.

The old man's lofty devotion to the sword deserved respect, but Karon had little desire to respect his character. A lunatic who cared for nothing but the Empire and the sword. Once again confirming the accuracy of his old assessment, Karon shook his head.

"No wonder people call me the most normal of us."

"Pardon? What did you say?"

"..."

Karon looked at Yuel without a word.

One was a blood-crazed murderous fiend. The other was a lunatic who knew nothing but the Empire and the sword. Being lumped in with them suddenly felt terribly unfair.

"Nothing."

"Is that so?"

Karon sighed and trudged away. Then he paused, glanced back, and chuckled.

'Looks like you intend to drag out everything he's got...'

He snorted as he recalled Najin, his unofficial pupil, whom he had observed over several sword lessons.

'It won't be that easy.'

That youngster would hardly let himself be stripped bare so easily.

Underestimate him, and Gerd might take a hit instead. With that thought, Karon left. His help did not seem particularly necessary.

* * *

When Najin blinked, he saw a vast grassland.

He drew a long breath. Even the air was different from a moment ago. That meant it was no illusion. No, perhaps it could be a highly advanced hallucinatory spell...

—That's not it.

Had such a trick been used, Merlin would have seen through it. That left only one possibility. Something exclusive to transcendent beings who had attained Sword Master. The sword domain, or whatever other name people called it. Karon had spoken of it before.

Painting one's mental image over the world.

And thereby standing firmly within a world of one's own.

Najin slowly released the breath he had drawn and looked ahead. The master of this world stood there. Gerd watched him with cold, settled eyes.

"You aren't surprised."

"I've experienced rather a lot of surprising things."

Najin answered immediately.

For some reason, he felt he must not allow himself to be cowed. Steadying his breathing, he stood upright. Where was the exit? How could he escape? That was probably beyond his current capabilities.

'He doesn't intend to kill me.'

The Empire's foremost warrior was the emperor's sword.

He would never act against the emperor's wishes. Nor did the emperor seem likely to approve of Najin to his face, then arrange something like this behind his back. He had no need to resort to such tricks in the first place.

In that case...

"May I ask your reason?"

Najin looked straight at Gerd. Meeting his gaze, Gerd spoke.

"His Majesty said the Empire would be watching you."

"I remember. He did say that."

"And I am the First Pillar of the Empire. The Empire of which His Majesty spoke includes me."

He was not wrong.

But he was not right, either. Najin frowned. Nothing good would come of taking a hard line with the Empire's Sword Master, but simply bowing his head did not sit well with him.

"What have I done? I don't believe I've done anything yet. Isn't this a little premature?"

"Better than being too late."

"What do you wish to see in me?"

"What you are hiding."

The old man pointed at Najin.

"You did not show His Majesty everything. I sense it. You are hiding something. I must see it."

In short, he intended to drag out everything Najin had in reserve.

Hearing someone say it so openly made Najin let out an incredulous chuckle. Why was everyone he met so desperate to strip him bare?

—A genius is, by nature, subject to others' envy and jealousy...

'You did the same thing, Merlin.'

—I... was a little different... It wasn't jealousy. I had to make sure, and I apologized afterward...! Honestly, are you going to hurt my feelings like this?

'I'm joking. I know.'

While Merlin grumbled in a wounded voice, Najin narrowed his eyes. Something he was hiding? Of course there was. But it was something he could never show.

'Can he be reasoned with?'

At a glance, he seemed more normal than Yuel, at least. Najin slowly chose his words, one by one.

"Everyone lives with a secret or two. One's full strength has value precisely because it remains hidden."

"A valid point."

"Then I cannot show you."

"You do not deny that you are hiding something?"

"Would denying it serve any purpose?"

Gerd nodded, as though pleased with the answer.

"The oath you proclaimed before His Majesty was sincere. Even if your convictions should break someday, for now, you will act to uphold that oath. The force you displayed as you spoke it, your spirit, the reverberation of your soul—I trust those."

His tone was friendly. His eyes were gentle.

"But this is a separate matter."

The old man narrowed his eyes.

At that instant, killing intent engulfed Najin. It was not unconscious and indiscriminate like Yuel's. It was an immense killing intent aimed at a single person, seeking to crush him flat. Najin's eyes turned bloodshot.

TAP

Najin reflexively stepped back and seized his sword hilt. As though he had been waiting for that very moment, Gerd withdrew his killing intent and pointed at Najin as he gripped his sword.

"Your stance as you grip your sword. The hand that moved in that instant. The hand you extended as you stepped back."

The place Gerd's fingertip indicated...

Najin had seized his sword hilt with his left hand, but Gerd was pointing at his right. And Najin's right hand was reaching into empty air, as though about to draw something from it.

"You only deepen my suspicions."

The Empire's Sword Master released a long breath. Standing upright amid the swaying grassland, the old man asked,

"Are you the owner of Excalibur?"

3.

Are you the owner of Excalibur?

Najin did not panic upon hearing the question.

Until now, no one had suspected him, but the situation had changed. Anyone could suspect him now. He had accomplished enough to warrant it.

'My reaction was a mistake.'

But he could still recover from it.

Najin steadied his breathing and lowered his hand. How should he act? How could he get out of this situation? His mind raced.

Gerd, the Empire's foremost warrior.

What kind of man was he?

["A man who threw everything away for the sword and the Empire."]

["The only things that old man believes in are the sword and the Empire. His lover, his children, his life—he abandoned them all."]

Words Karon had once told him.

Accounts of Gerd he had read in books. A man who believed only in the sword and the Empire. In other words, the sword.

One who had dedicated his life to the sword. A swordsman.

Using that as his basis, Najin assembled sentences in his mind. Finding ways to survive against stronger opponents had long been his specialty.

His opponent's interests. Convictions. Values.

A way to use them to get past the situation.

"Sir Gerd."

"I asked you a question. Answer it."

"I may be insignificant compared to you, but I am a swordsman."

Najin smiled.

"Since when do swordsmen set aside their swords to prattle with their mouths? If you have a question, ask it with your sword. Is that not a swordsman's way?"

Gerd's eyes shifted.

Though he did not speak, the corners of his mouth moved. Najin did not miss it.

"The gap between us may be as vast as heaven and earth, but we are both swordsmen, are we not?"

Najin drew his sword roughly.

"I challenge you to a duel."

"Me?"

"Yes. Not the Empire's foremost warrior, but Sir Gerd the swordsman, who attained transcendence with a single sword."

At Najin's answer, Gerd burst into laughter, as though he could contain it no longer. Najin had not challenged the Empire's foremost warrior, who sought to assess an unknown factor for the Empire's safety. He had challenged Gerd the swordsman, who had approached him out of sheer interest, eager to cross blades with a talented individual.

'You want to see the depths of what I have?'

Then ask with your sword. Isn't that a swordsman's way? That was what the boy before him was saying.

Gerd understood his intent.

Because he understood, he found it absurd. Because it was absurd, it was interesting. And because it was interesting, laughter escaped his lips. Challenging him to a duel? Him? How long had it been since anyone had challenged him after he attained transcendence?

"Ha."

With that laugh, Gerd's expressionless face broke. The mask the old man wore shattered. Hidden beneath it was a madman who had thrown away his life for the sword.

Facing that madman, Najin smiled.

"But if this duel is merely you trampling me, I can hardly show you everything I have, can I?"

"True. Are you asking me to hold back?"

"As long as you refrain from using what is exclusive to Sword Masters, that will suffice."

Gerd chuckled.

"Full of little tricks, aren't you?"

"I'd appreciate it if you called me clever."

The Empire's Sword Master drew his sword. The old man was smiling as though enjoying the situation, but the instant he drew his blade, Najin felt every sense in his body snap to attention. It was chilling. Terrifying. His instincts screamed.

'If you intend to drag out everything I have...'

But Najin smiled.

'You'd better be prepared to have everything you have dragged out too, Sword Master of the Empire.'