Najin spoke with Gerd for some time. They shared information about the Emperor of Revelry and discussed how to proceed. In the process, they exchanged several requests.

“I will look into that.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Your theory is credible: several campaigns have already been conducted against the Emperor of Revelry, but their records were erased, leaving nothing behind. The incident you mentioned earlier has some suspicious aspects as well.”

Gerd stroked his beard.

“There are gaps in imperial history beginning with the Dawn War. The chroniclers say the relevant records were destroyed in fires set by the rebels, but now even that seems questionable. Were they truly burned? Or were those gaps deliberately created?”

He hummed thoughtfully and turned his gaze. From the top of the tower, he looked out over the entire Empire.

“We will need to examine everything again from the beginning. Not just the Dawn War. Every incident that ended unnaturally should be reinvestigated as well. There is no telling where an ember might be hidden.”

With the whole Empire in his sights, he continued.

“And the entire process must be transparent, accurate, and swift. The longer it takes, the greater the risk of distortion.”

Those were no empty words. If Gerd wished it, it could truly be done.

His excellence was not limited to martial prowess. Sword Saint Karon had good reason to describe him as “vastly superior to me in every respect except the sword.” Gerd was an imperial Sword Master, but he was also the Empire’s foremost warrior, the first pillar supporting the Empire.

The First Pillar of the Empire. The man responsible for placing the current emperor on the throne. The man who had saved the Empire from traitors time and again. The teacher of the imperial household’s knights, and the military commander who could set them in motion with a single gesture.

Emperor Eldwin was the sovereign of the Empire.

But Gerd was the commander who held sway over its soldiers.

He had simply chosen not to do so; if he set his mind to it, Gerd could overturn the Empire single-handedly. Nearly two hundred years of devotion to the Empire had granted him unbounded power.

‘The Empire’s foremost warrior is also its foremost power broker.’

And now that power broker was making his move.

A man who had served the Empire loyally for some two hundred years without ever wielding his power for personal ends was now determined to wield it. Gerd even had a justification.

The Emperor of Revelry was distorting imperial history.

A mere devil sought to shake the Empire’s thousand-year legacy.

Was that not precisely when a pillar should intervene?

A man with unbounded power had now been given grounds to exercise it. Najin could not readily imagine what would unfold from here. All he could predict was that the imperial officials would scream.

“Let us get up. I will see you out.”

Gerd rose.

Najin blinked. See him out? Why? Gerd explained as though there were nothing unusual about it.

“Did I not tell you? I owe you a great debt, and I have no intention of treating your kindness lightly. As of today, you are under the Empire’s protection, with me as your backer.”

“Yes, but...”

“And such things carry greater weight when made public. Naturally, I have no intention of concealing this. There is more to be gained by revealing it than by hiding it.”

In short, he meant, “I will make it clear that I stand behind you.” Najin nodded slowly. Gerd did indeed escort him all the way outside the tower.

And the crowds gathered near Gerd’s tower, the First Pillar Tower, witnessed it.

They had gathered because a new star had suddenly risen above the First Pillar Tower. Murmuring as they watched the eighth star glitter overhead, they blinked at the sight of Najin and Gerd walking out.

At the entrance, Gerd and Najin exchanged brief farewells. Before returning inside, Gerd told him, in full view of everyone, “Remember that the doors of the First Pillar Tower are always open to you.”

No one was foolish enough to miss the meaning of words that blatant. The gathered crowd stared at Najin with wide eyes.

“...”

Najin simply ignored their stares and walked on. Not daring to approach him or ask questions, the crowd parted to let him through.

Dawnstar had visited the tower of the Empire’s foremost warrior.

And the Empire’s foremost warrior had gained his eighth star.

It did not take long for those facts to spread throughout the Empire. Naturally, when the Gray Tower and the imperial chroniclers heard the news...

“Oh, dear God.”

They applauded with their foreheads. Thanks to their foreheads having grown broader over the past few months, the resulting smack rang out loud and crisp.

2.

“The Empire’s foremost warrior has gained an eighth star? Isn’t Sir Gerd still on the continent? Just like that?”

Durek, an imperial chronicler, blinked. He pressed firmly between his brows and groaned.

“Wonderful news. Wonderful. It is wonderful, but...”

So much for going home today, either.

Durek quietly shed tears. With incidents erupting at all hours lately, he could barely remember the last time he had returned to his estate.

“Tell me what happened.”

The reply was that they were working with the Gray Tower to confirm the details. But the moment he heard “that bastard’s” name shortly afterward, Durek’s eyes flew wide.

“Najin?”

“Yes, well... There are eyewitness accounts of the boy visiting the First Pillar Tower, and the timing of his visit coincides precisely with Sir Gerd gaining his new star.”

That bastard again?

Durek screamed and swore.

“I muttered that he might be going around dueling Sword Masters, and now he’s giving a Sword Master a star? What kind of unheard-of bullshit is this...?”

Exactly the same screams came from the Gray Tower. But since their master, the master of the Gray Tower, was exceedingly fond of Najin, they could not openly curse him.

“Still, since it’s a new star this time, those bastards at the Gray Tower will have it worse than us. There won’t be much for us to do. At least that’s a relief...”

“Um, Master Durek?”

“Ah, don’t say anything. You’re making me nervous all of a sudden. My hands shake whenever you people call my name now. At this rate, I’ll develop a tremor. Actually, should I use that as an excuse to retire? Surely I’ve done my fair share by—”

“Sir Gerd, the Empire’s foremost warrior, has sent a letter in his own hand. You need to read it immediat—”

He read it.

After reading the letter, Durek laughed.

“Hear me, imperial chroniclers. Including the records lost in the Dawn War, all information concerning the previous foremost warrior of the Empire and the Emperor of Revelry, and all incidents whose investigations ended unnaturally in the nearly three hundred years since the Londinel incident...”

He let the letter drop.

“Reinvestigate them all. Quickly. Swiftly.”

Muttering as though he had lost his mind, Durek fainted on his feet. Of course, another department would conduct the investigations, but ultimately, coordinating with them and reviewing and organizing the records fell to the chroniclers.

In other words, dig through three hundred years’ worth of material?

If someone issued such an order, Durek would raise his middle finger and say, “Ha! You think that’s possible? Stop talking crazy.” But when that someone was the Empire’s foremost warrior, it was a different story.

What were the Pillars of the Empire? If they pointed at a mountain and said, “That mountain’s shape is rather displeasing. Shall we shave it down a little?” hundreds of knights would be mobilized to gladly carve it down. Once that work was done, if they said, “No, let’s move the whole thing,” hundreds of knights would be mobilized again to move the mountain.

The Pillars of the Empire were powerful enough to make such things possible, and the Empire’s foremost warrior, the highest of those pillars, had given an order.

Find the records and bring them before me.

They had no right to refuse. Worse, the order came directly from that very Sir Gerd, who had enjoyed himself in his younger days pulling out chroniclers’ tongues and displaying their severed heads. Anyone who valued their tongue, wrists, and head would have to move quickly.

Durek wept.

“Fucking hell...”

A simple “fuck” was not enough to describe the situation. Adding “hell” to make it “fucking hell” came somewhat closer.

“Fucking hell. Seriously.”

It was vulgar language unbecoming of an imperial chronicler, but no one reprimanded Durek. The situation warranted it.

3.

Life in Camelot, the imperial capital, was more comfortable and pleasant than Najin had imagined.

The rumors he had heard in Cambria, the City of Opportunity, described Camelot as a realm far above the ordinary world, teeming with powerful figures and illustrious houses, where even high-and-mighty nobles were reduced to commoners. But Najin found those rumors difficult to relate to.

His lodgings were magnificent. If he needed anything, he only had to go down to the first floor and tell a member of the shop staff, and it would be presented to him within minutes. Meals arrived on time, and whenever he returned from a brief outing, his room had been cleaned until it looked brand-new.

‘This is pretty comfortable...?’

Najin could not contain his astonishment at the fact that all these services were provided without him spending a single coin. Was Camelot perhaps heaven?

Naturally, it was not.

Najin was the most honored of the Dieta Trading Company’s honored guests. Its executives had repeatedly stressed that nothing must be lacking in his treatment, so the employees attended to him as though he were their master.

In truth, he more or less was.

He had close ties, both professional and personal, to the Company Head who paid their wages. Moreover, Najin was the chief reason the company’s share price had soared—and their wages along with it.

“You know...”

Merlin glanced at him and sighed.

“You haven’t forgotten that you’re part of that ‘realm far above the ordinary world’ yourself, have you?”

‘Pardon?’

“You said Camelot was teeming with illustrious houses and powerful figures far above the ordinary world. You’re one of them.”

Najin blinked.

Was he? Thinking about it, she was not wrong. Even setting aside his own achievements, did he not have connections to major figures most nobles could scarcely imagine knowing?

The head of a major trading company, and three imperial Sword Masters.

Now that he even enjoyed the protection of the Empire’s foremost warrior, his connections alone gave him enough social standing to be called a major figure.

“It feels strange, looking at it that way.”

Only two years had passed since he left the underground city.

Najin felt a fresh sense of wonder at having risen to a position he could not even have imagined two years ago. Along with it came bitterness.

Life on the continent was cozy. Comfortable. Enjoyable.

But what Najin wanted was not here. The things he wanted could only be obtained by turning his back on comfort and plunging into the flames.

This was only a brief rest.

He still had much to do. There were matters in the Outer Lands, and plenty of unfinished business on the continent as well. Things he could only accomplish by growing stronger. He was reflecting on those tasks and sorting out the road ahead when—

JINGLE.

Breakfast and the newspaper arrived with the sound of a bell. Najin spread the paper open. News about him had caused quite a stir lately, and he checked to see whether today would be more of the same...

“Huh?”

His eyes widened.

The moment he saw the enormous lettering on the front page, he could not help it. The story gracing the front page was not about Najin.

「Excalibur Sighted in the Outer Lands.」

「Reports of Excalibur Sighting Emerge from the ‘City of Eternity’ Deep in the Outer Lands.」

「The Incarnation of the Order of the Starbody claims, ‘I saw a platinum-blond woman wielding Excalibur.’ The individual’s identity is unknown, but she is believed to be active near the City of Eternity...」

Najin turned his head to the side.

There was Merlin, staring at the newspaper with eyes as wide as his—no, wider still.