Sword aura, the hallmark of a Sword Expert.

Though it was the exclusive province of fighters who had attained a certain level, sword aura was nothing particularly special to a transcendent being like Merlin. On the battlefields where she had fought, people who could pour out sword aura were a dime a dozen.

Sword aura itself was nothing to marvel at. Nor was the rank of Sword Expert.

Merlin had seen countless people rise beyond Sword Expert to become Seekers and Masters. That meant ordinary talent rarely surprised her. What, then, had left her speechless?

The answer was simple.

"... How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"By the empire's reckoning?"

"Yes. The Empire of Britain's."

First, the boy's age.

Eighteen. Not a child, but far too young to be producing sword aura. Merlin might have little interest in the affairs of the world, but...

["Merlin!"]

["Take a look at this. We have the youngest Sword Expert in history. Apparently, he produced sword aura at just twenty-three! It's unbelievable."]

["Good heavens, twenty-three!"]

She remembered Bedivere making a tremendous fuss over the emergence of the youngest Sword Expert some ten-odd years ago. She also clearly remembered expressing her own surprise after confirming the news.

Producing sword aura at twenty-three was certainly remarkable. Aside from the exceptional case of King Arthur, the man had been called the youngest Sword Expert in history. Wasn't he now the head of the Order of the Sword?

'A man hailed as a once-in-an-age genius first produced sword aura at twenty-three.'

Yet the boy before her was eighteen.

When had Arthur first produced sword aura? He could already wield it when they met, so she couldn't be certain, but she thought he had been about the same age as this boy.

"..."

Merlin stared silently at the boy's sword.

Even if she could put aside his ability to produce sword aura at such a young age, she could not overlook the color of the aura glittering before her.

She was too stunned to speak.

Platinum sword aura. It had belonged to Arthur alone, something only he could wield. Of course, it was too early to judge by color alone. She would have to check again when the boy reached the rank of Sword Seeker, when he could imbue his sword aura with his inner vision...

But if, by even the remotest chance, his sword aura possessed properties similar to Arthur's, this was no small matter. Platinum sword aura was something that provoked the fiercest wrath in beings connected to Camlann.

And above all, the moment the dragons saw his sword aura, they would do anything in their power to kill him.

'... This just got complicated.'

Even if Najin's identity as Excalibur's master remained a secret, countless beings would target him the moment his sword aura was exposed.

The light he possessed was more than the boy could bear as he was now.

Merlin had thought she would be lucky if the boy could handle a little mana. Instead, she had discovered something beyond her imagination. She gave a hollow laugh. Everything he held in his hands was far too dangerous.

Things that would make the whole world hunt him if they were discovered.

Helping the boy grow strong enough to survive that pursuit while keeping those things—that was the role Merlin had to fulfill as his guide.

It would not be easy. One wrong turn, and everything could collapse.

But to borrow the boy's words... that was precisely why the path was worth challenging. A smile spread across Merlin's lips.

2.

As they traveled, Najin talked with Merlin about all manner of things.

He had learned several things from those conversations and took a moment to sort through them.

"First, you said that you and the other... constellations who might be my allies are far from here, correct?"

"Yes. We're tied to the area around Camlann."

The knights of the Round Table, and the heroes who had stood beside Arthur.

Merlin said they were stationed not inland, but at the boundary at the end of the world, spending their time hunting the cursed beings of Camlann that slipped through gaps in Arthur's seal.

"Even without that, Constellations generally have trouble intervening inland. To do that, we have to establish a religious order, and that's an enormous nuisance."

Ordinary Constellations could not intervene inland. The places where they could act were the intermediate regions beyond the inland territories, the Battlefield of Stars, and the vicinity of Camlann.

"Normally, even talking to you would place an enormous burden on me. We can speak this freely because I transferred my consciousness through Excalibur."

Najin didn't quite understand, but Merlin boasted that what she had done was an extraordinary feat, something an ordinary Constellation couldn't even dream of. As far as he was concerned, he could only take her word for it and move on.

"The point is this," Merlin said. "Until you have a star of your own, reach a certain level, and come to the Battlefield of Stars, there's little we can do to protect you. That means you'll have to survive on your own inland."

"Just as King Arthur did?"

"Yes. Arthur was hunted by countless demons and nations that worshipped them... In your case, the pursuers will just be a little different."

Of course, there might be Constellations and factions sympathetic to Arthur who would also be sympathetic to Najin, but...

"The malice of those determined to kill you is a little too intense for you to rely on goodwill alone."

There were far too many enemies for him to rely on goodwill.

Merlin murmured as much with a bitter smile.

"Do you understand what I'm getting at?"

"More or less."

Najin was quick on the uptake, and he had a fair idea of what she meant.

"Hide the special things I have. That's what you're saying, right? If they're discovered, troublesome people will come after me."

"Exactly."

Fortunately or unfortunately, only a handful of people knew Najin had drawn Excalibur. The Order was something of a concern, but they would not want to expose their own disgrace to the outside world, either.

"Then for now, I only need to watch out for the Order of Star Radiance."

"..."

Merlin fell silent at the mention of the Order.

During their conversations, she had heard at least a brief account of Najin's origins and the life he had led. She let out a long sigh before speaking.

"... That was an oversight on my part."

Her voice was somewhat subdued.

"I never imagined the Order's tribunal was being run that way. In such a vile manner."

Much less had she imagined they would immediately try to kill a candidate who drew the sword. Had they truly acted without hesitation to protect the Order's reputation, even though it might constitute a challenge to Arthur's authority?

"The Lighthouse I know shouldn't have the nerve for that. I'll have to find out whether its underlings acted on their own or the Lighthouse was involved. I'll ask Bedivere..."

"Don't."

As Merlin muttered about how to deal with the Order, Najin spoke up and cut her off.

"... What?"

"I said don't. Leave the Order alone."

Najin's answer was firm.

"Whether it's revenge or punishment... I'll deal with them myself, without anyone else's help."

That was the promise he had made.

Ivan had told him to become someone no one could dismiss, then reclaim his honor for him. With those words, Ivan had made Najin his squire.

Though that promise had been broken and superseded by a new oath, Najin still considered himself Ivan's squire. The honor the Order had trampled could only be reclaimed by his own hand, as Ivan's squire. He didn't think Ivan would welcome honor restored through someone else's help.

'Someday.'

When he surpassed Sword Expert and reached Sword Seeker, the rank above the one Ivan had attained. If that wasn't enough, he would rise higher still, to Sword Master...

Once he was fully worthy, once he had enough strength, Najin would return to that city and declare that he had come to reclaim the honor of Ivan, knight of Atanga. That the starlight they had tried to trample had returned.

Picturing that still-distant future, Najin spoke.

"There are things I can only reclaim by bringing them down myself. Things I can only gain that way. So leave them alone."

Merlin was silent. She could feel the weight in the boy's voice.

"If that's what you want, all right."

He meant to achieve his goal through his own strength alone. Some might laugh at that stubbornness and call it foolish, but Merlin liked that foolishness. Whatever anyone else might say, the people who had stood beside Arthur had all been fools just like that.

... This youngster would be worth guiding.

With that thought, Merlin returned to her original role: a guide who showed him the way. She could only offer advice. Walking the path was the boy's task.

3.

Cambria, the City of Opportunity.

The city where King Arthur had truly begun to distinguish himself, where his epic had begun to gather momentum.

Was it because Arthur had built his reputation and gathered his companions in Cambria? Or because it had been the true starting point of his journey? At some point, Cambria had come to be known as the City of Opportunity.

The magical beasts and strange phenomena that appeared there, together with the legends of King Arthur tied to the place, naturally drew adventurers and mercenaries.

The resulting city of adventurers attracted noble houses looking to discover hidden talent, as well as outside investment and merchants catering to adventurers and mercenaries.

As the city developed, academy students, apprentice mages from magic towers, trainee knights, and other young hopefuls began visiting to gain a sense of the real world before fully entering society.

Thus its nickname: the City of Opportunity.

As long as someone had talent and the right qualities, they could rise to great heights no matter how lowly their origins. That was why Cambria was called the City of Opportunity.

Chasing opportunity, or chasing gold and power, countless people arrived in the city every year with grand dreams in their hearts.

But naturally, not all of them could succeed. While some found success, others discovered the limits of their talent and shut themselves away in the city's back alleys.

In other words, much like Najin at present, though his circumstances were somewhat different.

"..."

"..."

Both Najin and Merlin were silent, unable to bring themselves to accept their miserable situation.

... This was how it had happened.

Following the route Merlin had shown him, Najin had reached Cambria, the City of Opportunity, after ten long days. Camping in the forest, hunting animals to fill his stomach, and finally managing to hitch a ride on a carriage to the city—all of that had gone well enough.

Everything had been fine up until he arrived.

There was just one small problem. He had run out of money. And right now, he felt as though he would starve to death. He had finished his stock of emergency rations long ago, and it had been days since he had eaten a proper meal.

After wandering the city for a while, clutching his hungry stomach, Najin found himself in a secluded alley before he knew it. It was almost a habit.

"... Why did you come in here?"

"I thought I'd at least rummage through the garbage."

"... Seriously?"

Najin nodded, and Merlin was horrified.

"That's, that's a bit much, isn't it?"

"Well, I have to stay alive, don't I?"

"I'd rather you begged...! Surely you don't have to rummage through garbage...!"

Najin laughed at Merlin's shrieks.

In truth, Najin had no intention of digging through the garbage, either. He would if he were truly backed into a corner, but he still had a little room to maneuver.

He had a reason for coming into an alley like this.

"I'm joking."

Najin let out a long breath.

"I'm going to rest for a little while, then get moving."

"Really?"

"Why would I lie about something like this?"

"... Why not rest outside?"

"It's so bright it hurts my eyes."

Najin was still unaccustomed to sunlight. He could manage well enough while traveling, but whenever he rested, he kept seeking out shade where the light couldn't reach.

'It feels sort of cozy, too.'

Only ten days had passed since he left the underground city.

Habits ingrained over eighteen years did not disappear so easily. Leaning against the alley wall, Najin slowly breathed out.

Cambria, the City of Opportunity.

The city was very different from what he had seen in the storybook, and far larger than he had imagined. A broader stage. A broader setting. By drawing Excalibur and escaping the underground city, he had brought the prologue of his story to a close.

Now it was time to begin Chapter One.

Najin suddenly shifted his gaze, glancing at the people dozing against the walls of the alley. They were probably failures who had fallen behind in this city. There had been plenty like them in the underground city, too.

'If I settle for this comfort...'

He would fall behind just like them.

Najin let out a long breath, then pushed himself. Sitting still would not make his hunger disappear. He had to do something.

Just as Najin was about to get up, he turned toward the sound of someone approaching.

At the entrance to the alley, a girl stood before him with the sunlight at her back. She was looking down at him through narrowed eyes as he began to rise. Najin met her gaze.

'She's been watching me for a while...'

More precisely, she had been watching the alley, not him. She had been perched on a bench with a clear view of it, observing it all along.

"By the look of you..."

The girl smiled.

Her light brown hair glittered in the sunlight. Her half-lidded eyes reminded him of a snake. Najin knew that sort of gaze well.

The eyes of a moneylender, or a merchant.

Eyes gleaming with greed, a common sight in the underground city. The girl didn't even seem inclined to hide that greed. Najin instinctively knew it was directed at him.

"You haven't had a proper meal."

She reached out a hand to Najin.

"I know a good place. Would you like to come with me?"

The girl's name was Dieta Arbenia.

The city's nobles called her Arbenia's abandoned child, but its adventurers and mercenaries called her something else.

The Snake That Swallows Gold.

She had earned that nickname by pouncing on and swallowing anything that might turn a profit. Dieta pursued anything that yielded gold, regardless of the field.

Whether it was a relic, a commission, or even...

"I'll treat you to a meal."

A human being.