The territory of Border Lord Lezno.
After exchanging documents in the border lord’s castle, I offered a smile and requested a handshake.
But the border lord, who accepted the handshake, wore an expression as though he were crushing a bitter bug in his mouth. The reason was simple.
The border lord spoke to me.
“Braubey and Parselena are safe, aren’t they?”
His voice was threatening. And the gazes of the surrounding knights were filled with murderous intent. With his heir held as a hostage, the border lord had no choice but to sign, with the surrounding situation also working against him.
After I spirited away… rescued the two of them, the border lord lodged a magnificent protest with Central. And from his son in Central, a letter arrived that showed no particular concern.
It was certain that he had been charmed by Ceres, and his relationships with the neighboring lords had become precarious. It was because of his protest to Central. Rumors were spreading that an army led by House Walt and others might attack.
“Rest assured. I am a man who keeps his promises, even now.”
“Kidnapper and traitor.”
The border lord’s words were not wrong. Fonbeau had been making overtures to the nations in the west of the continent and was preparing to invade Banseim. The current situation for Border Lord Lezno was that he had created rifts in his relationships with the neighboring lords who should have been his allies…
His options were limited.
Mireia spoke in a voice like that of an evil empress.
'That is incorrect. It was Banseim that abandoned Lyle. To call him a traitor is harsh.'
The Fifth Generation replied to Mireia:
'Well, Lyle has his side of the story, I suppose, but what he’s doing is undoubtedly harsh no matter how you look at it. The border lord would be angry.'
I turned my gaze outside the window. There, in the form of a Kirin, was May. On her back, she carried Parselena and Braubey.
“Grandfather!”
“Braubey!”
The Border Count rushed to throw open the window himself, but his eyes were fixed not on the Kirin outside but on young Braubey. The surrounding knights kept glancing back and forth between the window and me.
"He is an important companion of mine, so please rest assured. Don't even think about capturing him. If you do, our talk of cooperation will be off the table."
Everyone around me held their breath at my words. Margrave Rezno's only path to survival was to cooperate with me. There was no other option left.
Considering the state of affairs within the country, eventually Ceres — no, even now Ceres was draining the nation's strength for nothing. He didn't seem to realize he was tightening the noose around his own neck.
The Border Count turned from the window to face me.
"As promised, you've returned my granddaughter and daughter-in-law. When the time comes, Rezno will act according to our agreement. However, the matter of the territory—"
I nodded.
"Allow me to make the arrangements. Please go ahead and finalize discussions with Fonbeau."
Upon hearing this, Margrave Rezno—
"That's all well and good, but if you move carelessly, won't Central catch on?"
I placed the documents I had received into an envelope and tucked them away carefully.
"Don't worry. Preparations will be in place before Central makes a move."
That was right. Preparations were already nearly complete.
——The southwest of the continent.
The territory located there belonged to House Walt, the foremost nobility in Banseim.
It was now entirely enemy ground — a place Laiel could never return to — and the ones who had come to visit it were Novem and her companions.
Miranda, her face hidden under a hood, looked around with a hint of confusion.
"We're not heading into the urban area? If we want to gather information, wouldn't that be the place?"
Novem, also hooded, was gazing at the scenery visible from the horse-drawn cart. The town they had just passed through was the very birthplace of House Walt, the Landed Noble family where the First through Third Generations had all resided.
"There are too many people who know my face in the urban areas, I'm afraid. But this is an important place for House Walt, so we should be able to pick up a fair amount of talk here."
From atop the horse-drawn cart, Eva removed her hood and gazed outside.
"Not bad at all. The atmosphere's actually pretty decent. I expected something more run-down since it's Walt territory."
The Walt family forces rampaging through Banseim—
She had surely assumed that the territories themselves would be in terrible shape, brainwashed by Ceres as well. Novem lowered her gaze.
"This is a very important place, you know. We didn't even let Ceres lay a hand on it."
Miranda responded to Novem's words.
"Didn't let her lay a hand on it, huh? Must be quite the important place, then. But is it really that significant? There's a decent-sized town, sure..."
In terms of the current scale of the Walt family's territories, it wasn't a particularly important place. Nor was it a key transportation hub.
That was why the Fourth Generation had relocated the estate.
Novem spoke.
"House Walt, the Landed Nobility, began right here. How could that not be important?"
Miranda averted her gaze from Novem and looked at the scenery outside.
"So it's practically sacred ground to you, Novem. Understood."
Miranda's words dripped with sarcasm, but Novem didn't deny it. And it wasn't just Novem—for House Foxes, this place was undoubtedly sacred ground.
(The place where I encountered House Walt once more... no, where I met that person's bloodline. The people of House Walt who inherited his will... it was where I was able to meet Lord Basil.)
When the horse-drawn cart came to a stop, Novem and the others climbed down and surveyed the town.
Then, Novem led Miranda and Eva onward. Their destination was a graveyard.
Among the rows upon rows of graves, in a section set apart, stood tombstones bearing the names of the heads of House Walt—Basil, Crassel, Dewey, and Slay.
Novem removed her hood and made a gesture as if in prayer.
(To the successive heads of the house. Lord Laiel has grown into a person as strong as any of you. House Walt is secure. I, Novem, will surely make Lord Laiel the sovereign of this continent. I will conquer it and restore a world ruled by the strong—just you wait.)
Did those heart-bound voices, part oath and part personal wish, ever reach the Successive Heads slumbering beneath the tombstones?
In the memory room where Laiel had vanished, Ceres no longer appeared either.
The Successive Heads were no longer summoned to relive their trauma, and when I opened the door, it connected straight to the room where I had been confined.
It felt oddly lonely without that perv—without the lecher who used to line up women in garter belts and say he wanted to stare at them.
The room felt a little more spacious than before.
Mireia had invited me into my own memory room, but she had never told me what we would be doing here.
"Mireia, what are we doing in here? Also, you said something about Laiel being the last one—what did you mean by that?"
Mireia was scanning the room, trailing a fingertip along the furniture as though checking for dust. When she ran her finger across the surface, it came away white.
"Laiel."
"Yes?"
When I heard my name and moved to approach her, I instinctively sprang backward.
What Mireia had aimed at me as I drew close was the muzzle of a gun—a single-shot firearm fitted with a bayonet, suitable for close-quarters combat as well.
"That's… pretty dangerous, you know."
The moment I said that, Mireia tucked the gun back under her sleeve and smiled.
"Good reflexes. If you can handle your own body that well, there's real potential here. When you abandoned your role as Laiel, I was worried—but if it's like this, we can move forward."
With that, Mireia swept her left hand to the side. The room bled into gray, and the scenery shifted around us.
Then, as color returned to the landscape… it was a scene I didn't recognize—or perhaps it was a fragment from a memory that had already been erased… Either way, an unfamiliar vista spread out before me.
Mireia turned to look at me and spoke.
"The third one is yours truly—Mireia, Laiel."
Mireia, who had called herself the guide, was apparently handling the final one. Hearing that, I wondered if she too would disappear. Still, unlike Septem—the first one—she didn't feel like such a tough opponent.
I had thought she wouldn't vanish so easily, yet somewhere inside, I was relieved by that.
"…I'd have preferred if you'd been genuinely surprised rather than making such a complicated face. Still, my role is the same. There's a fact that Laiel must know."
I made sure nothing of my inner thoughts showed as I asked Mireia back.
"What is it?"
"You may have already realized this, but Agrissa—the one who defeated Septem three hundred years ago—was not defeated by anyone from House Banseim."
"…That's probably true, isn't it?"
How had House Banseim defeated Agrissa? To say nothing of the fact that records from that era were astonishingly scarce. Before the Kingdom of Banseim, there had been the Kingdom of Centrass, which had ruled the continent.
House Banseim, a mere Landed Nobility under Centrass, had saved the continent from Agrissa's dominion and ascended the throne. After that, the surrounding lords broke away, and the continent went nearly three hundred years without unification.
"The important thing isn't Banseim. Well, sure, there were a few capable rulers among them, but most of them were just a nuisance to those around them. I have no fond memories of them—only unpleasant ones—so none of that matters to me."
They felt absolutely no loyalty to the royal family. Well, a Landed Nobility wanted the authority of the crown, but chivalric devotion was a distant second. You could say they bowed their heads to whatever authority would acknowledge their own righteousness.
"Do you remember Trashy? Back then, there was that whale—a divine beast—the White Whale, wasn't there? Try to remember the words she spoke."
Come to think of it, the White Whale had said something when we repelled Trashy. She'd had an air of knowing what had happened three hundred years ago.
"Something about a hero who shared the same surname… but I wasn't able to get the details."
At my words, Mireia smiled.
"…Laiel, to tell you the truth, I had a thought when you tried to seize the continent in your grasp. So it returns to its owner's hands after all. Do you believe in fate, Laiel?"
Not understanding what she was saying, I tilted my head. Mireia continued.
"Three hundred years… go and reclaim the throne that was lent to Banseim. It belonged to House Walt from the very beginning. The time has come to take back everything from Banseim, which stole the achievement of someone from House Walt—an achievement so great it wasn't even allowed to be spoken of."
I swallowed hard in surprise and confirmed with Mireia.
"Excuse me, but that means—"
"There was a young man—the rightful heir of House Walt. He was truly someone who was only strong. An era when no one could use magic, and there were no Mana Tools to speak of. A hero who challenged Agrissa armed with nothing but a body-enhancement Skill—not even a throne in hand."
The surroundings were dotted with numerous canvas tents, giving the impression that a battle was about to begin.
In such a place, a young man was walking toward them with a booming voice.
"Yo, Novem! How've you been? You eating and sleeping proper?"
The young man let out a hearty "Gahaha!" as he laughed. He was tall, and he carried a greatsword on his back. Unlike the lump of iron that the First Generation wielded, this was truly a two-handed sword.
The young man called Novem was a slender male? To look at him, he could almost pass for a woman.
"I can hear you fine, so you don't need to shout, Laiel."
Laiel — the same name as mine.
"My bad. We're about to charge in. I'm practically bursting with energy."
The rough young man drew his greatsword and gave it a casual swing. Novem watched him do so. He let out a sigh, but there was a hint of amusement on his face.
Mireia explained.
"This person is from House Foxes. They're known as a family blessed with talent when it comes to magic. They were Court Nobility with the rank of Count."
Hearing that House Foxes held the rank of Count, I was struck with surprise once more.
"What the — no, I need to hear the rest of the story first."
Mireia nodded, and the two young men continued their conversation.
"By the way, Laiel — you did talk to Count Banseim, right? He's not exactly someone I want stepping too far forward."
My ancestor slid the greatsword away and shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't need some heir of a minor Knight Baron family telling me how to do things. But hey, I got soldiers out of him, so I'm satisfied."
The eyes of the House Foxes young man narrowed.
"His influence is going to spread even to the soldiers you've gathered. Put a stop to it. We decided to fight alongside you because it's you. Count Banseim, hanging back to observe the situation and scoop up whatever's left for himself... I can't stand him."
"Don't be like that, Novem. We've got the soldiers and the supplies now. All that's left is to march into Central and land a solid hit on that hag Agrissa. I've already decided I'm the one who gets to punch her face first, so I'll let you all have what comes after."
The House Foxes young man gave a wry smile.
"As always, huh. Agrissa is proficient in both martial arts and magic, you know. She's no easy opponent."
Then the ancestor let out a laugh much like the First Generation's, and spoke.
"That doesn't matter. Get close and cut her down! That solves everything. When it's done, let's have a drink. You're the one I've known the longest, after all."
The House Foxes young man smiled, a hint of sadness in his expression.
"...I'd feel bad for your wife, so I'll hold back. You've got a child on the way, don't you?"
At that point, the image turned gray.
Mireia turned to me and spoke.
"Lyle, are you ready to know everything?"