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The cursed sword Mareda was one of the many darkness-related incidents that shook the Kingdom of Yustil, and it caused particularly significant damage. After handling this, the royal family highly commended their efforts.

The reputations of Captain Jiken and Vice-Captain Trib spread throughout the kingdom.

However, Karnak’s name remained unknown.

It was deliberately kept hidden.

***

The day before their return to Drunta.

“You want to credit me with handling the cursed sword Mareda? Leaving you out of the story?”

“Yes.”

“What are you talking about? It was you, Lord Karnak, who defeated the evil spirit of the sword in the end, wasn’t it?”

Jiken was strongly opposed when he first heard the suggestion.

“There’s no need to shift the credit to me. Do I look like someone petty enough to be jealous of such things?”

“That’s not what this is about.”

Karnak had his reasons.

“Wasn’t it Captain Jiken who ultimately subdued the cursed sword?”

It wasn’t a lie.

It was indeed Jiken who suppressed the sword in the end. What rampaged afterward wasn’t the sword but Laficel.

“We merely finished it off.”

And that was only possible because Jiken, Trib, and others had already weakened most of its power.

“The captain is only getting the honor that is rightfully his.”

“Even so, honor should be shared. Why are you excluding yourself?”

Karnak gave a bitter smile.

“Not everyone in the King’s Order is as magnanimous as you, Captain.”

At that, Jiken understood the situation.

Karnak had already achieved too much in such a short time.

If he earned even more merit, surpassing one of the most senior members like Jiken, it would likely unsettle the other battalion captains.

“I’m just a country bumpkin who’s made his way to the capital, and it’s already been overwhelming enough. I don’t want to create any more trouble.”

“Well, given how quickly you’ve been promoted, I suppose showing some restraint isn’t a bad idea. But falsifying the report… that feels a bit…”

Jiken looked troubled.

If they followed Karnak’s plan, they would have to omit the fact that the sword’s evil spirit had transferred to a human host. That would mean lying.

“Of course, we’ll report the truth to Commander Erantel. But do we really need to document the King’s Order’s mistakes in writing?”

Within the King’s Order, it was crucial to know the methods of the cultists to prepare for future encounters. Hiding such details would be dangerous.

But was there a need to expose those mistakes to the outside world?

“Even if we report it honestly, wouldn’t it just give people more reasons to criticize us? It would only hinder our future operations.”

For the same reason, it was better to leave out the strange behavior of the girl towards Karnak and the 7th Battalion.

If they reported that truthfully, they’d have to explain the reason behind it, which they still hadn’t figured out. It would only invite more criticism.

“It’ll be cleaner if we just say that Captain Jiken and Vice-Captain Trib handled everything.”

Jiken, now convinced, nodded.

“Understood. We’ll take the credit.”

Then, he looked at Karnak seriously.

“I owe you a debt. I’ll make sure to repay it one day.”

Karnak smiled softly.

“I don’t feel like I’ve done you a favor, but it’s always nice to have someone to rely on when times are tough.”

A smile appeared on Jiken’s face as well.

“If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to come to me.”

***

“What’s the real reason?” Baros asked with a face full of disbelief.

“Why do you think there’s another reason?”

“Young master, you are acting with restraint? That can’t be true.”

There was, of course, another reason.

“It’s because of Laficel.”

The King’s Order believed that Laficel had been briefly possessed by the sword’s evil spirit and made one final desperate attack.

Because of this, no one paid much attention to that fact.

It’s common for evil spirits to jump from host to host.

“But the Church of the Seven Goddesses might not see it that way.”

Currently, the Church of the Seven Goddesses is persistently tracking any traces of necromancy. There are many highly capable and responsible individuals within the church who scrutinize even the most minor issues.

Take Priest Alius, for example. He’s that type, which is why they even met.

It’s good to have such competent priests, but he is afraid of stirring up unnecessary trouble.

What if the Main Temple decided to investigate Laficel? And what if, under the influence of divine power, some of her memories began to return?

“It’s better to avoid drawing attention from the start.”

The reason the sword’s girl acted strangely toward the 7th Battalion was ultimately because of Karnak. If someone dug into that, it would only become a nuisance.

It’s a hundred times better to let Jiken and Trib take the credit and move on safely.

“Thanks to that, everything wrapped up nicely, didn’t it?”

Karnak beamed with a bright smile.

He had diverted the public’s attention away from Laficel, and on top of that, he had strengthened his relationship with Jiken.

“With this, don’t you think my social skills have improved quite a bit, Baros?”

“I suppose so. In the past, everyone you met seemed to turn into an enemy.”

“Why was that, anyway?”

“I’m not sure.”

Karnak and Baros both tilted their heads in confusion.

Watching them in disbelief, Serati spoke up with a teasing tone.

“Maybe it’s because you’re so talented that you never had to care about what others thought.”

She was just saying it in passing, but the two men nodded seriously.

“So, social skills only develop when you lack certain things?”

“True, I’ve also been getting along with people better lately.”

Serati chuckled inwardly.

It felt both off-track and somehow right at the same time.

‘Still, the fact that those two are starting to care about how others see them is a good sign.’

***

Thanks to the prearranged plan, Karnak’s name didn’t become a topic of conversation among the people.

However, there was one name that did become a small topic of interest.

Baros.

“Congratulations, Sir Baros!”

“You’ve finally become an Aura User!”

No one was particularly surprised by the fact that Baros had become an Aura User.

After all, he had always been a master of martial arts.

“It was stranger that he hadn’t awakened to his Aura until now.”

Within the King’s Order, there were already several Aura Users who had been defeated in duels with Baros, despite him not being able to wield aura at the time.

Everyone had been expecting that he would become an Aura User sooner or later.

A few nobles watched with some interest.

“Two Aura Users, and the lord himself is a 6th-circle mage?”

“The Jestarad family is more powerful than I thought.”

“There’s also a rumor that Prince Lloyd is backing them?”

Even so, it wasn’t enough to draw any significant attention.

Becoming a newly awakened Aura User wasn’t considered all that extraordinary.

In the capital city of Drunta, the Red Knights were not uncommon.

There was no reason for the central powers to feel threatened just because a minor provincial family had gained a bit more strength.

The perfect balance of appropriate recognition and indifferent dismissal.

It was precisely the position Karnak had aimed for.

“Alright, now that the external issues are resolved, it’s time to deal with personal matters.”

Leaving the inn where they had been staying, Karnak bought a house in the southern district of Drunta.

With Laficel joining them, their group had grown larger, and it wasn’t exactly ideal to stay at an inn while taking care of a young girl.

“Most importantly, I don’t want her interacting with random strangers before we’ve fully assessed her condition.”

“Wow, that sounds like you’re planning to lock up a little girl and raise her to your liking.”

“Oh? Is that a bad thing, Serati?”

“It’s just a joke, don’t worry about it.”

“Glad to hear that.”

As planned, Laficel was entrusted to Serati’s care, though Serati herself felt uneasy about the arrangement.

‘Isn’t this a bit of a downgrade for her? Her original teacher was the Martial King, Beltia.’

But she couldn’t just leave her alone.

If Laficel regained her memories, the people who would be in real danger weren’t just the former Death King and the Death Knight Lord. She won’t leave wicked followers of the Death King alone either.

‘Well, as long as I treat her well from now on, it should be fine, right?’

Serati took good care of Laficel, buying her delicious food, helping her bathe, brushing her hair, and dressing her in fine clothes.

Laficel, who had been a dirty country girl, was reborn as a lively and adorable city girl. Sitting her down in front of her, Serati spoke seriously.

“From now on, you’ll be my squire, Laficel.”

“Yes, Master!”

“Master, huh…”

For someone like Serati, who was an Aura User, she certainly had the qualifications to take on a squire.

But still, being called “Master” by the future Martial King felt a bit awkward.

“…Just call me Unnie instead.”

Since Laficel didn’t know any better, she obediently followed Serati’s instructions.

“Yes, Serati Unnie!”

As a squire, Laficel would need to learn how to handle various tasks, so she was given simple household chores to start with.

With her memories sealed, Laficel was truly a kind and diligent child.

The hatred and anger she’d shown when they first met had vanished without a trace. In fact, she was surprisingly obedient to Karnak and Baros.

“Lord Karnak! I finished cleaning!”

“Lord Baros! I fetched water!”

“Lord Karnak! I finished sewing!”

“Lord Baros! Can I help you prepare the meal?”

Each time, the two men awkwardly averted their eyes.

“Oh, uh, right…”

“Good job, thanks…”

Her bright smile made it hard to look her in the eye.

[Gah!]

[The guilt…]

Watching them, Serati couldn’t help but chuckle.

[What’s this? Those two who were always so shameless…]

Well, their guilt was heavy enough that even their thick skins couldn’t handle it.

In any case, Laficel naturally blended into the group. Karnak was also able to observe her more closely.

“For now, it seems like the memory seal is holding properly…”

Now, it was time to figure out how she had reversed space-time to end up in this era.

However, recklessly probing the sealed memories was still too dangerous.

“Sigh, we finally have a lead, but we can’t even confirm it.”

“A lead, young master?”

“There was something I’ve been suspicious of all this time. But thanks to Laficel, I’m more certain now.”

He had been curious for a while.

Why had the Jestarad family suddenly become so wealthy?

Where did that copper mine, which hadn’t existed before, come from?

And why had Karnak’s power, the Darkness of Doom, already started spreading in the world from a time even before his time?

“All of this happened roughly four years before we returned.”

So, what exactly happened during that time?

Suddenly, Karnak changed the subject.

“Do you know, Baros? Magic related to space-time is purely theoretical. There’s never been a case where it’s actually been proven.”

Baros didn’t bother responding.

Through long experience, he knew that Karnak wasn’t asking for an answer.

This was just Karnak organizing his own thoughts through the act of questioning.

“What really happens when you reverse time and go back to the past? How do you resolve the contradictions of time?”

This is a topic on which mages are divided.

Some argue for the existence of parallel worlds, while others claim that the space-time continuum is immutable, making time manipulation magic impossible. Others believe that fixed singularities exist in the continuity of space-time.

The important point is that all of these ideas are merely thought experiments.

No one had ever actually reversed space-time.

“Only I have.”

Karnak smiled bitterly.

“So no one has ever been able to give me answers on this matter.”

Until now, he had assumed this world was some sort of parallel world.

“But it turns out that even in this case, history can be altered.”

What if someone else had returned to this timeline? And what if they returned before Karnak and influenced the past?

“That would explain why the world has become so twisted.”