The day Rohan first went hunting, he was startled.
It was because, when he plunged a knife into a rabbit caught in a trap to kill it, the rabbit's memories flowed into him.
Running through green fields...
Sneaking onto a human farm and stealing carrots...
Fleeing from a fox...
Even the night it hid in a rabbit hole to escape a wolf's pursuit...
At first, he had not been sure, but after going hunting several more times, he became certain.
He could take the memories of the lives he killed.
There was one emotion Rohan felt before any other.
Curiosity.
Deep curiosity consumed his mind.
Then what about the memories of a fox that hunted rabbits?
What about the hunting methods of wild dogs that devoured foxes?
What about wolves that cornered and hunted wild dogs?
What about bears that subdued wolves in a single blow?
The deeper his curiosity grew, the more animals died by Rohan's hand.
People said Rohan was numb to emotion, but he did not think so.
He felt a distinct emotion whenever he caught stronger predators higher up the food chain.
Pleasure.
Unmistakable delight.
Whenever he absorbed a predator's memories, Rohan felt alive.
The feeling was highly addictive.
Hunting stronger prey... prey higher on the food chain.
Using their memories to grow further.
As if bewitched, Rohan went in search of prey.
- You mustn't kill innocent lives!
One day, his mother cried out in horror.
It was the day she discovered the secret place where he had piled up the corpses.
- Why?
Rohan asked.
The question had sprung from pure curiosity.
The memories had enabled him to catch more prey and earn far more money.
- Because every life is precious, just like Rohan. You have to value life to become a good person.
Life. Precious. A good person.
They were moral standards that held no meaning for Rohan, but...
Rohan nodded.
Because his mother was always right.
- Please, never kill any life recklessly.
Though he was young, he lived with those words engraved in his heart.
From that day on, Rohan did not kill life indiscriminately.
He did not even hunt unless he needed to.
Because his mother was always right.
Because all he had to do was listen to her.
That was what he had thought...
His mother died.
His mother had said other people valued life too.
Yet the man in the Noxis uniform did not treat his mother as precious.
Was that why Rohan felt not the slightest guilt when he killed the man?
Or was it simply his innate nature?
He could not know, but he was certain that his emotions had not wavered.
'Can I take a person's memories when I kill them too?'
He had always wondered, but he had never acted on it.
That day, however, Rohan killed a person for the first time.
The man's memories entered Rohan's mind.
Human memories were incomparably deeper and more stimulating than those of animals.
Explosive emotions swept through Rohan's heart like rain lashing parched earth.
One person was branded particularly strongly into Rohan's mind.
'Reinach.......'
The foremost sword on the continent.
A knight of Noxis, the enemy nation at war with the Empire.
'Why did my mother have to die because of him?'
He searched through the dead soldier's memories, but could not find the answer.
The explosive emotions raging within him immediately subsided when he thought of his dead mother.
'......Mother.'
Throb—.
An emotion he had never felt before swirled in his chest.
Resentment? Rage? Fighting spirit? Vengeance?
He did not know the exact word, but his chest throbbed and his insides felt as if they were boiling.
'I have to kill Reinach.'
He sensed that Reinach lay at the end of this unpleasant emotion.
It did not seem as if the feeling would end before he killed him.
He wondered why Reinach had killed his mother, but there was no need to ask.
If he killed him, Reinach's memories would enter him too.
'But how?'
The Reinach in the soldier's memories was strong.
When he swung his sword, a storm rose; when he cut the sea, a path opened.
He was beyond comparison with the people in Rohan's village who claimed some skill with a sword.
Rohan looked down at his hands.
Small, skinny, frail hands.
With those hands, he gripped the sword of the Noxis soldier he had killed.
Rohan knew a clear way to become stronger.
Whoosh—. He swung the sword through the air.
Following the soldier's memories. Following the way the man had trained.
He had hunted his way from rabbits to foxes, foxes to wild dogs, and wild dogs to wolves, becoming a master hunter.
If he wanted to become stronger, did he not simply need to kill stronger humans who knew more?
"It looks like I won't be able to keep my promise."
Rohan murmured into the empty air.
RUMBLE—!
Rohan's eyes flashed amid the thunderbolt.
***
A week passed.
No one in the world cared about the horror inside the old cabin.
The village a short distance from that cabin was unusually bustling today.
"It's the White Wolf Knight Order!"
The White Wolf Knight Order.
Elite soldiers who fought Noxis on the front lines.
They were welcomed wherever they went in the Carnia Empire.
Knight Commander Shupern, at the head of the procession, gave his soldiers an order.
"Eat and enjoy yourselves to your hearts' content today."
"Yes, sir!"
"Yahoo!"
The order had come into the village for the first time in quite a while.
It was to celebrate their recent victory.
Though they were heavily armored, the villagers were not afraid of them.
It was a common sight in a country at war.
"May we drink?"
"Drink until you can't see straight."
"Yeah!"
The war had reached a stalemate.
Noxis in the north, which had rebelled against the Empire.
The Empire in the south, which sought to punish them.
Though each side was desperate to devour the other, years passed without the situation advancing.
Those at the center of the war needed time like this once in a while.
"Aren't you drinking, Commander?"
"I'm fine."
"Tsk, you're as boring as ever."
Shupern wore an impassive expression.
He had no intention of touching alcohol until the war ended.
He was quietly watching the soldiers when it happened.
Tap, tap.
Someone tapped Shupern on the shoulder.
When he looked down, he found a young-looking child standing beside him.
The boy had deep black hair and eyes so dark they were nearly black, with a faint bluish cast.
Soldiers could enlist in the training corps from the age of seventeen, but the boy looked even younger than them.
"What is it?"
Shupern asked in the warmest voice he could manage.
Ordinary children were usually frightened when they saw Shupern's scar-covered face.
But the child before him showed no such emotion at all.
The boy spoke.
"What do I have to do to become a knight?"
"Do you want to become one?"
The boy nodded.
Only then did Shupern notice the long sword hanging at the boy's waist.
He had the fine features of a young nobleman.
The sword was markedly at odds with his appearance, made even more delicate by his scrawny build.
Pointing at it, Shupern asked.
"Where did you get that sword?"
"I found it."
It had belonged to the Noxis soldier he had killed, but Shupern had no way of knowing that.
He soon lost interest.
Finding a standard-issue sword during wartime was not unusual.
"What is your name?"
"Rohan."
"Your age?"
"Fifteen."
The minimum age for joining the knight order was seventeen.
Shupern, however, did not let it show.
"All right, Rohan. Why do you want to become a knight?"
"To kill Reinach."
PFFFT! Cough, cough!
The soldiers drinking rum nearby sprayed it out in unison.
Their eyes went wide as though they could not believe what they had heard.
One particularly tactless soldier began running his mouth.
"Hahaha! You've got big ambitions, kid! You want to kill the enemy nation's Sword Saint. Then you've come to the right place! The White Wolf Knight Order stands at the very front of the battlefield......."
"Be quiet."
"Ahem."
The man took another swig of rum, glanced at Shupern, and opened his mouth again.
"Anyway, kid, you need to learn swordsmanship to become a knight. That skinny twig of a body won't cut it!"
The soldiers surrounded Rohan and snickered.
Rohan had said he was fifteen, but his scrawny body made him look even younger.
Perhaps that was why the soldiers surrounding him looked down on him with mocking eyes.
Looking the soldier straight in the eye, Rohan said.
"I know how. Swordsmanship."
Hahaha—!
Laughter burst from the soldiers.
At the mention of swordsmanship, even soldiers drinking farther away approached with their cups and formed a circle around Rohan.
They reacted as if some fascinating entertainment had walked right up to them.
The heavy smell of alcohol wafted over him.
"All right, all right. Hmm. Fine. Then would you show us your swordsmanship with that sword?"
"If I'm good, will you let me join the knight order?"
"Of course, of course. The man standing in front of you is the big boss of the White Wolf Knight Order. Who knows? Impress him and you might become his direct disciple."
"You promised."
Though the reply was directed at the soldier, Rohan's eyes were on Shupern.
Shupern nodded with an awkward smile.
"But, Knight Commander."
Rohan edged closer to Shupern.
At the gesture asking him to lend an ear, Shupern bent down.
Rohan's quiet voice echoed in Shupern's ear.
"Why is there a Noxis soldier here?"
"What did you say?"
Shupern's expression hardened in an instant.
He followed Rohan's gaze, but saw only ordinary soldiers.
A thoroughly drunk soldier holding rum... someone who, to any eye, was enjoying a toast to victory.
Shupern was about to ask for more detail, thinking it impossible.
"What are you doing, whispering over there? Hurry up and show us your swordsmanship!"
"Show us your swordsmanship, kid!"
Shupern's words were quickly drowned out.
The drunken soldiers raised their cups and shouted at Rohan.
Rohan did not seem particularly interested in an answer either, and drew his sword from its sheath.
SHING—!
The atmosphere heated up when the blade flashed.
His stance with the sword looked quite good.
Shupern's expression, however, rapidly hardened.
'He has learned swordsmanship.'
To Shupern, who had trained countless soldiers, it looked different.
The sword's weight made the boy a little awkward, but his stance was close to textbook form.
His posture, breathing, gaze, even the way he used his muscles.
It was not a stance that could emerge without proper instruction.
A hint of anticipation entered Shupern's eyes.
The boy swung the sword horizontally.
Whoosh. The sword cut through the air.
It was only one motion, but Shupern's eyes widened further.
He focused on how the muscles were used.
Only the exact muscles needed were engaged throughout the boy's body.
Eliminating unnecessary movement.
That small difference added speed, and on the battlefield, lives hinged on that speed.
It was a form impossible to perform without a clear understanding of the principles of swordsmanship.
"Yeah! You're good, you're good!"
The drunken soldiers would not have seen any of that.
They were merely encouraging Rohan because they found the situation entertaining.
Whoosh, swish.
Rohan continued the sword form.
He recovered the sword from its horizontal slash and cut diagonally.
Then upward.
"Hahaha! Not bad, kid!"
The soldiers guzzled rum, clearly enjoying themselves.
"Wait......."
But the longer Rohan continued, the fewer people cheered him on.
By the time he reached the final stage of the form, no one was speaking.
"Fuck... that's Noxis swordsmanship."
Someone murmured under his breath.
Everyone was thinking the same thing.
The swordsmanship of their enemy, Noxis, which they had learned to recognize through countless battles.
The boy was performing the foundational form of that swordsmanship.
Even though merely displaying the enemy nation's swordsmanship warranted immediate execution.
Was it because the one before them was a scrawny child?
No one stepped forward rashly. They could only watch.
Then it happened.
Rohan, who had been edging closer to the crowd, changed course in the blink of an eye and thrust his sword diagonally.
SLASH—!
A red line appeared across the throat of a soldier who had been watching the boy with rum in his right hand.
It was the soldier Rohan had indicated earlier.
It was a blow anyone could have stopped, yet no one did.
Silence fell among the soldiers, who still seemed unable to grasp the situation.
Rohan's sword had already come to a stop.
Dark red blood dripped from the blade in his hand.
Thud.
Only the sound of the soldier with the cut throat collapsing echoed through the square.