News of Roan’s dazzling victory rode the wind and spread quickly, soon reaching Baron Valdemar’s ears as well.
He had been anxiously awaiting the outcome of the battle, and when the long-awaited news of victory finally arrived, he burst into laughter.
“Hahahaha! As expected of Sir Roan! I knew this would happen!”
Baron Valdemar’s chest swelled with pride in Roan. At the same time, he felt tremendous satisfaction with his own excellent judgment. Signing a mercenary knight contract with Roan had been the moment his discerning eye truly shone.
He turned his gaze toward the window and fell into thought.
‘Ordinary nobles would never have found it easy to make a choice like this! But I saw through Sir Roan’s potential. I recognized how extraordinary he was and gave him my full support. I even put a fief on the line!’
The result of his keen insight had manifested in the astonishing achievement of the “fall of Gallard Castle.” From Baron Valdemar’s perspective, there could hardly have been anything more satisfying.
‘At this rate, we really might win this war! And while making an enormous profit from it, no less!’
Baron Valdemar’s heart began to pound. Hope, expectation, and ambition burned like flames within his chest.
Originally, he had entered this war with the pure intention of easing the suffering of his people. Every time he saw them groaning under Solsgard’s provocations, it had felt as though his heart were being torn apart.
But looking at the situation now, it seemed he could afford to dream a little bigger. After all, it was obvious that if he gained substantial benefits from the war, the quality of life of his people would improve just as greatly. For him, this was a perfect opportunity to achieve two goals at once.
“Send Sir Roan my congratulations!”
The baron summoned one of his aides and spoke. Then he paused for a moment before adding,
“Ah, and be sure to tell him that I have always believed in him!”
“Yes!”
After the aide bowed and withdrew, Baron Valdemar turned his gaze back out the window.
Unlike usual, the scenery of his territory looked especially beautiful.
The green fields, the distant mountain range, and the clear river flowing between them blended together like a painting.
A warm smile spread across the baron’s lips.
***
Meanwhile, news of Gallard Castle’s fall also reached the territory of Solsgard.
Viscount Hailbran, the lord of Solsgard, was overcome by rage and frustration the instant he heard the shocking news. His face flushed red as he clenched his fists and ground his teeth.
“What in the world is going on?! Gallard Castle has fallen?!”
Viscount Hailbran shouted in fury.
He simply could not understand the situation.
Gallard Castle might have been small, but it still boasted fairly solid defenses. Because of that, he had believed the garrison would be able to hold out well enough when the enemy attacked. He had been certain that if he sent reinforcements during that time, they would be able to drive the enemy back.
But reality had turned out completely different from what he had expected. Before he could even send reinforcements, news had arrived that the castle had already fallen. Viscount Hailbran could not make sense of it at all.
He lowered his voice and asked in a threatening tone,
“How in the world did the enemy manage to take Gallard Castle? Speak!”
Pressed down by the viscount’s terrifying presence, the messenger trembled and stammered.
“Th-that is... well...”
“Grr! Stop hesitating and report at once! Tell me everything exactly as it happened!”
At the viscount’s roar, the messenger’s face went pale.
Soon, he began explaining the situation in a trembling voice.
“H-House Dragonbane surrounded Gallard Castle with five hundred troops. And... their knight challenged Sir Alfonso to a one-on-one duel, which Sir Alfonso accepted.”
The messenger paused briefly to catch his breath before continuing.
“But... Sir Alfonso was defeated almost instantly. And astonishingly, when the victorious enemy knight showed mercy to the soldiers of Gallard Castle... many of them were moved and surrendered.”
After hearing the entire story, Viscount Hailbran let out a hollow laugh.
His expression was a mixture of ridicule, anger, and bewilderment.
“...Ha! Hearing all of that only makes even less sense!”
He thought for a moment before speaking again.
“Why did Sir Alfonso accept the opposing knight’s duel challenge in the first place? If he had simply locked the gates and held out, I would have sent reinforcements.”
The messenger answered cautiously.
“That was... because the opposing knight was an unknown knight. Sir Alfonso seems to have judged that he could defeat him easily.”
“An unknown knight? Wait...! Are you saying some nameless knight slaughtered Sir Alfonso? That Sir Alfonso, the ‘Storm Knight’?”
Viscount Hailbran’s eyes widened.
“Yes, that is correct. The opposing knight was named Roan.”
“Roan... What is his family name?”
“Brighton.”
“Brighton...”
Viscount Hailbran muttered the name and furrowed his brow.
In truth, Brighton was far too common a family name. He would need additional information to determine Roan’s exact origins, but Roan still seemed to have no title or epithet of that sort. He truly was an unknown knight.
For a moment, anger and jealousy mixed together in Viscount Hailbran’s mind.
‘Baron Valdemar...! Where in the world did you find such a capable knight?!’
Viscount Hailbran had always been greedy by nature. His appetite for talented people was just as exceptional. Because of that personality, the fact that such an outstanding talent had taken Baron Valdemar’s side drove him mad with jealousy.
At that moment, a sudden knock sounded at the door.
“My lord, the mage has arrived.”
The moment he heard those words, Viscount Hailbran sprang to his feet.
A light of hope suddenly appeared on his face.
“Oh, has he? Escort him to the reception room at once! I will be there immediately!”
His mood improved in an instant.
Thinking about it, there was no need for him to envy Baron Valdemar. After all, he had also recruited an extremely capable individual.
‘With the mage’s help, this war will be mine!’
Mages were beings who wielded mysterious powers. No matter how capable a knight Roan might be, he would be nothing before the power of a mage.
Viscount Hailbran was already picturing himself victorious in the war.
***
Dawn briefly cast the light of daybreak before the sky began darkening again.
Time passed, and before long, four days had gone by since Gallard Castle fell.
“Hey! Hurry up and move those stones!”
“Ugh, my back!”
“We need more dirt over here!”
At present, the soldiers of House Dragonbane were working hard to repair the castle. Their plan was to use Gallard Castle as a strategic stronghold for the war from that point onward.
Originally, they had intended to leave only a small number of troops at Gallard Castle and immediately advance on another castle. But once they actually occupied Gallard Castle, they discovered that its defensive capabilities were far better than expected.
Leaving such a sturdy castle behind would have been extremely foolish. If they repaired it properly and held it firmly, they would be able to pressure Solsgard for a long time.
“...H-hey, it’s Sir Roan!”
While the soldiers were hard at work repairing the castle, a sudden commotion arose among them. Roan, the greatest contributor to Gallard Castle’s fall, had unexpectedly appeared. His armor gleamed brilliantly, and there was an imposing dignity in his stride.
“Everyone is working hard.”
Roan spoke in a gentle voice.
“S-Sir Roan!”
At once, the soldiers all prostrated themselves.
Respect and gratitude shone in their eyes.
Among the soldiers, Roan was already a hero incarnate. The mere fact that he had come to encourage them was enough to send their morale soaring toward the heavens.
“But at this rate, it looks like this will take quite a while. I will lend a hand too.”
“S-Sir Roan?”
But what was this?
They had thought he had come only to offer encouragement, yet Roan suddenly joined the soldiers and began carrying stones alongside them.
Every soldier stared at him in stunned disbelief.
How could an arrogant knight lower himself to work like ordinary soldiers?
That thought left them greatly flustered at first.
But before long, when they realized that Roan genuinely intended to help, the soldiers began shedding tears of emotion one after another.
As time passed, Roan’s armor became covered in dirt and dust. Yet in the soldiers’ eyes, he looked nobler than ever. A knight sharing hardship alongside common soldiers was something they had never seen in their lives.
“Everyone, keep it up!”
“That is right! Sir Roan is working this hard, so how could we possibly slack off?!”
Afterward, inspired by Roan’s actions, the soldiers began working with even greater enthusiasm. Compared to before he appeared, the pace of the work increased noticeably.
“...S-Sir Roan! I brought some water! Why don’t you have some while you work?”
After quite some time, a young soldier suddenly approached Roan. He was carrying a water jug in his hands.
Roan raised his head and looked at him. The young soldier’s face seemed somehow familiar. Roan thought for a moment before speaking as though the memory had returned.
“Ah, Charles.”
The young soldier’s eyes went wide.
“Gasp! Y-you know my name?”
Roan smiled and replied,
“Of course. What kind of knight would I be if I didn’t know the names of my soldiers?”
At those words, all the nearby soldiers were swept up in another wave of emotion. Their eyes were filled with respect.
Of course, the real reason Roan remembered Charles was that Charles had been the first soldier to cheer when Roan defeated Alfonso in their duel. Charles’s actions at the time had driven the mood of the entire scene, allowing Roan to seize complete control of the situation.
“Sniff...! It’s truly an honor, Sir Roan! I’ll serve you with all my loyalty!”
“Thanks. I’ll have some, then.”
He gulped down the water Charles handed him. Charles looked up at Roan with sparkling eyes. To him, Roan looked like a hero from myth.
“All right, then. Shall we get back to it?”
And so, time quickly passed until evening.
After finally finishing all the work on the fortifications, Roan left the soldiers’ words of gratitude behind and headed toward the inner castle’s training ground. He still had something left to do.
‘Sylph’s Gift... It’s surprisingly tricky to use.’
Unlike [Half-Ogre Strength (B)], [Sylph’s Gift (C)] was an Active Skill. Unlike a Passive Skill, which remained in effect at all times, this skill required a considerable amount of practice to use properly.
Because of that, Roan had been practicing this skill whenever he had the chance ever since learning [Sylph’s Gift (C). But perhaps because his basic talent for swordsmanship was lacking, he was still struggling to use it.
‘More than anything, Alfonso could maintain this skill for around five minutes. But my limit is only thirty seconds.’
Thirty seconds was far too short for practical combat use. Roan believed he needed to maintain it for at least three minutes.
‘Today, just one minute...! Let’s hold it for just one minute!’
Afterward, Roan took a deep breath and drew his sword. Then he began to focus. When all the sounds around him faded away and only the sound of his own breathing remained, he finally activated [Sylph’s Gift (C)].
WHOOOOOOOSH—!
In an instant, powerful winds began swirling around his sword.
“...!”
Several soldiers passing near the training ground looked around in surprise at the sudden violent wind.
They felt wind blowing from the direction of the training ground along with a strange sound, but they could not determine its exact source. The wind was so strong that no one could get close to the training ground. From a distance, however, it looked as though the training ground were the center of a small typhoon. The soldiers could only watch the sight from afar with awe in their eyes.
Through the mouths of the soldiers who witnessed this mysterious phenomenon, rumors spread throughout the castle in an instant.
All night long, the people inside the castle talked animatedly about the inexplicable wind that had arisen at the training ground.
***
The next morning, for some reason, everyone in the castle was calling Roan the “Ruler of the Storm.”
When Roan heard the news, he shook his head.
‘Looks like I overdid last night’s training. This is a little embarrassing.’
Yet there was a smile on his face. The new epithet was proof that he had taken another step forward.
Moreover, his assumption that “killing a Named Enemy causes a Skillbook to drop” had long since become a certainty after he obtained [Sylph’s Gift (C)]...! From now on, he would be able to gain even greater power.
Suddenly, Roan raised his head and looked beyond the castle walls.
Before he knew it, his gaze had turned toward the far-off distance.