'What's going on?'
-Leo, you have an older brother, right?
'Jamie?'
-Yes, yes! Jamie's trashing Leo's room right now.
'My room? Why?'
-It looks like he's trying to find the Swordsmanship Secret Manual.
So it had finally come.
That was what Leo thought.
He'd heard that after getting beaten black and blue by him here, Jamie had returned to the Valantes Inner Castle and spent nearly two days bedridden.
Leo had expected him to wake up sometime today, but to think the first thing he did upon waking was come turn his room upside down.
'It's not that big a deal.'
-What? Why? He trashed Leo's room! I almost roasted him with lightning, but I held back.
'You must never do anything like that.'
-Yes, of course I know. That's why I held back.
Loyalty was all well and good, but Leo didn't want excessive loyalty landing him in a difficult situation.
'By the way, did you follow Baron Vector properly?'
-Yes, I followed him.
'What'd you hear?'
Minatos, who had been dejected by Leo's response, spoke up.
-I heard something really important!
'All right, what was it?'
-Something about a Death Knight.
His heart pounded far harder than it had when he heard that Jamie had trashed his room.
'A Death Knight?'
-Yes. A Death Knight appeared, so Leo's father will be leaving for Talisha Castle soon.
'Really?'
-Yes. He said he'll go there once the deal with Exile is finished.
A Death Knight.
Leo had never seen one in person, but he had read about it in a book during his previous life.
It was a knight that guarded the boundary between the afterlife and the mortal world, an entity that roamed in search of souls that had escaped the afterlife.
'That actually exists?'
He'd thought they were merely fiction invented to frighten children......
-Of course! Naturally, they do. A long time ago...... about five thousand years ago......
'Five thousand years counts as a long time ago to you......'
-Listen to me! My Contractor at the time once fought a Death Knight. It was about as skilled as Leo's father is now, I guess?
'What was the outcome?'
-My Contractor fought well, but lost.
'Really?'
-Yes. That thing went around searching for my Contractor while slaughtering people. That was why my Contractor stepped forward, but even with my help, we were no match for it.
'What about now?'
-Who knows how it would go if we fought now? I've grown too. Hehe.
A thought suddenly occurred to Leo.
Perhaps the person who had contracted with Minatos five thousand years ago was also a regressor.
And considering that this thing, which had never shown so much as the tip of its nose in his previous life, had suddenly appeared, the most likely possibility was that it had come for him.
Leo had already died once. Yet instead of going to the afterlife, he had returned to the past.
Unless there was another human who had also experienced something one could hardly dare imagine happening, its target had to be Leo.
And a Death Knight hunted souls wandering the mortal world.
Unless there was some other reason, Leo was by far the most likely target.
'All right. Thanks for telling me. Go back for now, listen a little longer, and let me know.'
-Yes, understood.
Minatos bowed, then slowly faded away.
'So he's planning to go to Rutoa.'
Leo was also planning to head to Rutoa soon to find Zenix.
He had obtained some decent weapons from Exile, and his training in the fundamentals was complete.
He had now reached the point where attacks from most monsters or barbarians were nothing to fear.
"Young Master. I've brought them."
Behind Exile, who approached with a bright smile, members of the merchant company could be seen struggling to carry an enormous chest.
THUD!
Once they set down the chest, Exile slowly opened it.
Dozens of sets of Leather Armor were neatly stacked inside.
Leo sat down and began going through the Leather Armor in the chest one set at a time.
After lifting three or four sets, Leo's eyes gleamed.
'Gray Troll Hide?'
Unlike ordinary Leather Armor with its brownish hue, this Leather Armor was gray.
The moment Leo's hand stopped, Exile spoke.
"It's Leather Armor made from Gray Troll Hide. Are you thinking of buying this one?"
"Yes. How much is it?"
At Leo's words, Exile gave a small sigh with a grave expression before slowly speaking.
"That isn't the sort of armor you're looking for, Young Master......"
"So how much is it?"
"I can simply give you that one."
"All right. Then I'll gladly take it."
'This is how they treat it now, but......'
After only a few stages of refinement, Gray Troll Hide became exceptionally tough.
On top of that, it was far lighter than other ordinary hides.
Of course, that was only after it had undergone a special refining process.
'I can't believe I found this here.'
Leo had learned the method for refining Gray Troll Hide by chance in his previous life.
The barbarians, the Tantra Tribe.
He had learned the method from a Tantra Tribe blacksmith whom he had taken prisoner.
"But, Young Master...... The truth is, Gray Troll Hide isn't particularly high quality compared with other types of hide......"
"I know."
That was why Exile was offering it for free.
However.
'Once it's refined, it'll be a huge help even when I face the Death Knight.'
It was what Leo needed more than anything else.
***
Leo returned to the Valantes Inner Castle with a spring in his step.
Of course, he was troubled by both the fact that his father was going to Rutoa Fortress and Jamie's rampage, but for now, he had obtained what he wanted.
Leo reached the Valantes Inner Castle in high spirits, but the moment he saw Hans waiting for him, his smile vanished.
"Y-Young Master. I'm sorry."
"What happened to you?"
Leo asked as he looked Hans over.
He looked fine on the surface, but there were bruises hidden here and there.
"I'm sorry, Young Master. I'm so sorry."
Even after Leo asked, Hans kept his head lowered and continued to cry.
"All right. I understand, so answer me first. What happened to you?"
Hans had not gone to see May. After making sure Leo had left, he began cleaning the room.
He was thoroughly cleaning even the corners he usually could not tend to properly.
That was when Jamie barged in.
"He said he was taking the Secret Manual......"
Leo furrowed his brow at the sight of Hans trembling as he spoke, then slowly opened his mouth.
"Where did Jamie go?"
"I don't know...... He left with something that looked like the Swordsmanship Secret Manual."
"All right. I understand. Go inside and rest."
"No, Young Master. Inside the castle, I must always remain with you......"
"Do as I say."
Leo answered firmly and met Hans's anxious gaze.
He was cheeky and mischievous, but he had a softer heart than anyone.
"But I still have to attend you......"
And he was stubborn too.
"You'll only get in my way if you're here. So go to your room and rest."
At Leo's words, Hans lowered his head and answered.
"Yes...... Understood, Young Master."
Hans turned away and clenched his fists, his back beginning to tremble faintly.
He was frustrated, ashamed, and angry.
'Don't worry, Hans. You did nothing wrong.'
Leo knew full well that Hans felt far more shame over failing to protect the room than fear over the brutal treatment he had suffered at Jamie's hands.
Leaving Hans behind, Leo went straight into the Valantes Inner Castle.
And instead of heading to his own room......
"These are Young Master Jamie's quarters. What brings you here?"
He went to where Jamie's bedroom was located.
Looking at the knight blocking his path, Leo answered quietly.
"Get out of my way."
"My apologies. Without the Young Master's permission......"
The knight's breath caught sharply as he continued speaking.
"Urk."
The knight had merely met Leo's gaze, yet the pressure closed around his throat.
"Name."
"Magnis Tylo, assigned to the Valantes Knights' First Unit, Tenth Squad!"
The knight snapped to attention and answered at once.
"Whose orders are you under?"
"Yes. I serve under the orders of Count Magenta Valantes."
"Right now, I'm on my way to retrieve something Father gave me that was stolen. Are you still going to stop me?"
"......My apologies, Young Master."
The knight hesitantly stepped aside.
As Leo passed Magnis, he muttered.
"If you stand in my way even once more on anyone's orders but Father's, I won't let it slide."
"M-My apologies."
"You said your name was Magnis Tylo?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"I'll remember it."
Magnis's face twisted at Leo's final words.
He thought he was in serious trouble.
But Leo had not said he would remember it in a bad way.
'So here's the knight who tried to prevent the House's downfall until the very end.'
Leo had heard the name before.
Back when he had been unable to do anything about his House's fall because he was the Fortress Commander, it was a name he had always heard whenever news reached him.
To think that man was serving as the knight guarding his brother's quarters.
'His loyalty is remarkable.'
Leo would have to remember Magnis and give him the backing he needed later.
'Not one attempt to win him over succeeded.'
Even when others tried to persuade him to abandon the House, he had fought to the death, insisting that he would protect House Valantes to the bitter end.
'This time, I'll make sure to look after you.'
After finishing his encounter with Magnis, Leo stood before his brother's bedroom.
"Where's my brother?"
At Leo's question, the attendant bowed his head.
"He went out."
"Where?"
"He appears to have gone into the domain's town center."
At the attendant's answer, Leo nodded with a grave expression, then slowly approached the door.
Just as he was about to grasp the handle, the attendant hurriedly spoke.
"You cannot go inside."
"Then should I make you look just like Hans?"
When Leo glared at him, the attendant immediately stepped back.
"He stole what's mine. I'm here to get it back."
Leo tossed out the dry remark, opened the door, and entered.
'It's cleaner than I expected.'
Of course, the attendants had cleaned it rather than Jamie, but in any case, the room was far cleaner than expected.
Once inside, Leo went straight to the desk and bookcase.
Among the countless books filling the bookcase, he found the House Valantes Swordsmanship Secret Manual bathed in sunlight streaming through the window.
'Okay, I found this......'
Leo immediately called for the attendant.
"Is anyone out there?"
"Yes, Young Master."
The attendant who had tried to stop Leo moments earlier entered with his head bowed.
"Send someone to my brother now. Tell him that if he isn't here within ten minutes, I'll burn everything in this room."
"Y-Yes?"
"Ten seconds have already passed."
At Leo's words, the attendant hurriedly closed the door and rushed outside.
Leo had come straight here without stopping by his own room, but he could roughly imagine what state it was in.
Since Jamie had found the Secret Manual hidden so carefully away, he had probably ransacked the entire room.
He would also have struck Hans and the other attendants.
Leo wanted to beat Jamie's attendants senseless in return, but what had they done wrong?
This had happened solely because of that piece of shit.
'Minatos.'
-Yes?
Leo leisurely sat down at his brother's desk and summoned Minatos.
'Was there anything else noteworthy?'
-No. Vector is training with the knights at the training grounds right now.
'What about Father?'
-It looked like he'll join them at the training grounds soon.
'Really?'
-Yes. Hmm, it looked like he was going to select the knights who'll accompany him to Rutoa.
'Did they say exactly when they'll leave?'
-I don't know. They didn't talk about that.
'Didn't they say it, or didn't you hear it?'
-W-What, what, what?
Judging by how flustered Minatos was, they must not have heard it.
'You dozed off, didn't you?'
-No! They really didn't say anything!
Leo let out a quiet but deep sigh at Minatos's answer and nodded.
'All right. Let's say that's what happened. Anyway, forget that for now. I need to borrow your power for a moment.'
-Yes. Just say the word! Should I burn everything here? GRAWR!
Minatos bared their teeth like a wild beast.
'Yes. Burn it.'
-Really?
'Yes. Burn it all.'
That degenerate was not going to come anyway, and Leo had intended to burn everything here from the moment he came.
-This isn't Leo's room, though?
'It's my brother's room.'
-Then why are you burning it?
'I can't burn my brother.'
Minatos tilted their head at Leo's answer, then slowly raised both hands.
The energies of fire and wind gathered in Minatos's tiny hands.
'Why the wind?'
-When everything here burns, the smoke will blow toward Leo. Leo will cough if he breathes in smoke.
Leo stroked the head of the smiling Minatos.
'How thoughtful of you...... Start.'
At Leo's words, fiery energy erupted from Minatos's hands.
A spectacle of tiny sparks began pouring into the room as though shooting stars were falling from the sky.
WHOOSH!
In an instant, flames engulfed the room.
Minatos expertly controlled the flames with one hand while using the power of wind in the other to sweep away the pitch-black smoke rushing toward Leo.
Thanks to them, he could watch the fireworks in perfect comfort.
-What's that smoke?
-Oh my, there must be a fire!
-What do we do?!
The corners of Leo's mouth rose at the voices coming from outside.
Then he gave an order as he watched Minatos gleefully spray flames everywhere.
'That's enough. Put out the fire and go rest.'
-Okay!
Minatos had played with the fire so enthusiastically that soot covered their face as they answered.
'Wash your face well when you get back.'
-Yes!
Minatos answered, then slowly faded away.
At that moment.
BANG!
"What are you doing?!"
The door flew open, and Jamie appeared, drenched in sweat and panting.
Leo gave him a small smile.
"You got here sooner than I expected?"