Only one person can sit on the imperial throne.
Not once in the Empire’s long history has that rule ever been broken.
So then, what happened to those who failed to become Emperor?
At the very least, not all of them met a miserable end.
Of course, given how old the Empire is, there have been several bloody upheavals.
But in reality, there were many cases where things ended peacefully.
Some simply lived out the rest of their lives quietly.
Some left for places far from the capital in search of a new life.
And some came down here, to Blackout, to fight the Empire’s headaches.
Of course, given the harsh conditions of Blackout, they had to abandon their imperial names.
But still, not a few chose that path.
And among them, the most prominent figure was—
“The Tower Master of the Laness Magic Tower. Laness.”
“……”
At Jun’s words, Javier couldn’t say anything, as if he had forgotten how to speak. His mouth just hung open.
“And the real name of the Tower Master Laness is… well, no need to say it out loud.”
What was certain, however, was that her former name must have included “Adrian”.
And Adrian is the first name traditionally passed down in the imperial family.
“Lady Laness was someone who dropped out of the throne succession war two generations ago. In truth, it was almost forced upon her due to her age at the time.”
At the time, Laness was far too young when she entered the throne succession war, and being wise, she immediately declared her withdrawal.
She then threw her support behind the previous emperor, who was the strongest contender for the throne at the time, and cleanly left the imperial family to devote herself to the study of magic.
She didn’t make a single public appearance until the age of thirty.
Even that wasn’t enough for her. She went so far as to change her name to Laness and, under that name, established her own magic tower.
That’s why, in the game, the Laness Magic Tower is so friendly toward the imperial family.
“Didn’t you, in your own way, intend to meet her?”
“…Y-Yes. But how on earth did you know that?”
“It may be a secret to the general public, but it’s not like information about her is completely inaccessible.”
In fact, anyone in the know already knew about Laness.
People just stayed quiet about it, since speaking up wouldn’t do anyone any good.
“Go meet her in person.”
“I… I wanted to. But my mother would never forgive me.”
“Haha…”
At that, Jun smiled mischievously and said,
“There’s a saying.”
“What now…?”
“It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.”
“……”
“Would Lady Beneth really cast you out? She loves you more than anyone in the world.”
“……”
“Meet Lady Laness in person and come up with a concrete plan. It’s not too late to persuade Lady Beneth afterward.”
“Is that so… is that how it is…”
“Yes, Sir Javier. No matter how much you worry and agonize, if you don’t act, it’s all meaningless. Run into the wall. The human body is sturdier than you think. Even if you hit the wall and fall, you won’t break. Besides, Sir Javier, you’re still young.”
Then Jun brought a finger to his lips and added:
“Oh, but please keep it a secret that I said all this to Lady Beneth. Haha.”
At that mischievous remark, Javier couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
***
“I never imagined Javier was struggling with something like that.”
Javier stepped out of the room with a refreshed expression.
Watching him, Aiden wore a heavy expression.
“It’d be strange to know everything going on in someone’s heart. Honestly, if you did, that’d be kind of scary.”
“Haha… now that you say it, you’re right.”
“Anyway, I’m just glad this situation seems to have been wrapped up somehow.”
“Though, looking outside… it doesn’t seem that way.”
At those words, Jun turned his head to look out at the scenery of [Checkpoint].
Though only a single day had passed, the island had noticeably shrunk.
And from a distance, the sight of nobles fleeing in a panic almost looked like a comedy.
Maybe it’s because the sky’s so bright while the rain’s pouring like crazy.
In fact, quite a few people who had the luxury to spare were just standing around, staring blankly at the strange sky.
“Let’s take some rest once this mission wraps up.”
“Yes… it’s been a pretty busy schedule lately.”
Even this mission alone had consumed nearly half of this year’s Blackout season.
It had already been months since they accepted the request, and now, less than four months remained in the season.
At this point, heading to the fifth level would be awkward.
He didn’t want to go out again and cut it close, like they had at the end of last season.
“So what do you think we should do with the remaining time?”
“Well… I’ll have to think about that.”
Truthfully, Jun had more than enough on his plate.
There was the mana fluid that still needed refinement. And there was also his plan to expand the White Whale Mercenary Corps’ influence starting from the lower levels.
Cloy would likely take care of it on her own if left alone, but things would go much more smoothly if Jun got involved directly.
Considering the recent actions of the Heavenly Church, it’s definitely something that needs to be done.
Unlike the cautious movements seen in the game, they were now acting in bold and aggressive ways.
To respond to that, the most solid strategy was to build a strong foundation from the bottom up.
And that wasn’t all.
Now that he had reached the Sixth Circle, he also needed time to reflect and reassess himself.
But it’s a bit of a waste to hold back Aiden and the others…
They were comrades capable of operating on the fifth level. It didn’t feel right to keep them idle.
Still, telling them to go train separately didn’t seem like something a proper mercenary leader should say, either.
Or maybe… preparing to head to the sixth level wouldn’t be a bad idea.
He had only just entered the fifth level this year, and even then, the only places he had visited were the Alchemists’ City, Hedravan, and the Sandstorm Hills.
Exploring a more unfamiliar part of the fifth level would be a worthwhile experience.
What should I do…
While he was pondering several options—
“Oh my. For a room full of patients, it doesn’t smell half bad.”
“Ah!”
The window of the room rattled open amid the pounding rain, and someone walked in with light, unhurried steps.
Despite the downpour outside, not a single drop of water touched him.
It was the Sword Soul, Aden.
“Hohoho. Looks like everyone’s holding up alright.”
“Sir Aden. What brings you here?”
“Oh, just thought I’d take shelter from the storm.”
He said it without so much as a change in expression, but Jun didn’t take his words at face value.
As if. This is the man once known as the Empire’s Sword.
Given who he was, there had to be a reason for his visit.
Sure enough, Aden kept nodding thoughtfully as he looked over Aiden’s body.
Then, with an utterly shameless expression, he turned to Jun and said,
“Would you mind if I took this kid with me for a while?”
He asked for permission, but his tone was more of a notice than a request.
Still, as the leader of a mercenary group, Jun couldn’t just agree so easily. He asked,
“What exactly do you mean by ‘take him with you’?”
“Well, you all seem to have a loose schedule for the rest of the season anyway. I’ve got nothing better to do in my twilight years, so I thought, why not try teaching the kid a thing or two?”
“Wh-What?!”
The one who cried out in shock, practically yelling, was of course Aiden.
“What are you talking about…?”
“I’ve been watching you, and your talent’s not bad at all.”
“Th-Thank you, sir.”
“No need to thank me… If anything, that’s something you should be hearing.”
“……”
Aden already knew Aiden’s true identity, and neither Jun nor Aiden was particularly surprised by that fact.
“Thaerdin. I heard from him. At the end of your fight with that butcher monk, or whatever it was….you used a strange kind of power, didn’t you?”
“Ah.”
Of course.
As the leader of the Blackguard, the imperial knight order, Thaerdin had immediately recognized the unique magic of the imperial bloodline that Aiden had used at the very end.
And given that he was a powerful knight nearing the eighth Level, he must have realized Aiden’s magic was far from ordinary and gone to consult Aden because of it.
“That’s why. And Thaerdin….he’ll be coming along too.”
“W-Will it really be alright for someone like me to go with you?”
Aiden, of course, had some vague idea of his own talent.
But this was Aden.
He was the idol of all swordmasters, and throughout the Empire, countless warriors dreamed of crossing swords with him just once.
Even the imperial knights, proud and self-assured elites, were no exception.
For someone like Aiden, it was something he had never even imagined would happen.
But the surprise didn’t last long.
His expression darkened a little as he looked toward Jun.
“Um… and what about you, Senior…?”
“Huh? That guy’s got no reason to come along.”
Unfortunately, Aden didn’t seem to have any intention of bringing Jun as well.
He’s already doing just fine on his own.
It wasn’t that Jun lacked talent….far from it. Aden could clearly see that Jun was growing steadily, even without anyone guiding him.
As expected, it looked like he’d reached the Sixth Circle in the latest battle.
On top of that—
No way that guy doesn’t already have someone watching over him.
Jun probably already had a mentor of his own.
Having reached that conclusion, Aden gave a sly grin and added,
“Well, sometimes a little distance can be good. There are things you only realize when you see someone again after being apart for a while….things you couldn’t see when they were always right beside you.”
“Ah…”
Was he still unsure?
Aiden seemed to be struggling even with the act of worrying about it. But Jun gave him the answer.
“If you’re willing to teach him, I’d be grateful.”
“Oh.”
“Aiden. You already know, even without me saying it. Opportunities like this don’t come around easily.”
“That’s true… but still.”
“And you felt it too, didn’t you? In the fight against the Butcher Monk.”
“……”
As the memory of that moment came back to him, Aiden unconsciously nodded.
“It’s true. My skills still aren’t enough to match the Butcher Monk.”
It was an incredibly arrogant thing to say. Especially coming from a rookie who hadn’t even been in Blackout for two years.
But so what?
It was better to live boldly and arrogantly than to be too weak to protect your comrades.
“Use this chance to break through another wall.”
“…Then what about the Wind Spirit?”
“Oh, the spirit? Well, can’t be helped. Besides, it used up a lot of power this time. It’ll probably sleep for a while. Just tell it to hang in there till then.”
Jun had already been wondering if there was a way to better support the Wind Spirit.
There were other pressing matters, so it had taken a back seat, but he hadn’t forgotten.
It did say it’d help me channel wind magic into my Circle.
Now that he had some time, he planned to look into related spells.
“Alright then, I’ll leave it to you. I’ve got a lot to do. I need to bring that Thaerdin guy along, too.”
“Ah, understood! Um… really, thank you. Sir Aden. For giving me this opportunity.”
“Hoho. Save that kind of talk for after the training. Tsk. You know, most of them act completely different on the way back than they did on the way in.”
With that slightly chilling remark, Aden turned and walked away.
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