With six volumes missing, their group’s progress was currently stalled, and going out to recover them was no simple task either. “Eluria and I can handle the Calamities,” Raid began, “but faced with more than one of them, we can’t deal with the Offspring too. So we really need more hands on deck.”
To top it off, Calamities could revive so long as polluted mana existed. This would take much more time in the eastern region, which had yet to be fully corrupted, but the same could hardly be said for the area around Old Vegalta in the west, where the Demon Lord’s invasion first began. If Raid and Eluria were to deal with the endless stream of Calamities, then they first needed to prepare enough forces to handle the Offspring in the meantime; only then could they bring the Codex back to their home base and progress their plan. Eluria was spearheading the soldiers’ training for this very reason—because what they needed now was not individual powerhouses but an army.
Valtos was also factored into this equation, as he had been granted a Hero’s power by Viteos’s greedy schemes. Since his power was on par with that of Dian and Ariel, he would surely be a huge asset in battle against the Offspring. Alas, gaining his cooperation was another matter entirely.
“Hah... And what does that have to do with me?” Valtos spat. “I am a proud member of the Altanian imperial family, the inheritor of our noble blood and successor of our peerless authority. Why, I’ve even earned the Hero’s power to protect the capital. Nothing else is any of my business. Why not leave it to the other Heroes?”
Raid hummed. “What imperial family? From where I’m standing, they’re all gone.”
“And whose fault do you think that is?! Not only did you send me flying with a cowardly surprise attack, you even deceived my father and the nobles into moving to Paradise so you could take over our empire!”
“I won’t deny that,” Raid conceded. “But hey, your father agreed to leave you here with us, so why don’t you make yourself useful and get to work?”
“I refuse! You might as well take me to Paradise too!”
“You must be delusional if you think we’d make the entire trip just for you. If you wanted to go, why didn’t you say that from the start?”
“Because you knocked me out, and everything was already over by the time I came to!” Valtos snapped.
“Oh... Right. Welp, sucks to be you.” Raid shrugged. “Anyway, you’re no longer the crown prince, so we’re gonna need you to put in some work.”
“Did you not hear me? I said I refuse to—”
“Didn’t ask,” Raid interrupted. “Millis, have at it.”
“Sir, yes, sir! As you wish!” Millis grabbed the scepter behind her and gallantly raised it into the air.
The next moment, a shock of lightning ran through Valtos’s body. “Aaaaaaah! Stop that, you braaaaat!”
“Aaand for calling me a brat, you get an extra jolt—on the house!”
“Aaaaargh!” Valtos collapsed to the floor with a scream as lightning crackled and snapped loudly within the room.
The Heroes of the First World were embedded with a mechanism that restricted their actions as a way of preventing a rebellion against the emperor—and this magic scepter, previously owned by Viteos, was the means by which this mechanism was controlled. Raid had received—or, more bluntly put, stolen the scepter from the previous emperor in order to keep Valtos in check. This was why they were willing to let him move about freely without any sort of tangible restraints.
Valtos gritted his teeth. “To think that you would hand the scepter to this little brat...!”
Raid shrugged. “I thought she was the funniest option.”
“What a preposterous reason to hand her such a powerful device!”
Millis threw her head back and laughed. “The countryside girl becomes the strongest tamer by subjugating the arrogant Hero-prince!”
“Dear ancestor, let me try, please!” Norn exclaimed.
“Oh, you sweet child, how could I ever say no to you?” Millis crooned. “Just five minutes, okay?”
“Why are these children treating me like their toy?!” Valtos wailed.
Raid shrugged. “If you refuse to work, then you might as well make yourself useful as Norn’s playmate.”
“You dare treat me, the proud and mighty crown prince of Altane, as a child’s plaything?! You— Aaaagh!” Another shock left Valtos’s large body convulsing over the floor like a fish out of water.
In actuality, the scepter could do more than just shock. According to the records, it could even steal the Heroes’ free will and manipulate them like puppets. Given this shock was the most humane punishment installed into the scepter, it made sense that Millis chose it above the others—although she also seemed to be having her fair share of fun with it.
That being said, this was likely the most unbearable punishment for Valtos—to be treated like a toy by two girls—as he finally yelled, still writhing on the ground, “F-Fine, fine! If you want me to go to the front lines, then I shall!”
Raid huffed. “Well, why didn’t you just say that from the start?”
“B-But first, you must return my sword to me!” Valtos demanded. “How could the Hero of Altane stand at the front lines without his sword, the symbol of his power?!”
“Viteos stole this from me.”
“Even so, it was mine! And you stole it from me with a foul surprise attack! Should we not decide its true owner through a fair match?!”
“A fair match, huh...” Raid muttered. “You sure about that? I can’t see any outcome where you win, though.” He could admit that, in a sense, he had launched a surprise attack on Valtos. But nothing screamed “amateur” more than the way Valtos had come charging straight at him, so Raid had made sure to hold back. Grabbing his face and throwing him away was the lightest Valtos could’ve gotten off in that scenario. If they were to have a “fair match,” as Valtos was demanding, no amount of handicaps would help Valtos secure a victory over Raid. In fact, in terms of skill alone, Valtos might even have been below Millis and Wisel.
Unfazed by Raid’s response, however, Valtos smirked confidently. “When did I ever mention a physical match? It seems this operation will entail a large-scale battle, yes? Then it goes without saying that you will need a commander!”
Raid raised his eyebrow. “Oh? And you want to be that commander?”
“Indeed! I am the crown prince of Altane! I may lack practical combat experience, but I am unparalleled when it comes to leading an army!”
“And how do you know that when you’ve been cooped up in the capital this whole time?”
“Why, with this game of shogi, of course!” Valtos declared, proudly pointing at the game board on the floor.
Raid hummed. “That’s like Legnare’s version of chess, isn’t it? Though it has more types of pieces and moves, allowing a much wider variety of strategies and developments. Pretty neat.”
“Oh? And here I thought you were no more than a barbarian who only knew how to throw people. It seems you have good taste as well!”
Raid shrugged. “So, you wanna compete with shogi?”
“Correct! If I win, you will let me be the commander—safe and away from the front lines!”
“Whoa...” Millis winced. “He asked for a fair match, then demanded they play to his strengths... What a guy.”
“I may need to look up the word ‘fair’ in the dictionary again,” Norn mumbled.
“Silence, you little brats! I cannot find peace until I beat this man!” Valtos snapped, puffing his chest out. He seemed terribly confident in his skill—either that, or he’d grown overconfident after winning against the Lambuts.
Meanwhile, Raid stared at the game board in thought. “Hmm... Looks like this has fewer pieces than dai shogi. Are the rules the same?”
Valtos blinked. “‘Dai shogi’...?”
“Well, the version I know about has twenty-nine kinds of pieces and is played on a fifteen-by-fifteen board. From the looks of it, the pieces are the same, so I’m guessing they’re moved the same way too.”
“Er... I do not know about that,” Valtos said slowly. “But there should be no issue if the rules surrounding the prince piece and the lion’s double-capture abilities are the same.”
“Oh, all right. Sounds like they are the same, then. Well, we can just go for it with you correcting me as I go. If I make a mistake, I redo my move. Deal?”
Millis piped in with an impressed hum. “Raid, you’ve played this game before?”
“Huh? No,” Raid replied bluntly. “I just learned it from a Legnarian who’d washed ashore in the past. This’d be my first time actually playing against another person. After all, it’s not like many people knew the game to begin with.”
“But...” Millis narrowed her eyes. “You remember all the rules and pieces?”
“Sure do. I used to play against myself in my head.”
Valtos scoffed. “And you think you can defeat me, the undefeated champion of the imperial capital? Truly laughable!” He crossed his legs as his lips stretched into a fearless grin. “Now then... Let our battle of wits and strategy commence—a fair match where winner takes all!”