Okay. The guy who called himself Richter has got to be Friedensrichter. But why does everyone want to be a vice-commander? It’s the most mundane job in the world. It’s fine for boring people like me, but guys like you need to be leaders, Friedensrichter. Seeing that exchange gave me a second wind, and I pushed myself to my feet and started walking again. There was no way I was going to stop before I saw the end of this saga.
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“I can’t believe you wouldn’t let me be your vice-commander...” Richter sighed in the now-restored Jakarn Castle.
Shumar, who was wearing a ceremonial robe, smiled awkwardly and said, “I couldn’t do that to you, Richter. Sorry, Lord Richter. There are still many Valkaan to the south. I need a former Valkaan like you to take control of this region and protect our southern border.”
“If that is what my king commands, then I simply must obey,” Richter joked. “All of the magical artifacts are hidden in the mountain cave behind this castle, I suppose. Speaking of which, who do you plan to assign to guard them?”
“I was planning on asking the werecats. There aren’t many of them, but they’re much stronger than humans.”
Richter closed his eyes and said, “They’re a good choice. Valkaan are a threat, but so are humans who desire to become Valkaan. In that sense, humans are who we need to be wary of.”
“Exactly. But if there ever comes a time you need those artifacts for whatever reason, feel free to take them out.”
“Understood. If an emergency arises, I’ll distribute them to our ex-Valkaan comrades,” Richter said with a nod. “By the way, when will I get to stop being a Valkaan?”
“There’s still the threat of whatever Valkaan live in the south, and disputes with the nomad tribes have been on the rise, so I’d like you to at least wait until things settle down internally. In five...no, seven years, I think you’ll be able to retire. It’s not an order but a request. Please stay a Valkaan until then.”
“Well, I certainly can’t turn down a request from a friend.” Richter patted Shumar on the back. “And since we’re friends, you’ll surely join me for dinner tonight, right? My wife’s cooked up something special today, and my daughters have been dying to meet Kuwol’s legendary king.”
“You better not have told them to call me ‘Your Majesty.’ I’d much rather be just ‘Uncle Shumar.’”
“Hahaha!”
Unfortunately for Richter, it was a full thirty years before he could give up being a Valkaan.
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“Granny Ailya, what’s this place?” a young girl asked, looking up at an old woman.
The old woman, Ailya, smiled and replied, “This is your great-grandpa’s grave. Would you like to say hi to him?”
“Okay. What kind of person was my great-grandpa?”
Ailya looked off into the distance, recalling old memories. “He was a strong, kind, intelligent, and hardworking man.”
“Um, so he was like grandpa?”
“Hehe, you could say that. Perhaps I fell in love with your grandpa because he was just like my father.”
Ailya knelt before the grave and laid a hand on the scabbard of the sword enshrined atop it.
“Father... Your grandson Aindow has decided to cross the sea and search for the lands that exist to the north. We’ve heard rumors there’s an entire continent up there, and he’s eager to explore it. Haha, he’s just like you in that regard, always seeking adventure.” Ailya gently pushed the young girl’s back. “Why don’t you say something to your great-grandpa too? Pray for safe passage for your father while you’re at it.”
“Okaaay. Um, please look after dad, Great-Grandpa. Oh, and I hope I get to go north someday too!” The girl looked up, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
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The vision ended, and I looked around in a daze. I was in a dark, quiet room. I couldn’t hear any movement except my own, so hopefully, I was alone. While the vision could have just been a hallucination, I felt it was something more.
For one thing, Ailya was a common name in Kuwol, but in Meraldia’s dialect, it became Airia. Aindow also became Aindorf. Airia Aindorf was my wife’s name, and it didn’t feel like a coincidence that Ailya and Aindow had appeared in this vision. The Aindorf family traced its roots back to Kuwol’s nobility. In Kuwol people named themselves as “so-and-so’s son,” thus it would’ve made sense for someone calling themselves “Something-something, son of Aindow” to eventually simplify it to just “Aindorf” as their family name. As impossible as it was to believe, I might have just seen a vision of the origins of the Aindorf family.
“Where...am I...?”
The room I was in was underground, with no windows or skylights. Despite that, it was very faintly lit, allowing me to barely make out my surroundings. It felt strangely peaceful here, and the mana in the room wasn’t being sucked away like it was in the rest of the castle. As I searched for the source of the glow, I found a small stone altar. An old sword was enshrined on the altar, but this wasn’t just any sword—it was a Japanese katana. While the hilt had Kuwolese embroidery, it was the exact shape and length of a standard katana.
“Don’t tell me...”
Somewhat skeptically, I reached out to touch the sword. As my fingers made contact with the scabbard, I sensed an enormous amount of mana. More than 10,000 kites, easily. Is this another artifact with the power to turn someone into a Valkaan? Careful not to let any mana leak out, I slowly drew the blade from its sheath.
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