Side Story Chapter 53

“He’s nuts,” the masked men’s leader mocked, spurring his compatriots to sneer along.

“It looks a little unique, but isn’t that a spear made out of Ice Spear, the Class 3 magic spell?”

“Wait, it looks similar to the spear that the Martial God used during his prime. You can actually find the image of that from books, right?”

“It’s nothing special considering we’re in Avalon, the Martial God’s country.”

“In other words, he thinks he’s Joshua Sanders? He’s holding a lump of ice that’s slightly sturdier than glass. Ha. Hehehe.”

“Gosh, I thought he had a reason for his confidence, but it turns out he’s just a lunatic.”

They became relaxed, forgot why they were here, and let their mouths flap.

‘They’re definitely not from Avalon,’

Joshua concluded, his eyes sparkling.

He carefully listened to every single insult the assassins threw out because there was information to be deduced from them. He was going to listen to them without saying anything else for a little while more, but his plans went to naught because their leader seemed to still have his wits about him.

“Stop,” the leader growled. “I’ll deal with that crazy one. Six and Seven, you’ll capture the target as we planned. The other four of you, take care of the girl. Stay alert—she’s a mage of at least Class 3.”

The masked men didn’t answer aloud but they immediately leaped into action. Following their leader’s command, they encircled Joshua and his companions. They were in the remote outskirts of the city, so Joshua wouldn’t be able to expect any reinforcements.

He didn’t really need any, of course.

Joshua elegantly spun his transparent spear, wafting the cold air it exuded, his hands flushing slightly red from contact with the icy weapon.

Looking at Joshua, the leader’s confidence grew. “He’s an amateur who can’t use his mana. He’s basically trash that can’t stop his own spear from freezing his hands.”

“Hehehehe.” Sneers broke out on the masked men’s faces. They moved agilely and with confidence.

“I’m only going up against a gang of assassins, so my mana isn’t really necessary right now.” Joshua curled up one end of his mouth.

Obviously, Joshua was as capable as they were. The rebound from the impact with a mana attack? Joshua could just not get hit by the mana attack. The incredible speed of a mana user? He could just see them and dodge. The kinetic vision to follow the movements of had broken the limits of the human body? He already had such eyesight, so he didn’t need to use his mana to enhance it.

The man that stood before them was Joshua Sander, known to all of Igrant as the Martial God.

“Kill him!”

The assailants simultaneously converged on their targets.

Things took an immediate and surprising turn. Giant pillars of ice, each at least ten meters tall, rose up from below Iceline and Zero. Iceline, from her perch much closer to the moon, looked down at the masked men aloofly.

“The m-mage is at least Class 5!” the leader shrieked.

The size of the cast magic spell was proportional to the mage’s mana, so even if a mage was Class 5—or even Class 6—the mage couldn’t create two such ice pillars without being born with an abundant amount of mana.

“A female mage in Avalon more powerful than Class 6, and a young man that uses a spear. Wait…?” The leader came to a realization and trembled as if he had been hit with a lightning bolt. “Iceline Sanders, the First Queen Consort of Avalon! And her son, Selim Sanders!”

The leader was close to getting the right answer, but even he was completely unable to deduce that the man using spears was Joshua Sanders, who had been missing for over a decade.

“S-Stop! Selim Sanders inherited the Emperor of Avalon’s talent with spears, so he’s a genius—!”

The leader immediately tried to stop his men, but he was too late.

Although they were baffled by the sudden emergency, they went with their plan B, just like they had trained.

“Die!”

The six masked men raised their daggers and charged forward like lightning bolts, solely intent on Joshua.

Joshua suddenly disappeared, so the masked men ended up vainly cutting through the air.

“Wh-Where…?”

“He’s above us!”

The masked men looked up at the sky, just in time to see Joshua’s hood blown off by the wind in the middle of his miraculous somersault.

One of the masked men gasped. The first thing that caught his eyes was Joshua’s pitch-black hair. Although Joshua seemed to be in his thirties at most, his face had a certain maturity that belied his age.

“Th-That’s not Selim Sanders,” the masked man blankly whispered.

The jaw-droppingly handsome man falling out of the sky looked similar to Selim and wielded the frozen spear like him, but he wasn’t him. The moment the masked man reached that conclusion, the spear

crashed

loudly; thin cracks spread all over the length of Joshua’s white weapon until it exploded into a shower of fragments that rained down from the heavens like sleet.

“He’s… really Joshua Sanders…?”

That was the masked man’s last remark before he and the others were swept away by the torrent of ice.

* * *

“Welcome back, sir.”

Once Kireua and the others returned to the national army’s base, the Imperial Knights on standby quickly approached them.

“Who fired that flare?” Ranger pointed at the sky, his face crumpled menacingly.

A knight from the Auxiliary Battalion flinched and scratched his head. “I’m not sure what exactly happened, sir.”

“Which bastard made a mistake like this in a time like this?”

“Umm, it’s not really a mistake.”

“What do you mean it’s not a mistake?” Ranger asked, still frowning.

“An imperial mage just arrived here from the Palace and delivered a message: An imperial order has been issued, and we’re to pause all ongoing operations and focus on maintaining our defense.”

“What the hell are you saying?”

“There he is.” The knight pointed. From afar, a mage was hurriedly running toward them, having just arrived in the west using a warp spell. Ranger strode toward the mage, gritting his teeth.

“Hold on,” Cain said, to Ranger’s confusion. “Cool your head. Let me talk to him.”

Cain walked past Ranger.

“I-I have an urgent message to deliver!”

“Catch your breath first.”

“Wh-Who are you?” the mage stammered.

“I’m Cain de Harry.”

The imperial mage gave him a wide-eyed look.

Cain had been away from the Palace for a long time looking for Joshua, so it was no wonder that someone who had recently started to work in the Palace didn’t know what Cain looked like. After all, Cain looked very plain.

“A-Are you really Sir Cain, the C-Combat Emperor Star?” the imperial mage asked, astonished.

“That is correct.”

“Oh, my goodness. The First Knight! I heard the news of your return, but it’s a genuine honor to meet you in person.”

“Hmm…” Cain held his head slightly higher. It felt good to be recognized by someone else once in a while. But of course, Cain should keep his dignity since he was an aged man. On top of that, he was one of the Nine Stars, the idols of the people of the continent, so what would other people think of him if he kept grinning?

“Have you gotten your breath back?” Cain gently asked.

“Phew. Yes, I’m fine now.”

“Then can you tell me what is going on? The mana flare was yellow—why?”

Cain was willing to forgive the people responsible even if the flare had been misfired, because thanks to it, a catastrophe—a battle between a prince and an Imperial Knight—could be stopped. Besides, an Absolute should have both skills and grace in order to become a true member of the Nine Stars.

“If it was misfired, I’ll let it slide this time.” Cain nodded.

“You gotta be kidding me! ‘Let it slide’ on whose authority?” Ranger instantly snapped.

.

“Ranger, please control your temper. You’ve gotten pretty old, but you’ve never changed.”

“That’s because I was a mercenary. Why? Do you have a problem with that? If you do, then let’s go at it!”

Cain clicked his tongue. “I don’t know where your confidence is coming from.”

“I’m always serious when it involves His Majesty. And didn’t I always tell you that I’ll take your title of First Knight one day?”

Although Cain didn’t answer Ranger’s provocation, he could feel something boiling up from inside him. He knew he had to hold it in. Many people were watching him, so all his efforts would become meaningless if he let his anger get the better of him.

Kireua stepped forward, frustrated by their distraction. “You guys aren’t giving the mage from the Palace the time to speak! Go on, tell us what’s happening.”

The imperial mage licked his lips nervously. “Uh-umm… The yellow mana flare wasn’t misfired as you thought.”

“Huh?” Cain and Ranger’s heads turned simultaneously.

“The entire Imperial Palace is in chaos. I couldn’t believe it at first either…”

“Don’t get sidetracked. Get to the point.”

“…His Majesty has returned,” the imperial mage bluntly replied.

“Why would everyone make such a fuss for a trivial— Wa-Wait. What?”

The mood in the base changed instantly. Cain totally abandoned his dignity and rounded on the imperial mage.

“What did you say?” Cain demanded.

Cain belatedly came to his senses and gritted his teeth.

‘L-Let’s stay calm.’

He had sworn to never be surprised, but he was about to break his oath. He couldn’t get impatient, especially in times like this where nothing was confirmed yet. On top of that, Cain had spent over a decade searching for the Emperor of Avalon but hadn’t found a single trace of him. It didn’t make any sense for the Emperor of Avalon to just show up, so he should calm…

“…down, my ass. What the fuck are you talking about?” Cain grabbed the young imperial mage by the collar.

The dramatic turn of events left even Ranger blankly gaping just like everyone else.

“Eeeeek!” The imperial mage shrieked.

“Say that again. What did His Majesty do?”

“I-I just reported what I saw and heard!”

“Are you married?” Cain asked seriously.

“I-I’m a bachelor…”

“If you’re lying, I’m going to make you stay a bachelor for the rest of your life, just like me.”

“Wait!”

“No, forget about marriage. You won’t even be able to lay an eye on a woman because I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure you never get a date.” Cain growled. He let go of the imperial mage’s collar. “You should try harder if you want to make it believable, you dipshit.”