Chapter 5

Find the Hero

==[Find the Hero!] ==

[Details] - Find the Hero.

[Reward] - ???

[On Failure] - The end of the continent

Translucent messages filled my vision. Perhaps because I had already received a quest before, I understood them quickly.

Failure carried the staggering penalty of the continent's end, but that hardly surprised me. It was only natural.

“I ran away from home about fifteen years ago...”

In other words, I had traveled fifteen years back in time. That meant the Emperor would begin acting in earnest roughly ten years from now.

And in one year, every kingdom and city on the continent would be wiped off the map.

There was only one person who could stop that Emperor: Ian.

Only Ian could stand against him. Without Ian, the continent had no future. I had to find him.

This was a quest that truly deserved to be called a [Main Quest].

“But is that it?”

Its details were woefully lacking. It had thrown a heap of questions at me, then washed its hands of the matter.

There were no specific instructions on what I should do. No hints about where I could find Ian. It hadn't even provided a trace or a lead.

“Do quests only point me in a direction?”

Judging by the earlier [Tutorial Quest], that seemed to be the case. After all, its only objective had been to survive the ice troll.

Whether I survived by fighting it or by running away, it hadn't dictated how I should reach that goal.

The choice of how to accomplish it was mine alone. That meant responsibility for the outcome was entirely mine as well.

In that case, at least my goal was clear.

“I have to find Ian.”

Then, together, we had to stop the Emperor. I needed to find Ian before the Emperor began acting in earnest.

In other words, I had ten years.

That was quite a long time, but it hardly meant I could take things easy. I had returned to the past, yet even in this era, the empire reigned supreme over the continent.

Even at this point in the past, the Emperor was the strongest. He was merely lying low because he wasn't yet powerful enough to surpass the entire continent.

By now, he would be laying the groundwork for his invasion. In other words, he was secretly plotting something deep within the imperial palace.

Nothing demanded immediate action, but I had no time to laze around either. I needed to find Ian as soon as possible. Together, we had to build the strength and forces necessary to stop the Emperor.

The problem was how to find him...

“Hmm...”

I calmly sorted through my thoughts. In my current situation, I had two options.

The first was to leave in search of Ian right now. If returning to the past was Ian's ability, then he had returned along with me. As the quest said, he would be somewhere on the continent.

Find Ian somewhere on this vast continent, then build the strength and forces to oppose the Emperor.

That was option one.

“The problem is, I have no idea where Ian is at this point in time.”

The same went for Ian. He didn't know where I was now, either. We had never bothered to discuss events from fifteen years ago in such detail.

But he could make a guess. He knew I was the eldest son of the Whitewolf count's household.

If he had returned to the past with me, he would certainly be looking for me too.

In the past—my previous life, that is—I had run away from House Whitewolf. But Ian knew I had returned to the past, so he could guess I would act differently from before.

Perhaps he was already on his way to House Whitewolf.

What if I went looking for him only for us to miss each other?

“Nothing could be more awkward than that.”

So I could remain at House Whitewolf until Ian came to find me.

That was my second option.

“I hadn't even considered that...”

Truthfully, I had no intention of returning to my family. Back in my wastrel days, I had coveted what it offered. That was why I had been so furious with Seraphia for taking everything belonging to the family.

But not now. Those things no longer held the slightest meaning for me.

After I became the allied army's Predator, the feelings I had held as a count's wastrel son had faded and vanished across countless battlefields.

Now my comrades in the allied army mattered more to me than anyone in my household.

What remained was not anger toward Seraphia for taking everything from the family, but toward the Sovereign of Bitter Cold for massacring my comrades.

“Come to think of it, I still haven't killed the Sovereign of Bitter Cold.”

Thinking about it now, I hadn't managed to kill Seraphia, the Sovereign of Bitter Cold, either. I absolutely couldn't leave her alone. Even if I set off to find Ian right now, I had to kill her before I left.

My younger sister? Family affection? None of it meant anything to me.

I would simply be eliminating one of the six Sovereigns, the Emperor's greatest assets, ahead of time.

But when it came to actually killing her, Ian's final words held me back.

“... This is seriously driving me insane.”

What the hell had that bastard Ian been thinking, saying such nonsense?

“Just wait until I see you.”

I was going to give him a proper earful.

In any case, I couldn't rashly kill Seraphia now. There had to be a reason Ian had regretted it even more than confessing to the Saintess and getting rejected.

Until I learned that reason, I had to put deciding Seraphia's fate on hold.

“Then I guess that settles it.”

My two options had now narrowed to one.

“I'll go back to the family.”

If Ian had returned to the past with me, he would be searching for me too. Waiting for him at home was wiser than making a rash move.

Above all, I still hadn't decided what to do with Seraphia.

“Only until Ian arrives.”

I would keep Seraphia alive until then, and not a moment longer.

“Let's head back.”

My thoughts settled, I turned around.

But...

“... Where was home again?”

I'd forgotten where my family lived.

It hadn't even been a week since I'd run away in this timeline, but to me, it had actually happened more than fifteen years ago.

I couldn't remember where the estate was, let alone anyone in the household.

The only one I remembered was my younger sister, Seraphia, the Sovereign of Bitter Cold.

And...

“Oh, come to think of it, that lunatic Kai is still alive too.”

I had returned to the past, after all. In other words, besides Seraphia, there was one more person in the household I had to kill.

But, hmm.

“I can't beat him as I am now.”

... I wasn't confident I could defeat Kai.

Seraphia had yet to awaken as the Sovereign of Bitter Cold, but Kai was a different story.

House Whitewolf's head knight.

Even now, the bastard was monstrously strong.

“Maybe I should use Predation a little more before I go back.”

Predation wasn't actually an ability I could use indiscriminately. Take the ice troll's Regeneration[C+]. As that demonstrated, eating a single heart usually wasn't enough to wield an ability's full potential.

I had to repeat Predation anywhere from several times to hundreds of times, and each use engulfed me in madness.

That was why, in the past—in my previous life—I hadn't been able to absorb all that many abilities.

But...

“I have Player's Will now.”

I had Ian's ability, Player's Will[EX]. I could use Predation to my heart's content without being consumed by madness.

As long as there were enough creatures, I could grow stronger without limit.

And the Emperor hadn't begun acting yet. Ice trolls and countless other rare monsters still existed in the wild.

On top of that...

“Come to think of it, I haven't properly checked I Alone Level Up.”

Ian's other ability, I Alone Level Up[EX]. I still didn't know what it truly did.

“If it's another of Ian's abilities, like Player's Will...”

Ian's absurd strength. Perhaps its secret lay in I Alone Level Up[EX].

* * *

A domain lay amid an endless expanse of snow. Behind it, snow-covered hills and mountain ranges encircled it as though wearing white caps.

The castle walls were thick and tall to withstand the bitter weather, with ice and snow filling their gaps.

Several small villages clustered around the magnificent castle at the domain's center. Each consisted of low wooden houses with snow-covered roofs.

Even in the frigid winter, warmth and vitality suffused the landscape, as though demonstrating a fierce determination to endure the brutal cold.

“Hmm.”

A man standing within that landscape gave a quiet murmur.

He had sharply defined features and a chiseled jaw. His deep, cold blue eyes were as keen and piercing as a wolf's.

Long blond hair shone as though holding sunlight, and silver armor fitted his perfectly trained body without a flaw.

His demeanor was as cold as the bitter winter, betraying little emotion.

The man who so resembled a noble wolf was Kai, head knight of House Whitewolf.

Kai closely examined the ice troll's corpse the soldiers had brought back. It was remarkably intact. Had it moved at all, he might have thought it alive.

In other words, killing it hadn't taken much.

'Was its heart pierced?'

The ice troll's heart was missing. But judging by the location of the puncture in its hide, the blow had gone straight through its heart.

'No defensive wounds.'

That meant its killer had seized a single opening to stab its heart.

Yet judging by the puncture wound—

The strike hadn't even carried aura. It had been a simple thrust.

To accomplish that, the attacker first needed exceptional vision capable of tracking the ice troll's movements precisely.

And that wasn't all.

The agility to evade the ice troll's attack. The boldness to dart inside its reach. And finally, the timing and coordination of the sword thrust.

Every element had to align perfectly, without the slightest deviation.

That was anything but easy. Such perfection was difficult to achieve even through countless repetitions and grueling training.

For a start, finding the courage to dart inside an ice troll's reach was an enormous hurdle. Even veteran mercenaries hardened by countless battlefields rarely possessed such nerve.

In other words, this was a thrust that even a veteran mercenary wouldn't dare attempt.

That was how flawless it had been.

The weakened ice troll had faced an opponent it could do nothing against. Even if it had been healthy, the outcome probably wouldn't have changed much.

Could he have blocked it himself?

Kai pictured the opponent in his mind. After imagining a few exchanges, he quickly reached a conclusion.

He would probably have chosen to dodge rather than attempt to block. The very idea of blocking such a perfect thrust was foolish.

That was why he couldn't believe it.

“...”

He simply couldn't believe the count's wastrel son had done this.

Finished examining the corpse, Kai slowly turned his head toward Seraphia, the liege he was bound to protect with his life.

He studied the dark handprints on her long, pale neck. She had tried to conceal them with a scarf, but black bruises against such white skin were not easily hidden.

He could tell at once how tightly she had been gripped. He could read unmistakable murderous intent in those handprints.

He had tried to kill her. There was no doubt about it.

Adrian had tried to kill Seraphia.

That left Kai no choice but to ask.

“Why did you let that man live?”

Why had Seraphia spared Adrian? According to the soldiers, she had stopped them. They said they had had no choice but to follow her orders and let him go.

Had Kai been there, he would never have allowed it. Not only would Seraphia never have been placed in danger, but Adrian would never have left the scene alive.

Adrian... had to die.

That was the best course not only for Seraphia, but for House Whitewolf and every resident of the county.

“Watch your words, Sir Kai.”

But Seraphia's thoughts were the exact opposite of his.

“Whatever anyone may say, my brother is House Whitewolf's eldest legitimate son.”

Seraphia still called Adrian her brother. She defended him as her only family, but Kai would not.

“He is also the man who threatened your life, my lady. I am merely fulfilling my duty as the knight sworn to protect you.”

“Then you should be all the more careful with your words. My brother is the lord here, not I.”

Just as he'd thought. Adrian should have been killed on the spot.

Kai's resolve hardened further.

If that bastard returned to the household to reclaim his rights as the eldest legitimate son...

It was at that very moment.

DING! DING! DING!

Bells rang out from the castle's towering watchtower.

The soldiers on the walls moved in perfect coordination. Something seemed to have happened.

“T-trouble, sir!”

Sure enough, a soldier came running up, breathless and visibly frantic.

“W-we've just received word that Lord Adrian has returned to the county!”

A vicious killing intent flared in Kai's deep blue eyes.