Year 2: The First Conflicts - Chapter 4

Duncan’s team were the first to return to the King’s Palace with all five medals.

They had taken fifteen days to complete all their assignments and Dante couldn’t be happier.

“I told you, Atalante! I told you they’d win!”

“Yeah, yeah, shut your mouth, Dante. Here.” She threw him a small sack filled with coins. “Don’t waste it all at once.”

“Oh, I intend to take my sweet, sweet time spending this,” Dante purred. He tied it to his belt and then went to welcome Duncan and the others as they stepped off the carriage. “Good work, everyone, though I hear you had some…difficulties.”

Four of the six members of Duncan’s team seemed different; anyone could tell at a glance that something had changed in them.

Only Dao Chen and Feng Li remained the same.

Duncan weakly smiled as he helped Stephanie off the carriage. “Yeah, just a few.”

“…I’m proud of you, all of you,” Dante said. “I know that might not be what you all want to hear, but I mean it - it takes great strength to take someone else’s life, but that, unfortunately, is the reality of life in Aangapea. At least, while the Demon Emperor still draws breath. The churning in your stomach will pass, so will the nightly trips to the lavatory or the gardens. Don’t worry; the first ones are always the worst.”

“It is as Instructor Dante says. We should be-”

“Feng,” Dao cut him off.

“My apologies.”

“Well, head back to your rooms and get some rest. You’ve earned it.”

***

Late at night, as the castle slept, two men sat alone on a rooftop together, drinking fine wine from crystal glasses.

Together, they bathed in the moonlight and shared few words, though neither of them was by any means uncomfortable in that silence.

Slowly, Dante sipped from his cup, gazing up at the moons in the sky, a small sigh escaping his lips.

“You didn’t expect it to hit them this hard, did you?”

“I did, and didn’t, but.” Dante shook his head. “It hurts seeing them like that.”

“All children of war must go through the same baptism.”

“Well, you always knew you were going to be a soldier, Lord Akechi. Those kids, most of them were just civilians in their world and now they’ve got to fight for their lives and-”

“Dao Chen and Feng Li were not disturbed,” Akechi reminded him.

“They’re two of the few exceptions. Feng’s a veteran and Dao well, I don’t know anything about her really.”

“A mentor should not linger among their students.”

“They’re our comrades in arms.”

“Indeed, but they are also our students. Duncan’s team in particular has suffered more setbacks than the others, after what happened with Dame Chelsea.”

Dante grunted, before finishing his glass. “Yeah…yeah.”

“A taste of their new reality has stirred something within all of them. My agents report that Duncan Wilson did a fantastic job of soothing the anxieties and agony of his teammates during their field exercises, and I have no doubt that he will continue to prove pivotal to their growth and maturity. All we need to do now is sit back and let them decide the course of their future growth; we must simply watch on, and occasionally offer a guiding hand.”

“I hope you’re right about that, Akechi. I really do.”

“…Tell me, Dante, were all the children of the Order so sensitive?”

Dante laughed. “Nope, I was always the exception. I just got better at hiding that side of me as I grew older.”

Akechi smiled a little. “I see. It’s not a bad quality to have.”

“Oh, what high praise from the commander of her majesty’s forces.”

The two shared a small laugh and drank together in silence until the early hours of the morning.

***

Hajime’s team returned the next day with all five badges.

Duncan and the rest of his team were waiting for them, curious to see what had happened on their adventure away from the capital.

Unlike when they arrived yesterday, Hajime and his team were in fairly high spirits, Hajime in particular was still smiling brightly like he always did.

A brave front? Duncan wondered as his friend ran over and hugged him.

“Yo, Duncan, great to see you again!”

“H-Hajime, you don’t need to yell, I’m right-you also don’t need to hug me that tightly!”

“Haha, sorry, sorry.” Hajime released him, then patted Duncan’s shoulder. “It’s just I was really relieved when I saw you here was all. I was hoping to be the first one back but looks like you beat me to the punch.”

“Not by much though,” Stephanie chimed in. “Did you guys have any problems on your end?”

“A few, here and there, but we pulled through it all okay, didn’t we?”

“Indeed, we did,” Amen replied. “Had it not been for our fearless leaders, we might have had a lot more problems.”

“Leaders?” Duncan repeated.

“…Yeah.” Hajime smiled sadly, then gestured towards Akane. “Akane and I were leading everyone together, this time. Whenever…I had shortcomings, she…covered for me and…and it all worked out.”

Hajime let out a joyful laugh, but his voice shook a little, something that did not go unnoticed by those around him, especially Duncan.

“Hajime, you-”

“What about you guys?! Any problems or-?”

“S-some. We, we ran into bandits, and we had to, you know.” Stephanie trailed off as Hajime’s team nodded in understanding. “Did you guys-?”

Amen shook his head. “We only had to battle monsters this time, both as part of our extermination quest and our escort. Our VIP, a local hunter, almost lost his life to a pack of kobolds, but we managed to keep him safe.”

“Damn straight we did. We’re the strongest team of summoned heroes, Amen! Of course, we did!”

“That sounds like bullshit,” Blake said. “If you were the strongest, you would’ve beaten us by a long shot.”

“W-well, it wasn’t the real main character’s time to shine yet.”

“Main character? Hajime?” Stephanie stifled a giggle, before she couldn’t hold herself back any longer. “Hajime, you are definitely not protagonist material.”

“Hey! That’s horrible, Steph! I might not look like much.”

“You’re right.”

“Don’t retort at that!”

“W-well, if nothing else, I think that this mission has given me hope about always living the life that I’ve wanted.”

“What life’s that?”

“The life where he’s no longer a virgin.”

“Steph, what the hell?!”

“Gross.”

“Blake, that’s not it!”

“Then, what is it?” Duncan asked, hoping the conversation wouldn’t become derailed again.

“It’s like I told you when we first met. I’m going to be the strongest man in the whole world!”

“Highly unlikely.”

“Steph!”

As the mood began to lighten up and laughter was shared, even by the downtrodden Blake, a cold voice cut through the air like a knife.

“What’s so funny?”

Kella, spear in hand and a bitter, ice-cold expression on her face, marched over to them.

“What’s so funny, heroes?”

“Instructor Kella?”

“Strongest man in the world?”

“I-I guess, the excitement got to me and-”

“Excitement?”

That single word, spoken with so much venom, was enough to make the hairs stand on the back of their necks. Angrily, Kella’s grip tightened around her spear, before she stared into Hajime’s eyes, a vicious scowl on her face.

“You find this exciting? Is our suffering just a joke to you people? Is it just some fun, fantasy story for all of you to act like heroes? Hajime Sakamoto - let me ask you this, what exactly is exciting about this?

“The burning of our homes, our cities, the deaths of our friends and family? The sight of our countries torn to pieces, ruled over by a sadistic tyrant who subjugates millions and forces them to be slaves? Or is it the part where you get to act like the big saviours of Aangapea, ignoring all the blood we’ve spilt and the precious things we’ve lost that will never return?”

Kella kicked her spear’s butt off the ground, then thrust its tip towards Hajime’s face, leaving less than half an inch between it and his eyes.

“Hajime Sakamoto, pick up your spear.”

“I-Instructor Kella, I-”

“Pick. It. Up.”

“I-I-I didn’t, m-m-mean to-”

“If you don’t.” She narrowed her eyes. “I’ll kill you where you stand.”

“Instructor Kella, this is-!”

“Shut up!” Kella glared at Feng who involuntarily took a step backwards. After taking a short breath, Kella calmly looked back at Hajime and thinly smiled. “What’s wrong? Aren’t you excited to fight me? Tell you what - Amen, you can join in too.”

“I don’t-”

Kella was done waiting.

She pulled her spear back and swung it towards Hajime’s head.

Reflexively, he ducked beneath it, only for Kella to kick him square in the chin, sending him flying across the ground. Kella then readjusted herself and charged at Amen. Confused and frightened, Amen grabbed Gleipnir from the carriage. Three chains uncurled themselves from his wrist gauntlet to block the attack, but Kella shifted the direction of her attack to avoid it. Her spear smashed into his ribs, knocking the wind out of him, before spinning a kick into his cheek.

Amen spun a few times in the air before skidding across the ground, coming to a rough stop near the wall. Hajime, who had just managed to get back up onto his feet, found himself grabbed by the collar and thrown towards Duncan. He hit the dirt hard before his friend’s feet, just before Kella stomped her boot hard onto his chest.

As Hajime spluttered and cried, Kella stuck her spear against his throat, the sharp edge of its tip gently touching his skin.

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you still having fun? Aren’t you going to be the strongest man in the world? Aren’t you going to save us, our hero Hajime Sakamoto?

“Duncan.”

“Yes?”

“If nothing else, I respect that you and your team understand the importance of your task. When I saw your team come home yesterday, I was grateful to see you all moping about. Do you know why? It’s because the gravity of the situation had sunk in. You realised what it really meant to be the Summoned Heroes chosen by Harmonia. You came face to face with reality and didn’t run away from it; you embraced it, even though it cut you so deep.”

Finally, Kella lifted her boot from Hajime’s chest and stormed off, leaving her two winded opponents on the dirt.

“…I’ll be honest with you all,” Dante said, coming in close and speaking too softly for Kella to hear. “One day, some of you will come to find fighting exciting. There’ll be no thrill like that of a fight to the death or against a powerful monster, but it’s not a bad thing in moderation. As long as you don’t lose yourself, then I think it’s okay. It’s just…not something you should be feeling right now.”

He patted Duncan’s shoulders, then helped Hajime and Amen onto their feet before chasing after Kella.

***

Akane, like the rest, could only watch on, stunned speechless, as a cold sweat crept down her back.

Kella’s expression.

The bitter tone in her voice.

The cruel words she parted with.

It was all too familiar to her.

Is this…how I’ve been treating Hajime? No, it’s not the same, but. She looked over at the devastated expression her team leader had. It’s the same end result.

Do my words really hurt that much?

“All I wanted,” she whispered, too quietly for anyone else to hear, before taking a quick exit.

She didn’t know what kind of expression she was making, but Akane didn’t want anyone else to see it.

***

Not even a month had passed, but the whole of the King’s Palace felt the absence of Princess Aeila.

While her older brother had become reclusive as he drowned in grief, Princess Aeila had been optimistic, strong, and inspiring to all those who saw her. She trained with Dame Chelsea in the mornings, she studied ancient history and the art of war, and she offered whatever guidance she could to the leaders of the Free People’s Alliance, hoping that even her tiny contribution could benefit them all in some meaningful way.

Her servants, likewise, were more than happy to serve her, and she remembered their names and often spoke with them like friends. There were rumours for a time that the princess often cried herself to sleep, but Aeila never showed any signs of faltering.

To everyone in the palace, Aeila embodied the ideals and will of the free peoples of Aangapea.

When she was forced to leave in exchange for Prince Julius, a man who looked broken beyond repair, few could say they were happy the trade happened.

Julius, like his brother, didn’t speak much and kept to himself.

He didn’t train, nor did he move more than necessary, only making trips between the bathroom and his bed, and quickly Julius took to drinking bottles of wine and reading novels. Whenever butlers, maids or knights tried to speak with him, he ignored them, only ever asking for more drink or a light meal, so that he may continue to read in peace.

Prince Augustus had tried and failed multiple times to speak with his brother, hoping that the battle-hardened, genius general might still exist inside, but to no avail.

Prince Julius of the Holy Empire of Themis seemed too far gone for salvation.

For the eleventh time, Augustus had come to his brother’s room to speak with him.

“Julius, please, at least look at me. Aeila, she…she never gave up hope, not ever. Not when we heard mother and father had died, not when…we heard of the slaughter, not even…not even when the Divine Paladin betrayed us and stood in our way. Always, always, she kept her hope alive of seeing you again and yet!” Augustus flew out of his chair and went to grab his brother’s collar but stopped.

Weeping, Augustus’s hand curled into a fist, and he punched the wall. “You don’t even care!” Taking lots of quick, painful breaths, Augustus continued. “I know I’m not one to talk; I know that better than anyone. I gave up, I called it quits when I saw the Count’s plan fail, but Aeila didn’t. She…she was, no, she’s the best of us, by far. Why can’t we be like that? Why can’t-?!”

“Exactly, your highness!”

Startled, Augustus turned and found a maid standing in the doorway, an angry frown on her face.

“W-Who are-?”

“Yvonne, Princess Aeila’s maid. With all due respect your highnesses, I completely agree; you two are no good! Honestly, I can’t believe that there are two older brothers acting this pathetically while their little brothers and sisters are held hostage by a madman. Honestly, if I were the princess, I’d want to disown my useless siblings.”

“…Y-you dare speak to-?”

“Then, Prince Augustus!” The maid zoomed across the room, sticking a finger up close to Augustus’s nose. “What would you do if you were in her situation?! Let’s say that you were thousands of miles away from your free siblings; wouldn’t you expect them to do whatever it took to save you?! What good is there in just moping around all day and suffering in silence? Do you think that will help you, you stupid princes?!”

“S-stupid? I-I-I used to-”

“You used to be a great older brother, your highness. You used to be a great, intelligent man who commanded respect and so wise that your father believed every word of advice you ever gave him. What happened to that man, your highness? Where is he?”

“…He’s-”

“As for you, your highness!” Yvonne grabbed Julius’s arm tightly. “You were the greatest commander the Holy Legion had ever seen. On the day you heard Black Port had fallen, you rushed your army south to save as many people as you possibly could, didn’t you? Because you didn’t want your people to suffer? Because you knew it was the right thing to do?! Didn’t you stand bravely until the end in Themis as the city burnt?!

“Why won’t you show that same courage to save your own family?!”

Violently, Yvonne snatched Julius’s book from his grasp and threw it viciously over her shoulder.

“…Your highnesses can have me arrested or killed for talking to you like this, but it won’t change a damn thing. You’ll still be pathetic older brothers who wouldn’t even lift a finger to save their siblings from the worst possible fate imagine. Or do you like knowing that at any moment your sister could be taken against-?”

“Yvonne, was it?”

For the first time in weeks, Prince Julius spoke to someone besides his exclusive butler. Slowly, the first prince of Themis rose from his seat with a sunken face and bloodshot eyes.

“…Are you…willing to die…for those remarks?”

Yvonne straightened her back. “If it’ll get you two to do something, then yes. Take my neck if you want.”

Seeing her resolve and the way she thrust her neck out a little towards him, Julius started chuckling. It was quite quiet at first, before he exploded with a roar of laughter.

“J-Julius?”

“Augustus.”

“Y-y-yeah?”

“…What did we say we’d done, when I inherited the throne?”

“…That you’d lead our armies while I managed the empire?”

“Ah, that’s right. Because you were always so much smarter than me, yet you couldn’t even hold a pen knife properly.”

“Excuse me?”

“Augustus.” The two looked at one another. “Do you think that dream’s worth pursuing still, or is there something else we should be doing instead?”

“…I think.” Augustus gave him a faint smile. “I think there’s something else we should…be doing, brother.”

“Yes, exactly. Exactly!” Julius shouted, throwing one arm out to the side. “To think it’d take a maid of all things to remind us of what we need to do. Life’s a funny thing, isn’t it?!”

“Your highness, if I may say one final thing?”

“You may.”

“I wish you to both recall Princess Aeila’s parting words before she left for the east. What did she say to you, to both of you?”

“It’s okay - I’ll wait for you. Both of you.”

When they remembered those words, tears formed in their eyes.

Even as she found herself walking into hell, Aeila hadn’t lost hope.

That was more than enough to reignite the fire inside their chests, a fire that would burn so brightly and that would never extinguish.

“Augustus, let’s get started right away!”

“Yes, brother!”

“Of course, your highnesses, don’t forget that I and everyone else from the Holy Empire are still loyal to you both. We shall do everything we can to help you.”

Augustus laughed a little. “That’s not even ten people, including us three here.”

“Maybe not, but it’s enough,” Julius bellowed. “I can’t believe I wasted so much time in this room. I need to start rebuilding my strength the second the sun rises. Yvonne!”

“Y-yes?”

“Bring me my sword.”

***

Akane knocked on the door twice.

“Hajime? Hajime, are you there?”

She put her ear close to the door and heard a small groan inside.

“Forgive me for visiting your bedroom so late at night, but I’d like to speak with you. May I?”

He said nothing.

Akane waited a few seconds before speaking again.

“I wanted to…apologise, to you.”

She went silent again, waiting for his response.

After ten seconds, a faint, “Why?” came.

“Would it be alright if I explained myself inside your room? It’s rather awkward to talk to you like this.”

Akane heard Hajime gradually make his way to the door which he unlocked and opened partially for her.

“Excuse me,” she said, bowing a little before entering.

“Why Japanese?”

“It just…felt right.”

“Do what you want.”

With Hajime’s blessing, Akane took a seat on the chair near his bed. Without meeting her eyes even once, Hajime sat back down on his bed and slumped his shoulders.

“…How are your injuries?”

“…Fine. She held back.”

“…I see…good.”

An awkward silence swept across the room, making the air heavy.

Akane coughed quietly. “Earlier, when Kella…I worried that you might have felt the same when I…criticised you.”

“…Yeah.”

Akane winced a little, but she quickly adjusted her expression. She had been trained from a young age how to properly conduct herself as a Japanese noble and she would never forget that.

“No matter how well-intention my comments were, it does not excuse the way it has made you feel. For that, I am truly sorry from the bottom of my heart…Under Lord Takeda’s tutelage, I quickly discovered that I responded best to harsh or cruel words of critique as it drove me to improve myself and prove myself to him and my family. As a member of the Nariko house, it was my duty to become a glorious noble both in battle and far away from it.

“Whenever Lord Takeda told me that he had greater expectations for me, it drove me to meet them. If he told me that I could do better with a naginata, I pushed myself until I could fell three battle-hardened samurai alone…I had hoped that I could be your Lord Takeda, Hajime, and that you would do whatever it took to prove yourself to me.

“However, I was wrong.”

Hajime bitterly laughed, cutting her off. “Yeah, you got that right. I’m not-”

“I was wrong in my approach to nurture your gifts.” She rose from her seat and sat on her knees before Hajime, placing one hand on her chest. “Hajime Sakamoto - with your blessing, I would like to become your tutor.”

“…Eh?”

“Of course, this would be a matter that we could keep completely quiet between the two of us, but I wish to make you one of the finest heroes in our group. When I nominated you that day to be our leader, I saw your innate talent and believed that I could bring it out onto the surface. Even now, I wholeheartedly believe that I can. If you would let me, I will make you the main character of this world.”

Hajime’s perplexed expression uneased Akane a lot. She had hoped that he would be overjoyed by her proposal, but it was clear that he was conflicted.

On one hand, perhaps he believed everything that she was saying now. On the other, his self-esteem and pride might have taken too many blows for him to handle.

When they had had to fight and kill monsters on their assignments, Hajime’s fear had almost gotten the best of him three times. He had almost lost his life twice and almost gotten someone else killed four separate times due to his fears and anxieties crippling him at the last moment.

If Hajime hadn’t practically handed over all of the important decisions to Akane, then there was a very real chance that their team could have failed to complete even one assignment before the deadline.

“Please, Hajime, believe me. I will make it happen; I swear.”

She bowed deeply to him and waited almost a minute for him to say another word.

“…Thank you, Akane. If…if you’ll have me, then I’ll gratefully accept your help.”

Akane stared into his eyes and smiled brightly. “I look forward to working with you, Hajime.”

“…Yeah.” He gave her a small smile. “Me too.”

***

Every month, they met.

Under the moonlight, in a lake surrounded by woodlands, they’d meet.

On the tenth day of every month, she had come to the lake, not to meet him, at first, but to escape it all.

The war.

The training.

The painful memories.

There, she’d run into him.

He too had come to the lake for similar reasons.

To vent.

To dismay.

To relax his guard.

It was by pure coincidence that they’d met again, but neither of them knew what to feel.

Happiness?

Sadness?

Anger?

Regret?

Perhaps they felt them all.

To them, this time was special, it was isolated from the rest of the world, away from the war against the Demon Emperor and the struggles of their stations.

“Kella.”

The man smiled solemnly at her approach.

She, in kind, smiled back, though her expression was a lot more painful to behold than his.

Slowly, she walked towards him.

“David.”

The last meaningful connection she had was to the man who’d taken everything from her.