The Champion's Return

by Hyougetsu

  “Princess Dillier sure has made a mess of things...”

  “I no longer know what the right way to deal with her is. If Princess Eleora will be succeeding the throne, we should just let her handle this affair.”

  It turned out capturing Dillier hadn’t made her any less of a threat to the empire. So this is your final parting gift to us, huh, Lord Bolshevik? That damn fox had probably planned this far ahead when he’d started his rebellion. He knew Dillier’s conversion couldn’t be made public and that the imperial family would have to hide the truth. Future historians would probably be scratching their heads, wondering what might have prompted Dillier to do what she did. I could imagine their questions now.

  “Why would Dillier suddenly betray her brother, when the two of them were seemingly so close?”

  “Why didn’t the new empress execute Dillier when she took power?”

  Of course, the truth would be buried deep within the imperial family’s secret records. But that was for the best. Besides, someone might stumble across the empire’s confidential documents centuries later and unveil the truth. But at least for now, only the people in this room, Dillier, and Lord Bolshevik knew the truth. It was kind of funny to think about, actually.

  Afterward, Eleora was granted all of Lord Bolshevik’s former territory, expanding her influence even further. None of the other nobles objected since no one wanted to rule over a bunch of Sternenfeuer adherents. But someone who knew all the details of the rebellion needed to be in charge of that territory, so Eleora was chosen. Once that was settled, Eleora once again sent her army all across the empire to search for Lord Bolshevik, but as expected he was nowhere to be found.

  Furthermore, though the Bolshevik family had lost their status as nobility, Eleora appointed Lord Bolshevik’s younger brother, Korzhov to manage his old territory. Despite his new status as a commoner, he was still highly popular with the common folk, so it made sense to let him act as Eleora’s representative in the region. She also returned the Bolshevik mansion to him to use as his official residence while he was governor.

  Since Lord Bolshevik was gone, there was no one to oppose the spread of Sonnenlicht influence in the area, and Sonnenlicht temples started popping up left and right. I was relieved to hear that the Sonnenlicht newcomers weren’t oppressing the old Sternenfeuer residents. It seemed the tenet I’d added to the scriptures was working. So long as the Sternenfeuer believers didn’t band together to attack the Sonnenlicht Order, there’d be peace between the two religions for now.

  As for Jovtzia, it seemed he was sick of Rolmund. He looked up at the mansion he’d grown up in, which had now officially become the governor’s office, and asked me, “Lord Veight, is Woroy doing well?”

  “Oh yeah. According to the last letter I got he’s already exterminated a famous bandit group while touring the northern cities, as well as discovered some ancient ruins. It sounds like he’s having fun.”

  I didn’t envy Kite and Lacy though. He was probably running them ragged, going around doing whatever he pleased. A small smile appeared on Jovtzia’s face.

  “Would it be alright if I joined him?”

  “Of course. I’m sure Woroy’d like that too.”

  All of Rolmund’s nobles received stellar educations, so they were well-suited to serving as governors, generals or advisors. Bringing more of them over to Meraldia would help us prosper in the long term. However, it was a shame that not even Jovtzia knew where Lord Bolshevik had gone.

  “My brother’s always been like this. Bearing all the burdens alone and refusing anyone’s help, claiming no one would want to follow him anyway.”

  Well, considering he did betray the Doneiks family, I can’t imagine he’s very popular among his own people...

  “You don’t even have any clues about where he might have gone?”

  “No, I’m afraid not. Sorry I can’t be of more help...”

  I didn’t smell any lies coming off him. I wanted to just get Eleora crowned already so I could go back to Meraldia, but if I left without doing something about Lord Bolshevik, there was a good chance he’d mess with her reign later. I managed to convince Ashley, who was desperate to give up the throne, to delay transferring power for a bit longer while I continued searching for Lord Bolshevik. If I didn’t hurry, I’d miss the midsummer festival. Spring had already come to Rolmund. The last thing I wanted to do was break my promise to Airia. She was terrifying when she was angry.

  My impatience continued to grow as the groundwork was laid out to transfer power to Eleora. The Sonnenlicht Order ordained her as an honorary bishop, and construction on a statue of her started within the capital’s largest cathedral. It was obvious the order was trying to raise her popularity with believers. This was probably their way of thanking Eleora for letting them take credit for banishing the skeletons. Most of the nobles in Ashley’s camp switched sides as well and started supporting Eleora. It was kind of amazing how brazen they were, considering they’d been insulting her just a few months ago, but they did have families to protect and citizens to look after. I couldn’t really blame them for being opportunistic. The job practically required it sometimes.

  For my part, I still needed to wrap things up and get out of here as fast as possible, so I started reaching out to everyone I knew and asked them to look for Lord Bolshevik. After a few days of frantic searching, I finally got my hands on a promising lead.

  “Lord Veight, I found something strange in one of Lord Doneiks’ confidential documents...”

  Mao walked into my office as I was staring at the new greenery sprouting up outside my window.

  “Really? Show me.”

  I put down the calendar in my hands and skimmed over the documents he handed me. According to Mao, there was something strange about the word “villa” that appeared from time to time within these documents.

  “The Doneiks family owned multiple villas, so usually when talking about one it would be specified as the Yukrade Mountain Villa or the Varanika Lakeside Manor or so on.”

  I forgot those guys were the richest family in the country...

  “But in all the memos sent to Lord Bolshevik, he just writes ‘villa’ without any qualifiers.”

  An unscrupulous merchant like Mao dealt with encoded letters and forged documents all the time, so he had a keen eye for picking them out.

  “The only reason not to specify the name would be because he didn’t want anyone else discovering what he was talking about. But the villa would have to be one Lord Bolshevik knew about, or they wouldn’t be able to communicate like this.”

  “Now that’s intriguing.”

  “Isn’t it?” Mao smiled proudly.

  Don’t forget, if you teach me your tricks, I’ll use them to flush out your shady deals too.

  “So do you have any idea which villa that might be?” I asked.

  “I gathered all the information I could on the real estate owned by the Doneiks family and went through it thoroughly. There’s a few villas whose names don’t ever show up within any other documents. If we cross-reference that with the dates of Lord Doneiks’ letters to Lord Bolshevik...”

  Mao leaned closer to me and said in a whisper, “I’m thinking it’s the Karankov Villa. That mansion’s hidden deep within Doneiks territory and isn’t often used. It’s also supposedly where Viscount Schmevinsky was sent to ‘recuperate.’”

  My old dueling opponent’s face flashed across my mind. I nodded and replied, “So it’s the villa where they send people to kill them or say they’ve sent people they’ve already killed?”

  “Correct. Not a very friendly place.”

  It was effectively the Doneiks family’s concentration camp.

  “So what do the memos Lord Doneiks sent Lord Bolshevik have to say about this villa?”

  “Mostly that Lord Bolshevik has the right to use a certain number of the villa’s rooms whenever he wants, for as long as he likes.”

  Come to think of it, I didn’t search Doneiks territory that
thoroughly yet. I looked over my reports and saw that only a single search party had done a cursory examination of that villa.

  “It looks like someone technically did investigate the villa, but it was just the local village overseer, and they didn’t do a very thorough job.”

  If Lord Bolshevik was actually hiding there, a sloppy search like that wouldn’t have found him. I grabbed my coat and said, “I’m going to go investigate. You hold the fort while I’m gone.”

  “You’re going by yourself!? What about your guards!?”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll take two squads with me. The rest have to stay here to keep Eleora safe, though.”

  “That’s not nearly enough! Do you have any idea how many days a trip to— Ah, Lord Veight’s trying to escape! Someone stop him!”

  I ran out of Eleora’s manor, ignoring Mao’s shouts. This would take too long if I left the job to anyone else. And I didn’t have much time left. The fastest way to get this over with was to go myself.

  As I ran through the hallway Jerrick and Monza suddenly appeared by my side.

  “Yo, boss. Up to something again?”

  “You’re going out, aren’t you?”

  I nodded to my two longtime friends.

  “Yep. Wanna come with me? Oh, but don’t tell Fahn.”

  “My lips are sealed, boss.”

  “Ahaha, this is gonna be great!”

  With that, I slipped out of the capital without telling even Eleora and headed to Doneiks territory. We sped north as fast as possible, changing mounts at every town. Four days later, the eight members of Jerrick and Monza’s squads and I arrived at Karankov Villa.

  Officially, Karankov Villa was just a hunting villa. The mansion was surrounded by thick forests, which were supposedly managed by a huntsman. Right now, one of the young nobles who’d switched to Eleora’s camp early ruled over this area. I doubted he was helping shelter Lord Bolshevik, since doing so was a massive risk that offered little reward. If Lord Bolshevik was here, he was here in hiding. How he’d managed that, though, I didn’t know.

  “The servants working in this villa are the same ones who worked here when Lord Doneiks owned the place. Be careful; we don’t know where their loyalties lie.”

  Jerrick nodded to me. “Gotcha. But no matter what happens, we’ll protect you.”

  Just then, all of us noticed something strange.

  “Hey, boss?”

  “Yeah, Jerrick?”

  “Catching poachers is part of the forester’s job, right?”

  “Yeah. They’re supposed to make sure the forest has plenty of game so the lords can enjoy their hunt.”

  As I said that, I slowly drew my Blast Rifle. We’d been surrounded.

  “Whoever these guys are, they’re not human. They’re moving faster than horses in the middle of a dense forest,” Jerrick muttered.

  Monza smiled and replied, “Yeah. Maybe they’re werewolves?”

  Werewolves certainly were capable of moving through forests at that speed. We were actually as agile as manga seemed to think ninjas were.

  “If this place is being guarded by werewolves, then Lord Bolshevik’s definitely inside.” I brought Ryuuga up to my shoulder. “Jerrick, Monza. If the enemy shows themselves, you and your squads have permission to transform.”

  “Roger.”

  Transforming would spook the horses, so I wanted to avoid it if possible. But this situation was dangerous. Once I confirmed that the werewolves had finished their encirclement, I shouted into the forest, “I’m Veight, from Meraldia! Is Volka there!?”

  “You don’t need to shout, kid. I’m right here.”

  Volka slowly strode out of the trees. She was already transformed, and she looked ready to fight. From what I could tell, she had around 20 werewolves with her. I kept my Blast Rifle up, but I didn’t point its muzzle at her.

  “Is Lord Bolshevik hiding in this villa?”

  “Yeah. Gotta say, I’m impressed you figured it out.” Sighing, Volka added, “No one ever comes into this forest. Even the overseers of the local villages can’t enter without permission. That’s why no one investigated this place.”

  I see.

  “I take it that means you...”

  “Mhmm. We’re the ‘foresters’ who manage this hunting ground. Officially, we work for the Bolshevik family.”

  That explained how they’d managed to survive without getting discovered. It also meant no one imprisoned in that villa could ever escape. Even if they made it out of the mansion, no human would be able to give werewolves the slip. Volka scratched her head and gave me a troubled look.

  “This is Lord Bolshevik’s last haven. It’s our last haven too.”

  “Then I’m sure you don’t want the imperial army getting involved, right?”

  “Is that a threat?”

  “If I need to threaten you to get what I want, yes.”

  I’d wondered why Volka and her clan served Lord Bolshevik, but now I understood. He was the one keeping their home safe. There was only one proposal I could think of that would avoid a fight.

  “If you guys hand over Lord Bolshevik, I’ll make sure this place remains yours. We’ll let you guys stay the managers of this forest.”

  “That certainly is a tempting offer, but...” Volka shook her head. “Us Rolmund werewolves believe in loyalty. Even if it dooms us, we won’t abandon the debt we owe the Bolshevik family. Sorry.”

  Volka’s hands curled into fists. “I may have lost to you once before, but I’m afraid I can’t let you through here.”

  Her declaration went against the usual demon creed of submitting to those stronger than you. In the eyes of demon society, I had every right to kill her. But that just showed how determined Volka was. Her loyalty was the real deal. Jerrick and Monza looked quite eager to fight too. They were licking their lips and bringing up their Blast Rifles.

  Though we were on Volka’s home turf and outnumbered two to one, all of us were armed with state-of-the-art weapons. Plus I could support my men with magic. Still, if this became an all-out brawl with Volka’s 20 werewolves, both sides would suffer severe losses. Even if I won in the end, who knew how many of my werewolves would die securing victory. Every member of my 50-odd strong werewolf unit was a dear friend I’d grown up with. I didn’t want to lose a single one of them.

  Besides, Volka’s loyalty was something I could respect. In fact, I quite liked her. I didn’t want to kill her. Unfortunately, it was starting to look like we had no choice but to fight. The werewolves on both sides were dying to start this bloodbath. What do I do? ...Wait, I’ve got it. I can’t believe I forgot about something so simple.

  “Alright, I can see that you’re resolved. The fact that you’re willing to oppose me, someone you admitted is stronger than you, means you’re prepared to die for your beliefs. I can respect resolve like that.” I nodded reverently to Volka. “But we can’t afford to back down here either. So...”

  I put my Blast Rifle back in the saddle and dismounted from my horse. Smiling, I continued, “How about we settle this with a brawl?”

  Volka, who’d been baring her fangs at me, blinked in surprise.

  “What do you mean, brawl?”

  “Exactly that. A brawl, instead of a deathmatch.”

  I cast strengthening magic on my werewolves as surreptitiously as I could.

  “No holds barred, anything’s allowed. Just, we don’t kill each other. Once someone surrenders, that’s it, it’s over. That way there won’t be any grudges on either side, but we’ll still be able to settle things. What do you say?”

  “Hey, hang on a second...” Jerrick muttered, but I looked over my shoulder and winked at him.

  “You guys are fine with it, right?”

  “Well...if that’s what you want, boss...”

  “Man, you’re hopeless,” Monza said with a wry smile.

  “Yeah, let’s do this!” another one of my werewolves said.

  Everyone put away with their Blast Rifles and jumped o
ff their horses. Volka stared at us in shock, but after a few seconds she let out a hearty laugh.

  “Hahaha! You’re a soft one, you know that kid! But do you really think you can beat us without those fancy weapons of yours!?”

  “Of course I do.” I provoked her, knowing that no werewolf could resist a challenge like that. “Us Meraldian werewolves are a cut above you Rolmund werewolves. Nine people’s more than enough to beat you down.”

  Upon hearing that, Volka bristled. All thoughts about being loyal to her duty or whether this was some kind of trick or not flew out of her head.

  “I hope your bite matches your bark, boy!”

  “Oh, it does. Are you ready to taste dirt?”

  I bared my fangs at Volka. She did the same and shouted, “Get ’em, boys!”

  “Let’s do this, guys!” I roared at almost the same time.

  The howling of werewolves drowned out all other noise in the forest.

  “Raaah! Take this!”

  “Shut the fuck up!”

  “Dammit, that hurts!”

  Since my werewolves were up against a little over 20 enemies, there was no way they’d win fighting fairly. But both Monza and Jerrick’s squads had perfected working as a team, and they always made sure to take on groups of werewolves that were four or less. They kept moving too, making sure the remaining werewolves couldn’t catch up and outnumber them.

  “Dammit, get back here!”

  “This is our forest!”

  “Bahahaha, catch me if you can!”

  Monza in particular was doing a wonderful job of stringing people along. She and her squad were light on their feet, and before long they’d vanished deep into the forest. Ten or so werewolves followed behind her, goaded by her taunts. Jerrick and his squad darted off in another direction while fighting through a smaller group of werewolves. Right now Monza’s squad was the one that had the most werewolves chasing after them. I wanted to go support her, but before I could move I found myself surrounded by four werewolves, one of whom was Volka.