Chapter 1

Prologue

“I must refuse.”

The castle’s audience chamber.
A middle-aged man with a greatsword on his back quietly opened his mouth.

“I am grateful that you think so highly of me, but that position does not suit me.”

The name of the gray-haired man, whose hair was gradually becoming mixed with white, was Lucas Liberator.
He had just rejected, without hesitation, the proposal of the emperor he had served his entire life.

The retainers began to whisper.

“He’s mad. He must be mad.”

The Imperial Great Knight Commander was a position that could only be bestowed upon the strongest person in the empire, acknowledged by the emperor himself.
So now, Lucas had rejected a position that was like a dream to countless people.
Quiet jealousy and sneers followed.

But everyone only whispered, and no one dared raise their voice.
The one who had rejected the proposal was Lucas Liberator.
Because he was the one who bore the title of ‘Sword Saint.’

“Please, at least consider it. You know this is not a proposal I make lightly.”

Kerum de Evgenia, emperor of the Oratio Empire.
His dark red eyes, which always maintained their nobility, trembled faintly.
Only Lucas noticed it.
Even so, he spoke firmly.

“I am sorry, Your Majesty. No matter how many times I consider it, my choice will not change.”

It was a firm voice that said he would not say it twice.
His emotionless eyes, from which no feeling could be sensed, only gazed quietly at the emperor.

“If you become the Great Knight Commander, you can enjoy anything you desire. Honor, wealth, power. It is a position that allows you to take anything you dream of.”

Kerum knew.
That he was not a man whose heart would be swayed by words like these.
Even so, he did not stop speaking because he was that desperate.

‘It is meaningless. All of it.’

Lucas let out a small sigh.
Honor. Wealth. Power.
If such things had been his goal in taking up the sword, he would never have reached this place.

A sword to protect the empire. A sword to protect his family.
It had already been thirty-five years since he took up the sword to protect those precious to him.
To protect countless lives, he had cut down even more.

His hands gradually became stained with blood, but that was fine.
If it was to protect his beloved family and the empire.

“I no longer know. The reason I hold a sword.”

Two years ago, on the day he returned to the empire after ending the war.
That day too, as always, he protected the empire and protected his comrades-in-arms.
But he could not protect his family.

His wife and son had boarded a carriage to meet Lucas.
The carriage they rode in overturned, and the two of them lost their lives.
The cause was a bandit attack.
The people of the empire Lucas had risked his life to protect had taken away what was most precious to him.

It was from then that doubt began to seep into his sword.

“A blade that is not firm will only grow dull. A dulled sword will only break. My sword, which cannot contain resolve, is not suited to the position of Knight Commander.”

The retainers were shocked once again.
They could not understand.
Was he giving up a position of glory for such a reason.

A knight from a worthless commoner background.
For someone like him, there was nothing better than rank to solidify the honor he had worked so hard to obtain.
Even now, he held the high position of battalion commander, but was rank not better the higher it went.

And yet he was throwing away the opportunity of a lifetime by his own hand.
For those who had built their lives with honor, wealth, and power, it was an action they could not understand.

“However, if you are perhaps trying to reward me, there is something I dare to ask.”
“……What is it?”
“I wish to rest for a while.”

He knew very well that he was still too young to lay down the sword.
He was not comparing himself to races like dwarves or elves, who lived for over a thousand years.
Only to humans who had reached the rank of Sword Saint, or something similar to it.
Even compared to them, forty-two was far too early an age to lay down the sword.

Even so, he could not hold a sword now.
At the very least, he could not hold a sword for the empire.

“……”

Kerum looked sadly at the Sword Saint, whose head was lowered.
As the emperor of a nation, and as a close friend who had known him since childhood.
Because of that, Kerum could only wear a bitter smile.

‘Is his resolve wavering?’

Lucas’s will was not something that could be broken.
He was the kind of man who would not obey even an imperial command if he judged it to be wrong.
How could one break the will of such a person?

“……I permit it.”
“But, Your Majesty!”
“Silence.”

A retainer who had gathered his courage shouted, but he was stopped.
To begin with, this was a conversation between the emperor and the Sword Saint.
It was not a place where a mere retainer could intrude.

“……”

Lucas quietly turned his back.
His footsteps toward the door carried not a single sound.

“Hrk!”

The people near the door stepped aside as if the Red Sea were parting.
Some even twisted their bodies to avoid him.

“On the day my resolve stands again, I will stand before Your Majesty once more.”
“That is enough. Rest well.”

And so, one Sword Saint left the audience chamber.
The retainers, who had kept silent for a while, soon began to shout.

“Your Majesty! The king of the dwarves continues to covet our territory! How could you grant the Sword Saint’s request?”
“That is right, Your Majesty! The existence of the Sword Saint is directly tied to the empire’s strength!”

‘These people were quiet in front of Lucas……’

Kerum did not answer the retainers.
He did not feel it was worth doing.
Was their worry directed toward the empire? Or was it to protect their own safety?
That was not important.
In any case, what did it matter?
It did not matter how their priorities were arranged.
What was certain was that they too did not want the empire to collapse.

“Do the dwarves not lack a Sword Saint? They may have the Archmage Optatum, but we still have two talents remaining as well. And is it not possible that a new talent may appear?”
“But, Your Majesty! Lucas Liberator is like a symbol of our Oratio Empire!”
“He is not saying he will lay down his sword forever. It is simply time to care for Lucas as a person, not as the Sword Saint.”

Even at Kerum’s words, the retainers’ agitation did not settle.

“Haa……”

The castle’s audience chamber was engulfed in chaos.
Kerum’s eyes began to darken.
No one noticed that fact.

And three years later.

“We need your strength.”

A person came to Lucas.
The reason was his return to the battlefield.

The cause was the unexplained sharp increase in monsters.
For now, they were somehow holding on by making the most of their current forces, but it would become difficult from here on.

“Have you heard the news that we have reached an agreement with the elves and dwarves as well?”
“Maybe.”
“We have decided to stop tearing at one another and join forces to defeat the monsters. It also means the current situation is that dangerous.”
“……Mm.”
“That is why we need your help even more, Lord Lucas. An agreement is only fair when the strength of both sides is equal, is it not?”

There was nothing wrong in what he said.
Lucas knew that the monsters were increasing.
Since he did bear the title of ‘Sword Saint,’ he could understand why they had come to him, even if he did not like it.
But he could not be certain.

‘Can my sword protect someone?’

Time had passed, but his doubt had not completely disappeared.
That was why Lucas answered with a sigh.

“I will take up the sword soon. However, that does not mean I will return to the imperial court.”

Even so, he began to steady his heart.
Three years. He had resolved incidents in his own way, but he had not been able to help with the empire’s affairs.
He did not feel regret or guilt.
But as one who possessed power, was it not wrong to abandon the weak?
It seemed the time had come to put aside, to some degree, the sulking born from his emotions.

At the end of a long, long rest.
The time to take up the sword was now drawing near.

Chapter 1

The small village of Satus in the eastern part of the continent had been in constant uproar since early morning.
All because of a boy running for his life, Serpens.

“Keheok……”

He was gasping for air.

Was this a sign that this was his limit?
He felt a pain as if holes had been torn through his lungs.

But the boy couldn’t stop running.

“You rat bastard! Once we catch you, I’ll tear off your limbs and feed you to the wild dogs!”

The shouts of the angry merchants chasing him.

‘They really need to calm down. Throwing a fit over a pound of stolen meat.’

Serpens, a twelve-year-old orphan.
His light brown hair was whipping wildly again today.

‘Still, how long has it been since I had meat? I can eat it with the bread I saved.’

The boy glanced at the three merchants chasing him for all they were worth.
They were close enough to catch him if he slowed even a little.
He had to grit his teeth and endure the scream of his lungs.
If he fell because of a moment of pain, greater pain was sure to follow.

“Stop right there, you son of a bitch!”
“Would you stop if you were me, you idiots?”

If he entered the alley on the left, there was a wall he had scouted out beforehand.
A small dog hole had been opened there.
It was just the right size for him, and a hole the merchants couldn’t pass through.
If he used that to shake them off, he would not have to starve today.

‘I just need to run a little farther!’

The boy turned his body into the alley and ran toward the place where the hole was.
A movement he had practiced countless times.
All he had to do was throw the meat in his hand over the wall and slide through the hole.

“Stop right there! You damned snake bastard!”

Serpens’s gaze remained fixed on the merchants.
The distance to the merchants was roughly ten steps.
At this much distance, he had secured enough space.
Now it was time to slide forward.

‘The meat first.’

Whoosh-.

Today’s food went over the wall.
Now all he had to do was quickly slip his body through the dog hole……

Crack!

“Keheok!”

Pain rang from his head all the way down to his toes.
Would this be the pain of being struck by lightning?
His entire body tingled as if he had been electrocuted.
But that was not the important thing.

‘When did they block it? It was definitely open.’

The hole had been blocked.
A single rock sat there boldly.

It was a mistake.
If he had checked ahead even once, he certainly would not have crashed into that rock.

Though since it was a dead end, he would have been caught all the same.

“Kheuk……”

Serpens struggled desperately to raise his body.
He couldn’t breathe.
He had no strength either.
But even the pain wrapped around his entire body was bearable compared to the fear approaching him.

“Ha, seriously. Acting like a damn mutt. Look at him running straight for the dog hole all excited.”
“The village chief ordered us to block every dog hole in the village to beat down beggar bastards like you.”

Rat bastard. Snake bastard. Son of a bitch. Mutt.
Every one of them was a word used to refer to the boy.

‘Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.’

A sturdily built merchant picked up the staggering Serpens.
When they saw the boy struggling to break free, the corners of the merchants’ mouths rose.

“Satus will have one less bug.”

The merchant dragged the boy out of the alley.

Serpens’s legs hurt as they were dragged along the ground, but he couldn’t fix his posture.
Even if he had learned countless skills while running away his whole life, a twelve-year-old was still a twelve-year-old.
Once he was caught, he could not escape the grip of a grown man.

‘Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it!!!’

His vision was growing blurry, but he didn’t stop moving his eyes.
Maybe, by some tiny chance, some tiny chance, an opening to survive would appear.

But no saving hand could be seen.
Was the problem that he had come too deep into the alley?
No, even if this had been in the middle of the marketplace, nothing would have changed.
Because no one would help a thief being dragged away.

“Fucking hell……”

Age twelve. Born an orphan.
He had lived, clinging on desperately, just to eat and survive like everyone else.
He had tried hard.
He knew his method was wrong.
He knew theft was bad even without being taught.
But what could he do?
In this damned world, he could not live unless he did even that.
Was it wrong to try to live?

Serpens bit his lip against the resentment surging up inside him.

‘Damn it. Why am I crying for no reason?’

Hot tears gathered at the corners of his eyes.

He was sad.
He felt wronged.
Damn it.

“Oh? This kid’s crying?”

The merchants’ ridicule.
They felt delight.
How hard had they worked over the past few years to catch this brat?
Just thinking of the losses they had suffered because of beggars, not only this one, made their teeth grind.

“We’ll have to make an example of you. We’ll carry out your execution personally in the square.”

The strength left Serpens’s body, and his rough breathing began to slow.
It was not that his breathing was stopping.
He was simply losing the will to live.

‘Why was I even born?’

Serpens decided to simply close his eyes.
He felt as if he would not be able to endure the gazes of the villagers directed at him.

At the moment the boy’s tragedy reached its peak.

“What? Who’s this mister? I’ve never seen his face before.”
“You want to come along too, old man? We’re planning to have a little party to celebrate catching this thief.”

Someone blocked the merchants’ path.
When they stopped, Serpens slowly opened his eyes.

“I refuse.”

Boom.

And at the same time, a massive greatsword sank into the ground.
The stranger continued speaking.

“There was conviction in your words. Do you truly intend to kill the child?”

The merchants blinked blankly at the greatsword larger than themselves.
Was a sword like that also made to be swung?

“Ha……! Of course! This bastard deserves to be torn to death!”
“……I see. Excuse me, then.”

Thud.

At that moment.
The edge of the greatsword wielder’s hand struck the merchant’s neck.

“Keheok!”
“You bastard! Are you with him too?”

The enraged merchants swung their clubs.
However, the clubs drawing huge arcs did not reach the man.
In the meantime, the man’s hand moved once more.

Thud.

And so another one collapsed.

“You son of a bitch!”

Thud.

Exactly three times.
With concise and indifferent movements, all three fell.

“What…… is this?”

Serpens, dropped to the ground, endured the pain and raised his head.
A man stood alone and upright among the fallen merchants.
Long dark-gray hair and an untrimmed beard.
There stood a middle-aged man with a rough but dignified appearance.
Perhaps sensing his gaze, the man brushed off the robe he was wearing and looked at Serpens.

The eyes directed at him showed no emotion.
They contained no anger, no disgust, and no mockery.

‘He’s cool.’

But Serpens tasted the authority of the strong in those eyes.
At the same time, those emotionless eyes were far too difficult for a twelve-year-old boy to understand.
The only thing certain was that the man did not hate him.
For the boy, that was enough.

“Mister. What’s your name?”
“…….”
“You saved my life, so I figured I should at least know your name.”

The man thought for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth.

“……Lucas.”

A restaurant in the village.
The restaurant owner and all the customers were looking at only one table.

“Isn’t that Serpens?”
“No way. What money would that brat have to come into a restaurant?”
“The man in front of him must have bought it for him. Seeing that greatsword, maybe he’s a knight?”
“There’s no way Serpens would be acquainted with a knight. And even if they just met, a knight buying food for a thief?! That makes no sense.”

The table where Lucas and Serpens sat.
Countless plates were piled on top of it.

‘How many days would one have to starve for this much food to fit into that small body?’

Lucas was looking at the boy with pity.
Continuing to order new food for him.
That was the best help he could offer.

“Wow! This is really good! Lucas, you should eat too!”

In contrast, Serpens was enjoying the feeling of having come to heaven.
A taste that could not even be compared to stolen meat.
Pleasure obtained for free was far too sweet.

The boy ate endlessly, and then ate some more.
As if he were a person who would not be able to put food in his mouth after this moment.

“Wuhahak! Lucas! Look at this meat!”
“Eat slowly.”

The plates were emptied in an instant.
Before Serpens had even swallowed one thing, he put another into his mouth.

“But is this really okay? This must be incredibly expensive.”

It was lip service.
Serpens did not care about someone else’s wallet at all.
But the person in front of him was his lifesaver and someone too skilled for him to double-cross.
So it was ‘at least something said out of courtesy.’ Nothing more and nothing less.

“Don’t worry about the money. Eat.”
“Yes!”

The one most worried about this situation was the restaurant owner.
The price of the food the two had ordered was about half of an average day’s sales.
It was possible because the foods Serpens had chosen were mostly very expensive dishes.
Normally, it would have been a situation where the corners of his mouth reached his ears, but the owner could not laugh at ease.

‘Those bastards…… they’re not going to dine and dash, are they?’

Because the customer was Serpens.

That was also why he was standing in front of the restaurant door.
That was also why he had locked the windows, leaving ventilation aside.
It was a merchant’s instinct that he had to block any hole through which a little rat bastard could escape.

But his tension did not last long either.

“I apologize for keeping you busy. I will pay first with this. No change is necessary.”

One gold coin held in the owner’s hand.
Tension? Not at all. The customer was king.

‘Look how excited he is.’

Serpens put down his fork.
The small amount of pork dish left was a shame, but he had to endure it.
If he ate even one more bite, he would surely throw everything back up.
He couldn’t ruin this good feeling.

‘Anyway……’

What kind of person was Lucas?
With one gold coin, one could easily live for four months.
Yet he paid such money as if it were nothing.

He did not look like a noble.
The nobles he had seen a few times all wore expensive clothes that looked flashy and uncomfortable.

But what about the man before him?
A robe that looked as if it might tear at any moment.
A beard and hair grown long from lack of care.
Even a face that looked far from happiness.
A wealthy mercenary or adventurer. Perhaps something like that.
In any case, he was a person who looked far from an easy life.

“What wrong did you do to be dragged away like that?”

Meanwhile, Lucas, who had not touched the food at all, asked.

“I guess being born was my mistake. If stealing some food to somehow try to live, when I don’t even know the names of the parents who threw me onto the street, is a mistake, then I guess that’s my mistake.”

It was an answer too heavy to have come from the mouth of a twelve-year-old.
Even as he stuffed the leftover bread into his pockets after eating until his stomach felt ready to burst, it was an answer that needlessly made the person who asked feel awkward.

Lucas spoke carefully.

“There is no person whose birth itself is a mistake. Even a murderer who has killed countless lives was not wrong to be born. The fault lies with the society that made such a person.”
“I don’t really understand difficult words like that.”
“……?”

Serpens showed a broad grin.
For someone who had said he did not understand, his face looked satisfied.

A warm atmosphere settled over them.
To be precise, it was warmth that only Serpens felt.

Slide.

Then, suddenly, Serpens rose from his seat as if he had decided something.
Burning will. Sparkling eyes.
The boy raised the fork in his hand toward the sky.

“Good! I like you, Lucas. So from now on, I’ll cut down on stealing a bit, do good deeds little by little, and follow you aro—”
“I refuse.”
“Huh?”

A cold silence arrived in an instant.
Lucas and Serpens were both equally flustered.

‘I must have treated him too well.’

Lucas had not the slightest intention of traveling with someone.
All the more so if it was a beggar boy he had never seen before in his life.

The middle-aged man brushed off his robe and rose from his seat.
Even until the dust that fell from his robe fluttered down and touched the ground, Serpens could not move.

“Huh……? W…… wait!”

Lucas headed for the door at a swift pace.
His movement as he passed between people was like the wind.

“I’m not done talking yet!”

But while hurriedly wiping his hands, Serpens also moved his feet.
What made his body move was the boy’s instinct.

Serpens’s street instincts were shouting fiercely.

That he had to follow that man.
That if there was a chance to change his fate, having lived his whole life as a petty thief, it was now or never.