I opened my eyes and blinked.
"Where... am I?"
Forget waking up to an unfamiliar ceiling—there wasn't a ceiling at all.
Or rather, was I outside? No, that didn't seem right. It was a bizarre, surreal space.
The sky shimmered like a vast, midnight canopy. The floor beneath me was solid stone.
Where was I? I was clearly indoors, yet the stars were right there.
"Oh, Leo. You’re finally awake."
"......Sword King."
I sat up instantly and straightened my posture.
Lying beside me, gazing up at the faux sky, was the Sword King himself.
"Hahaha! Peace, boy. There’s no need to be so humble. You and I are both Kings recognized by the world; that makes us equals. No need for formalities, either. Call me whatever you like."
"......Uh, Lecherous Geezer?"
"Want me to give you another wallop?"
"U-Uh... Gramps?"
"Heh, yes... that’ll do nicely, Leo. Hahaha! I’ve gained a third grandchild!"
But why on earth... Oh, right. Come to think of it, I had a faint, hazy memory.
"You’re still quite weak. To speak of ideals in such a state—it’s laughable."
"Urgh..."
His expression was mocking, but I couldn't find a single word to fire back. I had been trounced without so much as a struggle.
Perhaps I had grown conceited after fighting Abeljan. Just because I’d managed to hold my own, I thought I was something special.
"Well, I am the strongest man in the world, after all."
"Gramps, if you fought Gaia, would you win?"
"Hahaha! Well, nine times out of ten, it’d be me. A snot-nosed brat like Gaia is child's play."
I couldn't tell if he was joking or being dead serious.
But... this man was a King.
He wasn't a King by inheritance. He was a King who had awakened to his own power and spent decades on the battlefield.
His experience was on a completely different level than my mere few short years. He might have some physical decline due to age, but in the face of Crest Power, such things were negligible.
When I looked at it that way...
"More importantly, where are we?"
"Deep beneath Arcana Castle."
"The basement?"
I looked around. Looking closely, we were inside a stone structure shaped like a massive dome.
The night sky was above us... No, something was off. The stars didn't move the way they should. It was like being inside a high-end planetarium.
I couldn't believe this was all underground.
"No one but I has ever set foot in this place. I have strictly forbidden it. These are the Arcana Castle Underground Ruins. Or rather... I suppose it’s more accurate to say the castle was built on top of these ruins."
"Why did you bring me here?"
"Because you’re a King, too. Well... if you ask me for a specific reason, it was mostly just a hunch."
"Is that really enough of a reason?"
"It’s plenty! After all, I’m the most important person in this country."
The man was truly impossible to pin down.
"Follow me, Leo."
"...Okay."
I followed him as instructed.
At the far end of the Planetarium Chamber, there stood a door.
And beyond that door...
"—!?"
There was a person.
To be precise, it was something that looked exactly like a person.
A sword was thrust straight through its chest.
The figure was petrified—a massive, imposing man.
"It looks so real... What an incredibly exquisite sculpture."
"I wouldn't be so sure it’s a sculpture. Why don't you try cutting it?"
"Are you sure? What if I break it?"
"If you can break it, be my guest."
I drew my Crest Sword and slashed at it as he told me to.
Whrum! My blade was repelled by a low, vibrating sound.
What was this? It wasn't just that the material was hard. I tried to touch it, but my hand couldn't get close.
I could see it right there, but it was as if the space around it was severed from the rest of the world... This feeling... I knew it.
It was the exact same sensation I felt when I tried to strike Liberto, the knight who attacked my village. My blade had been stopped by that same overwhelming Crest Power.
Something was there—an absolute force that could not be resisted.
"What is this?"
"No idea."
You don't know?!
He acted as if he were showing me the secrets of the universe, and he didn't even know what it was?
I looked at the sculpture once more. Wait... for some reason...
"Come on, we're heading back."
"O-Okay..."
Following his lead, I walked back out through the door.
The Planetarium Chamber was as beautiful as ever.
Cr-crack.
The Sword King turned back for a fleeting moment.
"......I suppose there’s no more time."
He whispered the words so softly I almost missed them as he looked at the stone figure.
We returned to the main part of the chamber.
"So, did you bring me here just to show me that?"
"No, I brought you here for your training."
"Training...... You’re going to personally train me, Gramps?"
"I am. But be warned: my training is brutal. Do you think you can keep up?"
He gave me a sharp, predatory grin.
Just what kind of training would it be?
I gave him a firm, determined nod.
And then, the place we headed to was...
"...Are you kidding me?"
It was the Pink Palace, the establishment Lord Haurezel had invited me to before.
This Lecherous Geezer. What happened to the training? No, wait... maybe there's some secret, high-level drill involved in this environment...
"Kyaaaa! Sword King!!"
"Are my girls doing well?! Woohoo! We’re going to party hard today!"
There was no secret drill. He literally meant we were here to party.
No, no, but maybe—no, it was no use. The old man was genuinely having the time of his life.
He already had his face buried in a pair of breasts. I didn't think it was possible for a human being to look that lecherous.
"Sigh... Can I please just go home?"
"Only if you beat me."
A bottle was placed on the table. Ah, that game. Honestly, I didn't think I could possibly fail.
"Rock-paper-scissors to see who goes first! Oh, I’m going second."
"I’m not going to miss, you know."
"Oh? That’s quite the claim. My personal best is only ten times in a row."
"?"
I didn't quite get why that was impressive—I figured someone like Gramps could do ten easily. I drew my Crest Sword and sliced through the bottle.
If you could cut the top off without knocking the bottle over, it was a success. It was easy.
"Alright, my turn."
"Hm?"
Gramps stacked a second bottle on top of the first.
Then, with a casual shick! he sliced through the top bottle.
"Kyaaa!! As expected of the Sword King!! Amazing! It didn't even wobble!!"
"Hahaha! I am the strongest in the world, after all! Your turn next, Leo. Here, three bottles."
"You’ve got to be kidding... we’re going to keep stacking them?"
Three bottles were now stacked high. They were already swaying.
If I tried to cut through this, the whole tower would definitely collapse.
"You said you wouldn't miss, right? Oh, and by the way—if you lose, you have to drink up."
"I'm still a minor..."
"The King grants you a special exception."
"This is total royal harassment..."