Still, perhaps I went a bit too far?
Little Leo’s rate of growth was so staggering it felt as if I were looking at a mirror of my younger self. Since he was young enough to be my own grandson, I found myself wanting to meddle more than I probably should. I really ought to reflect on that.
Come to think of it, were they both twelve? I believed so.
It might have been a bit early for them, but then again, my own first experience was around that age! They say kids are quite advanced these days, anyway. Why, back when I was a boy, marriages were decided by the time you were ten or so, all based on the whims of parents and the needs of the house.
Lost in these nostalgic thoughts, I decided to go have a little peek at Leo and Flare’s room.
Hehe, surely just a little look wouldn't hurt.
It had already been about three days. I’d made sure Flare brought enough food in case it turned into a long haul, but this was pushing it. Just what on earth were they doing in there? Ah, to be young again!
But just as I reached the corner of the long corridor, a sound stopped me in my tracks.
"Ooooohhhhhhhh!?"
It was a staggering cry, sounding almost like a wild beast.
"Leo! That feels weird!! Leo!!! Stop it!!"
"I’m not stopping."
"Whyyyyyyyy the hell noooooooot!?"
"I think I’m catching the rhythm. Right here, like this? And then... like this!"
"Hieee!!! I’m going to die!!! I can't! I can't take any more!!! Forgive me, Leo!!"
"No. Just a little more... I've almost got it. Just a little longer."
"You said that yesterday, tooooooo!!"
They certainly seemed to be having the time of their lives!
The voices were unusually gruff, but I suppose that didn't matter. They were probably just playing at being knights. Children were so full of life, weren't they?
I simply gave a silent thumbs-up to the empty air and turned back. There were plenty of contraceptives in the room, so I was sure everything would be just fine!
One week later.
I changed back into my Academy uniform and pulled open the door.
"Well... I’m off, Flare."
"............Yeah, 'Have a nice trip'... is that what you expected me to say? I’m seriously not forgiving you for this."
"U-Um, sorry?"
"You got stronger, didn't you?"
"Incredibly so."
"...Hah, then I’ll let it slide. Get going!!"
"Yeah!"
I stepped out of the room.
I understood it now—the true nature of Sword Aura. I could feel it flowing through every fiber of my being, from every drop of blood to the furthest reaches of my veins. If I had been fighting without this knowledge until now, I truly had been nothing more than an infant.
The Sword King had told me that this was the threshold for a Three-Star Knight. Or rather, only those who mastered this state were worthy of being called Three-Star. That was the source of the overwhelming chasm between Two-Star and Three-Star.
As I walked down the hallway, I found the Sword King fast asleep, reeking of alcohol. He was as boisterous as ever, even in his dreams.
And then...
Slash!
Success. The second one followed. Then the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth.
The bottles were stacked high, and I sliced through only the very tops. It was a feat of precision that was impossible without high-level control over one's Sword Aura.
But now, I could do it.
"Haaaaah!!"
The seventh was a success. However, it wobbled slightly. I suppose this was my limit for the time being.
"I see you've gone from crawling to finally standing on your own two feet."
The Sword King was standing behind me, stretching and yawning.
"I might even be able to beat you now," I said.
"Gahaha! Good. That is the spirit of a King. Well then, I suppose it’s time for Stage 2."
"Stage 2? What are we doing—!?"
I instinctively drew my sword and leaped back.
I had grown stronger—or so I thought. I believed I had reached an entirely different dimension compared to my former self. That much was likely true.
But this man was still further above. So far, in fact, that I still couldn't even see his back. Just how far away was he? This was a King... a man recognized by the world, born to defy destiny. He wasn't just top-class; he was the pinnacle of the sword, the King of Swords who reigned over the absolute summit of the world.
"Please, teach me," I requested.
I felt a surge of pure excitement. I could still become so much stronger.
While Leo began his true training with the Sword King, those left behind also sought out masters of their own. Recognizing their own inadequacies, they struggled to ensure they wouldn't be left behind by the coming era.
"Jin, is it... what business does a runaway have with me?"
"Father, I have come to face you once more. It is true that I was uncomfortable around you, but that was because I looked at you as a son looks at a father. It was a resentment born of my own weakness. But that ends today. You are a Five Star Sword, a being beyond mere humans. Therefore, I will no longer look at you as a father, but as a predecessor—as a back to be pursued. You are where I aim to be."
"...Hmph. Do as you please."
Jin Ashtress sought out the father he had once avoided.
"As I thought! As far as I know, there is no knight greater than you! Let me learn from you, Gray Silverice!"
Deskis sought out a Five Star Sword he had yet to surpass.
And then...
"Papa... I want to become strong. Before, it might have been an illusion. I might have just been chasing a dream, admiring Mama and trying to copy her. I understand now why you wouldn't let me go to the battlefield. I wasn't carrying the weight of anything on my shoulders... but that's over now!!"
The young girl went to the strongest man she knew.
"There is someone I absolutely want to stand beside! Someone I want to protect! So train me for real!"
"I have no intention of going easy on you just because you're my daughter."
"I wouldn't have it any other way!"
"Hmph... so, have you fallen for Leo?"
"Wh—! Don't be stupid! Huh!? N-No, it’s not like that! It’s nothing like that at all!"
"............As my daughter... I fear for what the future holds."
The new generation of Arcadia began to polish their blades. And they were not the only ones.
In the Dragonia Dragon Kingdom, within the Royal Capital Pendragon, a boy stood in the heart of the Dragon King’s castle.
"Good grief... it seems Three-Star Knights are no longer even a challenge for you. Such an abnormal growth rate... truly, this is what it means to be a King chosen by the world."
"Don't tease me, Alteus."
Several of Dragonia's Three-Star Knights lay defeated and broken on the floor. Standing in their center was a boy of only twelve years.
"It’s not enough. More. I must become stronger. Failure will not be permitted in the next operation."
"Then I shall be your opponent. I am one of the Four Dragons, after all."
"Oh? You've finally felt like facing me, Alteus?"
"The current Dragon King is likely someone no one but I could handle. Well... if even I prove to be no match for you, I’ll have to bring that man along. The one who devoured the World's Strongest Beauty, the man whom even the Arcadia Sword King feared to face one-on-one—the Dragon God."
"Hmph... I wonder where that man is hiding. He is technically one of the Four Dragons, isn't he?"
"Who knows? No one can control him. However, he did say something curious."
Alteus closed his eyes as if recalling a dream.
"'Two kings have been born. The Kings chosen by the world whom I must kill,' he said. Undoubtedly, one of them is you, my King."
"Most likely. There is a promise that after he kills all other kings, he will kill me. I intend to be the one who kills him, however. But... he said there was another?"
"Who can say? I can't understand a word that man utters. It was likely just nonsense."
"………………A King, huh."
A single boy flickered in the back of the Dragon King’s mind. The possibility of it being him was infinitely close to zero. And yet...
"Hehe... if that's the case, then I must be the one to kill him."
The Dragon King found himself smiling at the thought.
The Dragon King and Alteus gripped their swords, grins spreading across their faces.
Each of them poured their convictions and desires into their Crests as their training intensified.
Time flowed on, and one year passed.
The Great War that would engulf the world was about to begin.