Chapter 2.2

Chapter 2.2

Thud. Valen’s cheek pressed against the cold floor. Beyond his fading consciousness, he heard the demons clicking their tongues.

“Ugh, you don’t even have magic. Trying to touch that with your bare hands was risky.”

“He won’t die, will he?”

“If he were going to die, his body would’ve already been torn to pieces.”

“He’s quite resilient.”

“Let’s quickly extract the blood now that he’s down.”

A massive tentacle wrapped around Valen’s ankle, dragging him somewhere. With this memory as his last, his consciousness faded into utter darkness.

* * *

It was well past summer, yet it was an unusually cloudy night.

The plan was to cross the border before dawn. Before heading into the long war ahead, Valen wanted one last glimpse of the moon.

“Should we delay the departure? There’s plenty of time for the expedition,” Ben asked, tilting his head.

Valen shook his head in response. “No need. I should move together with the regular soldiers as the head of the extermination army.”

“With my limited intelligence, I’m not sure. But you always do what you want… If I continue to serve you, I’ll collapse. Even though I’m considered good stamina in this neighborhood—if you come and go, I’ll become a heap at night.”

Valen chuckled softly. “I’ve asked you several times to join me for dawn training.”

“Dawn training and inspecting the mansion? Oh, don’t even mention it. I’m not the master… It’s practically asking me to die.”

As Ben skillfully filled Valen’s body with armor, Valen felt the weight in his heart increase with each clasp of the armor. Silently, he stared into the darkness outside with a deadened gaze.

“Forget about the mansion and focus on training,” Valen said.

Ben’s hands, filling the shoulder pads, paused. Despite the abolition of slavery, Ben’s status remained at the lowest rung. He couldn’t marry, and no matter how skilled he was, he couldn’t wield a sword. That was the fate and role the world had handed to Ben.

Valen understood how radical and miraculous it was to suggest Ben join his knighthood. But Ben waved it off.

“I could never live like you, my lord. I prefer quietly watching over you from the sidelines.”

“If you want to watch over me like that, then from the commander’s room…”

“I apologize for interrupting, my lord. But to make my refusal clear: I don’t want to be accused of joining through corrupt means.”

“It’s not foul play. I’m doing this because I see potential in you.”

“Ugh. Please stop pushing me. I can’t go on expeditions or anything. I’ve got a liver the size of a pea. It’s not the demons that scare me. It’s this country. They say this coalition has 600,000 troops. I wonder how much money they’ve pocketed… Let’s face it. The king fills his pockets while you suffer as the hero. If we lose, the king will slip away, and you’ll be blamed…”

“Ben.”

Ben snapped his mouth shut in frustration. No matter how lenient the master, some things should and shouldn’t be said. Did he upset him? While he fidgeted, Valen spoke up.

“Leto is coming.”

‘The little master in the middle of the night?’ As he pondered, the door creaked open.
Leto stepped through the door, his thick overcoat draped over his pajamas, exposing only his upper body. Behind him, Leto’s personal servant wiped the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief.

Six years younger than Valen, Leto was noticeably smaller than peers his age. The frail boy stood by the door, coughing softly.

“You have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow.”

“Yeah.”

“If you oversleep again, I won’t let it slide this time.”

His tone and words to his younger brother were strict and rough, but Leto knew his brother wasn’t truly angry. If he were, Leto would burst into tears as he always did as a child.