Black Badger

I couldn’t shout and ask Kyle.

They hadn’t even departed yet. I thought I heard Rei mutter, “Well, damn,” under his breath.

If you’re going to sympathize, then help!

The wind cut sharply against my ears.

Kairos helped me sit beside him. I quickly settled in and grabbed the Creature’s neck.

The flying beast that only flew at night—called a Bambi Winged Bird—looked as though two birds had been fused into one.

Seated on its left side, I pressed my upper body tightly against its fluffy torso.

If I hadn’t, I would have fallen.

“Is it always this fast?!”

I shouted while clinging to the bird’s neck.

We were shooting upward into the sky along a steep incline.

It seemed the Bambi Winged Bird behind us had also taken off. I heard Rei screaming something incomprehensible.

I wanted to mock him, but my own situation was no joke.

Isn’t this too fast? And too steep?

Kairos laughed brightly.

“I was told we have a long way to go.”

“We’re not that pressed for time!”

“Isn’t fast fun?”

The red-haired handler looked at me, orange eyes gleaming.

“I prefer safe over fun! Look ahead!”

“It’s safe, so you don’t need to worry!”

The roar of the wind was so loud that we had to shout to talk.

Which meant the speed hadn’t dropped at all. The cold wrapped around my body.

Just how high are we going?

Physiological tears welled up from the wind.

The instant the tears were torn away and scattered, the Bambi Winged Bird tilted forward and leveled out.

The open sky filled my vision.

The Empire of Night spread out beneath us.

“Wow.”

You can clearly see the hierarchy.

Only the districts using mana-infused lamp oil were lit. The closer to the Imperial Palace, the brighter the lights. Since we were heading west, we were cutting diagonally across the Imperial Avenue, and the palace and noble estates came into view off to the side.

The Imperial Palace was always beautiful.

A district perpetually protected by magic circles. Spires soaring into the sky, and surveillance magic orbiting them like comet tails.

Unless they received a mission from a noble, ordinary knights were forbidden from entering the palace district.

I myself had only stayed there for any length of time during the order’s entrance exam and when I was formally appointed an Imperial Knight.

I probably wouldn’t have many reasons to enter again.

Even if my skills improved, Kyle and I were outsiders.

Rei, on the other hand, had secured status and solid ability. He was far more likely to enter the palace. He might dislike it, but when the time came, I intended to give him a push from behind.

Because I believed nothing could shake the friendship between Rei and me.

So why should Rei give up a guaranteed path?

Kyle and I were different.

It would be nice if effort and skill were rewarded as-is, but I couldn’t be certain things would go that smoothly. When the value of a life changed based on status, nothing was ever simple.

Still, as long as we didn’t let go of our swords, wouldn’t we end up walking the same road in the end?

Even if time passed and our paths diverged a little, surely they wouldn’t split completely.

If only we could stay like this forever.

I turned my head away from the palace glittering with refined particles of light.

The farther toward the edge of the Imperial Avenue, the deeper the darkness grew.

The poorer the district, the less light it could afford at night. Looking down at streets buried in a moonless night, I thought it was fortunate Kyle’s people lived along the southern slope.

The poorest lived on the western slope of the capital. The most vicious Creatures made their lairs there.

At first, Kyle’s tribe had also settled on the western slope. But after Kyle was granted knighthood, their situation gradually improved, and they slowly relocated south.

The fact I could think so calmly meant the Bambi Winged Bird was flying steadily through the night sky.

“Thank you for slowing down....”

I spoke in a weary voice and stroked the Bambi Winged Bird’s neck.

The handler laughed quietly.

“We have to cross the mountain range.”

So that meant we’d be like this until the mountains came into view.

Relieved, I gently hugged the Bambi Winged Bird’s body.

Then I noticed the tip of my scabbard was bothering it. I turned the scabbard aside.

After that, I lay buried in feathers for a long while, staring at silhouettes that emerged from pitch-black darkness.

***

Mountain peaks came into view.

A mountain range where a giant would be sleeping.

A heavy shadow loomed, leaning against a peak. With no sun, its details were indistinct, but its sheer outline was intimidating enough.

This Creature was both a curse and a blessing upon the Empire.

The giant blocked Creatures crossing from the western mountains—and crushed anyone who tried to pass through those mountains to death.

So people avoided the area near the third peak. Animals and Creatures did the same. The giant, which awakened only at dawn, neither ate nor drank, yet never died, always standing watch in the same place.

According to legend, it was the last surviving member of a giant race that had gone extinct in ancient times.

A being cursed, denied permission to die.

No one, however, had ever confirmed what truly lay inside the massive armor. No one had ever been able to look within it.

Rumor had it that eyes inside the armor glowed yellow.

That led to whispers that the cursed giant might be a Child of the World Tree—but no one had verified the truth.

In any case, when night and day were still far off, it remained dormant.

So there was no need to worry—

“What the hell?!”

Rei’s panicked shout rang out.

“Why is it moving?!”

It was true.

As we drew closer, I felt the giant’s presence and nearly screamed.

What is this?!

Kyle shouted from the Bambi Winged Bird following behind us.

“Kairos!”

The handler didn’t seem particularly flustered.

“Hm, I felt it!”

The one who answered pressed himself tightly against the Bambi Winged Bird.

Kairos announced,

“We’re going down!”

Down?

Instead of climbing to avoid it?

There was no time to ask.

The Bambi Winged Bird descended.

“Ahh!”

My body lifted.

If I hadn’t grabbed the Bambi Winged Bird’s neck in time, I would’ve fallen. I felt the blood drain from my face as I clung to the Creature with my life.

Too fast!

It felt like all my organs were floating.

The fierce wind lashed my cheeks.

I heard Rei’s short scream.

And Kyle’s shout.

“Kairos!”

The Bambi Winged Bird was plunging toward trees jutting sharply out of the darkness.

“Hurry it up!”

“Sorry! I figured Imperial Knights wouldn’t fall!”

At that point, we had nothing to say.

After the handler shot back like that, none of us complained—whether as the Bambi Winged Bird twisted its body diagonally to descend between tightly packed trees, or as branches smashed against our arms and scabbards and snapped into the air.

There weren’t many chances to speak anyway.

Dropping instantly beneath the canopy, the bird now slipped swiftly between thick tree trunks.

Our body angles and field of view whirled constantly.

And this is something the handler beside me is doing?

His reflexes are incredible.

He’d make a truly excellent knight....

BOOOOM!

The ground and trees shook.

As trees swept past us, I felt a heavy presence to the right.

Crack—!

The sound of a trunk breaking mixed in.

I tensed my muscles and turned my head right.

The clattering of armor announced its approach.

The creaking of old, rusted armor.

A crushing presence struck my instincts.

BOOOOM!

“Why the hell is it awake?!”

Rei shouted.

“If this was going to happen, we should’ve just slept and taken a Skybird!”

“Kyle!”

Kairos shouted.

“What?!”

“Can’t you send out a sword strike?”

Right where it hurts.

The handler pointed out the very thing the three of us were obsessing over. Only a Sword Expert could launch a sword strike while seated.

The problem was that admitting it was a blow to the pride.

As expected, Kyle snapped back irritably.

“I can’t!”

“Then let’s just run!”

The Bambi Winged Bird accelerated.

I clenched my teeth and clung to the Creature—

Now worrying about the state of its wings.

“Is the Bambi Winged Bird okay?!”

I spat out a leaf that had flown into my mouth as I shouted.

“Aren’t you pushing it too hard?!”

The red-haired handler burst out laughing.

“You would’ve made a fine handler yourself!”

What has he been talking about this whole time?

Suppressing the urge to say it was the exact opposite, I pressed my upper body down tightly until the Bambi Winged Bird slipped between the giant’s legs, climbed the peak, and shot back up into the night sky.

The cold wrapped around me again.

While crossing the peaks, we didn’t need swords.

Just as Kyle had confidently promised, we crossed the mountains safely atop the Bambi Winged Bird.

***

“Someone was handling it.”

That was what Kairos said with a smile after dismounting.

“They were skilled enough that I couldn’t guarantee success if I interfered, so I didn’t try.”

“I told you not to do that.”

Kyle crossed his arms and frowned.

He seemed well aware of the red-haired handler’s reckless, impulsive behavior.

He also seemed accustomed to this kind of flight. He was perfectly fine, while Rei and I staggered the moment we got off the Bambi Winged Bird, clutching our nauseated stomachs.

We leaned against a massive rock, nursing our shattered pride.

Kyle mocked us to his heart’s content.

After laughing loudly about how terrible our sense of balance was, he immediately walked over to the handler to talk when I asked, “You fly so well—why is your climbing that bad?”

I sulked and listened to their conversation.

When they started talking about the mysterious handler near the giant, I straightened up.

They were discussing something unsettling.

“Do you really think they’ll compete fairly?”

Kyle said with a deep frown.

The handler stood opposite him, smiling faintly.

Kairos had just told Kyle that he was considering entering the Imperial familiar tournament.

“They’re notorious for dirty tricks! We’re from a conquered people—everyone in the stands will be counting the seconds until your miserable defeat!”

“Hm.”

I saw Kairos make an awkward smile.

He quietly studied his friend with orange eyes, then added,

“Should I not have told you in advance?”

Wow.

Rei and I were horrified.

Kyle exploded.

“You bastard!”

“Uh—”

We hurriedly stood up.

And restrained our friend, who was raging like a lion. Wrapping our arms around Kyle’s solid torso, we pulled him away from the handler.

“Calm down, calm down.”

“Yeah. The outcome could still be good.”

I stopped Kyle while Rei defended Kairos.

“From what I saw, his handling skills are outstanding. If he picks the right familiar, he could actually win.”

“There’s no way they’ll play fair! Someone died just last week! You heard about the knights putting down a rampaging familiar after its handler was killed!”

That was true.

I’d heard the news too. Knights from the eastern corps had been dispatched to deal with it.

I hadn’t seen the match myself, so I couldn’t be sure—but people said the handler had deliberately killed the opponent.

Officially, it was a familiar-versus-familiar tournament, yet deaths happened every season.

Honestly, I couldn’t confidently say it would be fine either.

Why did we come out to the western mountains at this hour in the first place?

“And if you’re really going to enter, our family can sponsor you.”

Rei’s offhand comment pulled me out of my thoughts.

Kyle and I turned our heads, eyes widening slightly.

From someone who hated getting entangled with his family?

Reading our looks, Rei replied flatly,

“They told me to use the family when I can.”

The third son of the Renyr family spoke coolly.

“Didn’t you say that was the clever thing to do? I’m trying to follow your advice—why those faces?”

Kyle let out a small laugh.

I smiled as well. The expression on the face of a noble heir who was finally “growing up” was too funny.

I was about to tease him—

When the handler cut in.

“It’s an honor, even just in words.”

After the polite courtesy, the handler continued without giving anyone time to respond.

“And Kyle. If you think about it, being underestimated isn’t all bad. People always go wild for someone who wins despite being scorned. A match needs a good story to be exciting. So if I end up winning, the reaction might be even more enthusiastic than usual—”

“Let go, Hilde.”

I had to grip Kyle tightly as he lunged toward {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} the handler.

“Let go of me!”

“He helped us cross the peaks—let it go just this once!”

I shouted, sympathizing with the friend who must have suffered plenty putting up with Kairos.

“He doesn’t seem malicious, so just this once!”

In the end, Kairos returned home safely atop the Bambi Winged Bird.

He waved cheerfully at the furious Kyle and soared back into the sky.

What a truly peculiar being....

I thought as I felt his presence fade.

Getting deeply involved with him would be exhausting....

That was my first impression of Kairos.

***

But life rarely goes the way you want.

A day passed after that, and the three of us were summoned together by Kysis.

We received a mission inside the Imperial Avenue.

“The familiar tournament is about to begin.”

The knight with purple eyes smiled languidly at us as we stood side by side with our hands clasped behind our backs.

Leaning lazily against a side table, he held a bright red apple with a bite taken out of it.

“This time, you’ll be going in as escorts.”

We stared straight into his violet eyes.