Takahiro
The next day felt the same as always—warm sunlight spilling over the land, the rhythmic creak of the carriage wheels against the dirt road—but something was off. It was a subtle shift in the air, a quiet disturbance beneath the usual routine.
I could feel it.
No, not just something. Someone.
Yushiro.
The moment I woke up, I caught sight of that grin—mischievous, calculated, far from his usual carefree, relaxed smile. It was a grin I absolutely did not like.
Kenji, on the other hand, didn't seem the least bit worried. He wasn't freaking out like I was, no tension in his shoulders, no wary glances. Instead, he looked at Yushiro with curiosity, as if waiting to see what kind of chaos would unfold.
And that was the problem.
The last time Yushiro wore a grin like that, Miss Blade nearly had an aneurysm from rage. Even back then, the entire house had been on high alert—Kenji included. And before we left the Outskirts, his antics had traumatized every kid in our village.
Was he planning to remove the carriage wheel?Trick a noble into eating mud?Or maybe he was going to put a stink bug into the carriage again?
I was so deep in thought that I almost didn't register the voice calling my name.
"Hey, Takahiro."
My body reacted instinctively. My hand flew to my katana, and my head snapped toward the voice before I even processed who it was.
"Whoa there, calm down—it's just me." Naiz raised his hands in surrender, eyeing me cautiously. "Are you okay?"
I exhaled slowly, forcing my grip to relax. "Yeah. Just… my little brother is giving off a bad feeling."
Naiz chuckled. "Is it really that bad seeing your brother grinning?"
I gave him a long, hard look, letting the weight of my silence answer for me.
He blinked. Then, after a beat, he gulped. "O-okay."
The journey continued, stopping a few times along the way so Jerry could vomit. Poor guy. His butler handed him some round pills, which he took without question. His sickly pale face regained color almost instantly, and he finally stopped looking like he was on the verge of death.
Meanwhile, Yushiro and Donovan were getting along just fine—too fine. I kept a close eye on them, particularly Yushiro. And, as if sensing my suspicion, he glanced at me and grinned.
I scowled.
He found my reaction amusing.
As usual.
The day eventually came to an uneventful close—at least, I didn't catch Yushiro doing anything suspicious. But that didn't mean he wasn't up to something.
Seated around the campfire, we stared into the flames, exhausted from the slow progress of our journey.
"I always wanted to ask—how did you guys end up in the Division Knights?" Donovan finally spoke, breaking the silence.
Kenji groaned. "We were saved by this black-haired bastard named Yamamoto when we were trying to fight off a group of bandits. Got our asses handed to us by their leader, though." He scowled at the memory. "Then that black-haired bastard came flying in, talking about how we had 'potential.'"
"Wait… Did you just call the second strongest swordsman a 'black-haired bastard'?" Gareth's voice shot up in disbelief as he sat up straighter.
Kenji yawned. "Yeah."
I blinked. Wait. Second strongest swordsman?
"Did you just say Yamamoto is the second strongest swordsman?"
"Yes," Gareth said, looking at me like I had grown a second head. "Just how much do you not know about Captain Yamamoto Blackwing? The Shadow Prince? The second strongest swordsman in the Empire?"
I stared.
"He's only second to the Emperor himself," Gareth continued. "Yamamoto Blackwing—Captain of Division 2. Marquis Yamamoto Blackwing—the man who rebuilt House Blackwing from ruin. One of the richest people in the Empire. A war hero from the Grudge War, alongside Scarlett Star Crystal Phoenix and Lucas Alexandrite the Broken Arrow."
…Wow.
I always knew Yamamoto was a big deal.
But this big?
Kenji, for once, was quiet, his gaze dropping to the ground in thought. Yushiro, however, had an entirely different reaction. His usual playfulness vanished, replaced by a sharp, calculating expression. The gears in his head were turning.
"But that's awesome!" Donovan said, grinning. "You guys got recruited by the Shadow Prince himself! But if that's the case, why did you end up in Division 4 instead of Division 2?"
I shrugged. "No idea."
"So, to join the Division Knights, I need to have potential, huh?" Donovan mused. "Wish I had some."
Curious, I turned to Gareth. "How do people even get into the Knight Order?"
He gave me a weird look. "You take a test to see if you're fit to join. If you pass, you train for four months, then take an exam to test the abilities you gained during that time. If you pass that, the Order officially accepts you."
"That sounds simple enough," I said.
"Yeah, but training is harsh. True Weapon Arts, reading, writing, arithmetic… all kinds of stuff. It's a pain just thinking about it."
"Lights out!" The supervisor's voice rang out from the distance.
Gareth sighed. "Well, you heard him."
And with that, the night came to a close.
But as I lay down, staring up at the dark sky, my thoughts lingered on Yushiro's grin.
I still had a bad feeling about this.