"What is it?"
I asked slowly in return, exchanging glances with Ivon and Nol.
It seemed like a summons from the Emperor.
As I waited for my subordinates to speak, Nol said,
"His Majesty calls for you."
"I see. He didn't say why?"
"Yes."
"I'll go right away."
I patted Nol's shoulder and smiled faintly.
"Thanks for relaying the message."
It was probably because of the spreading corruption.
Lately, the rate had accelerated. Even Kisis's unit, now skilled in purification, had struggled with it. This was a problem we couldn't overlook, but unfortunately, the Imperial Clan hadn't paid as much attention to the corruption as we wanted.
Because the struggle for the throne between the First Imperial Prince and the First Imperial Princess had intensified.
It all started when the Emperor suffered a critical injury from a corrupted magical beast. The Benediction of the World Tree granted us eternal youth, but not immortality. Even the nobles, knights, and mages who received the Benediction could fall ill, and critical injuries didn't heal easily.
Sometimes, they died.
The Emperor's wound wasn't something that should have healed in the first place.
He had barely held on because Ray, Kyle, the other children of the World Tree, and I had alternately transferred nutrients to him through absorption.
Among the imperial subjects, gloomy rumors had already spread.
Ah.
While receiving the order, I thought I should transfer some nutrients as well.
As I thought that and walked, Nol and Ivon followed me.
"Commander."
"What?"
"Is your wound okay?"
I grinned at Nol's steadfast gaze.
"What wound? The shoulder one?"
"Yes."
"It's fine. Don't worry."
"Are you just going to let that baron get away with it?"
Ivon stared at the ground with a sullen expression.
"He's spreading rumors about you."
Well, it might have been fine to just leave it be.
A few weeks ago, I got into a bad entanglement with a border noble whose reputation wasn't great to begin with. He tried to execute the knights under my command, seemingly venting his usual frustrations on those beneath him. He made up some absurd excuse and mobilized a summoner to attack a group of new recruits.
That was the injury I sustained while trying to save the new knights without drawing my sword.
As a swordmaster and Knight Commander, I couldn't move recklessly.
To avoid any word getting out that I had drawn my sword against a noble, I intervened unarmed, but while looking after the clumsy rookies, I got slashed on the shoulder. It wasn't a serious wound, but the subordinates who saw the scene got so agitated that it took some effort to calm them down.
In fact, Ivon, who had been caught up in the baron's antics at the time, still seemed unable to contain his anger.
"Don't take it to heart. We won anyway."
"We should have at least gotten compensation for medical expenses."
"I told you, it's almost healed. I'll be swinging the sword again soon."
"Yes?"
Nol, who had been silently following behind me, raised his voice.
"What do you mean by that?"
This short-haired archer had been extremely straightforward.
I had rescued him during his mercenary days when he got tangled up with the wrong noble, and it seemed like he made some personal resolve back then. After that day, he stuck to me like a chick following its mother. I thought saving him from execution and letting him go would be the end of it, but I was shocked when he showed up at the Knight Order in the Imperial Capital.
My subordinate, still keeping his mercenary-era short hair, narrowed his eyes and asked again.
"You're not fully recovered yet."
"This much is fine."
"It's not. Don't work until you're completely healed."
Kyle had called Nol "your gumdrop."
Ray had called him "your chick," since Nol had blond hair.
This exceptional archer had been too opinionated for Kyle's taste—he grumbled that he was "too troublesome to keep around."
I smiled at Nol, who looked like he might smack me if I swung my sword before full recovery.
"First, take me to the palace. It's an urgent summons, right?"
"...Go ahead."
"See you later."
Nol replied reluctantly, while Ivon stopped and saluted crisply.
I waved them off and continued on my way.
A cool breeze brushed my cheek.
The wind was still so refreshing and crisp.
When I inhaled the scents of flowers and earth carried on the breeze, it felt like there were no problems in the world. That was probably why everyone failed to grasp the severity of the situation.
Breathing in the cold scent, I walked toward where the Emperor was.
I thought of the World Tree's roots rotting away.
*
"Sir Hildebert."
I turned at the low voice.
A man with dark circles under his eyes approached slowly. It was the owner of the voice.
I gave a wry smile to the man who clearly looked exhausted from overwork that day as well.
You.
The Emperor's strategist. He had been appointed during the rebellion, and ever since that day, he hadn't had a single day off, being ground down relentlessly.
Every time I visited the Imperial Palace, I watched in real time as the already cynical man grew even more cynical.
Deltei, standing behind You, also walked over, sighing and shaking her head.
The saintess with her curly red hair tied back in a single ponytail.
She stopped behind You and let out a big sigh.
"Were you summoned?"
"Yes."
I answered politely to You's question.
I still couldn't quite read what this strategist thought.
"You seem as busy as ever."
"The corruption has spread a lot."
You murmured in a tone that suggested the world might as well end.
"With the World Tree ailing, the world's temperature is rising, magical beasts are being born from the corruption, and unknown anomalies are appearing. The world is doomed."
"I see."
"But before that, don't be surprised if I blow up the world myself."
You muttered while clutching a bundle of documents.
"I wish everything would just fall apart."
Poor guy.
I smiled bitterly and patted his shoulder.
I heard that before becoming a strategist, he had been trained as a fairly skilled spy. They said his infiltration skills had been exceptional. Maybe because of his slender, thin build—he had a talent for stealth.
But his even sharper mind had been the root of the problem.
The Emperor wasn't the type to treat people gently, after all.
Deltei, standing behind You, also sighed in lament.
"I wish morning wouldn't come."
"Ah, that bad?"
"Now just looking at the World Tree's branches makes me sick of it!"
The saintess whined.
"I have to go out for purification again tomorrow!"
"With Sir Kisis?"
"With Sir Kyle."
"Then isn't that better?"
Surprisingly, Deltei still held a favorable view of Kyle.
The problem was that because of it, she still hadn't gotten close to him. Ray and I had become friends with her through countless purification tasks. Now, using formal speech with each other felt awkward.
But Kyle and Deltei still addressed each other politely....
Deltei nodded shyly, her face flushing.
"It's my only comfort."
"I shouldn't have brought it up."
"Will you do a transference today as well?"
I turned to You's question.
I nodded slowly, looking into his deeply sunken eyes.
Deltei and You's expressions darkened. They knew that using the unique ability of the World Tree's children caused seizures in me. Deltei had found out long ago, and You recently.
Ever since they learned, these two hadn't been pleased with my "absorption" or "transference." Kyle and Ray had been more than enough to nag me about it.
Ah.
I must never let Nol find out.
This seizure—it seemed like it should have improved by now, but there was no progress.
"Don't overdo it."
You said, eyeing me with his hollow gaze.
His black hair, reaching down to his shoulders, covered his pale neck.
"You're already busy with Knight Commander duties. There are plenty more children of the World Tree."
"Yes. Thank you for your concern."
"Sir Kyle and Ray arrived in the Imperial Capital this morning, I heard."
Deltei added in her unchanging, alluring voice.
She covered her mouth with the clear sleeve of her clerical robe and looked at me.
"If you don't want to do it, tell the head maid right away. It's something they can handle."
I nodded silently, smiling.
After thanking them for their concern, I parted ways with the pair.
I continued on my path. A grand, spacious hall. People moving through the palace greeted me as I crossed the hall.
Now, there were more familiar faces than strangers.
I acknowledged their greetings and quickened my pace.
The Emperor, who never showed emotions, didn't like to be kept waiting.
Still, that being with eerily unchanging emotions.
I walked without stopping to the place where that opponent, whose depths I couldn't even guess at despite his critical injury, awaited.
*
I did the transference.
I also received an order. To find Kisis, who hadn't returned to the Imperial Capital for over ten years, and go with him to where the World Tree was.
As I pledged to carry out the order, I kissed his ring.
After leaving the sickroom where he lay, I went to the bathroom and emptied my stomach several times.
Then, while resting on a garden bench, bent over at the waist.
"Hilde."
A voice fell over the back of my head.
A familiar voice I hadn't heard in months.
"Did you do a transference?"
I looked up.
I already knew who was approaching before hearing it. But seeing them with my own eyes was even better.
I smiled at Kyle and Ray, who looked down at me with stern expressions.
A lot had changed since we first met, but their core hadn't.
Old friends. Now, no one in the Empire didn't know them. Even people outside the Empire knew the names Kyle and Ray.
Kyle, a conquered subject who had overcome the limits of his status to become the youngest Knight Commander.
Ray, not to be outdone, had claimed the title of youngest swordmaster.
As Deltei said, they had arrived in the Imperial Capital this morning.
I answered Ray's question straightforwardly.
"I just finished."
"You still get seizures?"
Kyle asked, furrowing his brow.
His tone couldn't hide his displeasure.
"I thought it had improved recently. Don't tell me you left the shoulder wound as is because you didn't want to absorb."
"Correct."
I replied boldly, and Kyle let out a hollow laugh.
Ray closed his eyes and sighed.
After exhaling a long breath, he furrowed his brow and nagged.
"Hilde. The Emperor doesn't consider things like that."
"True. He's not in a position to worry about such details."
"The children of the World Tree can do absorption, so they send us to the dangerous places."
My friend grumbled.
"And because we can do absorption, they don't even assign proper healers."
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