The 9th Class Swordmaster: Blade of Truth

“...”

Bran Gamunt was the one to break the awkward silence.

“Uh...”

But he didn’t know what to say; he just looked at Kary awkwardly, fiddling with his books.

“Is it alright for you to be here?” Bran eventually ventured to ask.

“It’s fine.”

At that, Bran glanced at the soldiers standing guard outside, still unsure about this. Given their imposing presence, he guessed they were royal guards, not ordinary sentries. If that was truly the case, it meant the person in front of him was very important, or perhaps highly dangerous.

Bran Gamunt and Karyl were in the seldom-visited storage room of the Academy. Books meant to be disposed of were piled up, and old magical artifacts lay scattered around.

“Weren’t you on your way somewhere?”

“I was,” Karyl said calmly, his expression unchanged.

“I was on my way to see His Majesty.”

Thud!

Hearing that, Bran, who was on a ladder, dropped the book he had tried to put on the shelf and turned around to look at Karyl in disbelief. When Karyl picked up the book and handed it back to him, Bran hurriedly put it in its place and apologized.

“I-I’m so sorry... I have an esteemed guest here, but I haven’t finished my tasks yet.”

With that, Bran quickly resumed his work. However, Karyl merely chuckled, thinking that if Bran actually saw him as an esteemed guest, he would have set aside his tasks to properly greet him first.

“It’s fine. Even if it’s the prince’s funeral, how would the country sustain itself if everyone is just mourning?” Karyl said as he pulled out a book from the pile and flipped through its pages.

“Even now, some people are working to survive, while others are eating.”

Bran glanced at Karyl with a peculiar look before turning back to the shelf.

“You speak of the prince quite casually. You should be careful. In this place, not speaking respectfully could cost you your life.”

“You’re no different, are you?”

Thud!

Karyl closed the book. Thinking they had enough small talk, he decided to get to the point.

“Even if you were holed up in the library, you couldn’t be completely unaware of the empire’s state of affairs over the past few months.”

“...”

“And you would’ve found out about the prince’s death as the preparations for his funeral have been underway, quite conspicuously, for more than a week...”

Bran slowly descended the ladder and looked at Karyl.

“Even if I were to believe you didn’t know about the trouble I caused a few days ago, the fact that you brought me here already says it all.”

“Haha...”

“What do you think? Now that you see me in person, I’d like to hear your evaluation.”

“What do you mean by that...?” Bran asked with a perplexed expression.

“So what, you took a wrong turn? No way... It can’t be that you made such a mistake, right?”

Bran was baffled at how Karyl could make such an assertion about someone he had never met.

“You knew I was under surveillance, and you brought me to this old storage room because you wanted to talk to me comfortably. Isn’t that right?”

“Talk comfortably? There are guards standing right outside, and this is the Academy. There are plenty of students who have become sorcerers, and the entire area is under the spell of Sir Kadin Luer, the Court Sorcerer.”

“Not here.”

“...What?”

Bran Gamunt looked at Karyl wide-eyed.

“As you said, there are guards outside, but this is the only place in the palace without surveillance magic, isn’t it? The safest place you could take me. You can fool people, but you can’t fool magic.”

In contrast to Bran’s reactions, Karyl did not waver.

“Pardon? Me? Sorry, but I know nothing about you, Sir Karyl...”

“Perhaps I wasn’t clear enough. You must have been more curious about something other than me.” Karyl gave a faint smile. “Like how forty thousand prisoners managed to sneak into the empire.”

“...”

“So, that’s why you came to see me. You wanted to see just who is bold enough to pull off something like that, right?”

Bran got goosebumps at the shift in Karyl’s tone, and a grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.

“Haha... I surrender to your sharp insight, Sir Karyl. Indeed, everyone within the palace must be curious about you.”

“Or perhaps you're curious about how I managed to capture Sir Azif, the one who took you in after the demise of your family. The incident at the Twin Armor... How much of it was my doing?”

“...”

“Or maybe you wanted to compare me to the king you’ve set your heart on?”

The more Karyl showered him with questions, the stiffer Bran’s smile became. Eyes locked with him, Karyl calmly continued, “I was curious about you too, wondering how long you’d remain just a librarian.”

“Haha... Someone like me? I’m content just being here.”

“Really?”

This was only their first meeting, so Karyl didn’t expect to win him over at the first try. Rather, this interaction was simply meant to cast the bait for Bran Gamunt, to stir his interest.

“I can’t discuss other matters as they are classified, but I can tell you about the first. I intended to inform His Majesty soon anyway, and the prisoners might have already talked.”

Karyl then turned back to Bran and asked, “Do you have a map?”

“Yes, I do.”

Bran took out an old, worn-out map from his chest pocket. It looked like the creases were about to tear, but the map itself was quite recent.

Karyl scanned the map and smiled as though it was exactly what he had expected.

“Do you always carry a map with you?”

“It’s nothing. I just like to sketch out tactics used in the past as a hobby.”

“That’s good. Reconstructing famous battles is an excellent practice for a strategist.”

“You flatter me, but I am merely a librarian at the Academy.”

Despite saying that, Bran was aware that Karyl wouldn’t take interest in an ordinary librarian.

“Two hundred and fifty years ago, when the old empire was first founded, the capital was constructed by the Grand Sorcerer, Kaye Aesir.”

“Of course, and one hundred and fifty years ago, the current empire was established. The first king of the current empire, Marx Shutean, didn’t change the capital, honoring the legacy of the old empire.”

“Right. After that, they built a new palace and walls for the capital.”

“But did you know this? The capital of the old empire was three times the size of the current one.”

Bran nodded with a bitter smile at Karyl’s words.

“Yes. Led by the first Dragon Slayer, Sir Kaye Aesir, it was a golden age, a period of prosperity.”

The current capital stretched across hundreds of square kilometers, and three times that size would be truly immense.

“The current capital is built on top of the old empire’s capital. What you see above ground has completely changed, but the underground remains as it was two hundred fifty years ago."

“No way...”

Karyl nodded. “That’s right. The current capital uses the sewer system built during the old empire.”

He then slowly traced a line on the map from the capital to the northern mountains with his finger.

“Among the sewer systems built during the old empire, there are some that extend through the northern mountain range.”

Bran’s eyes widened at his words.

“But—! That’s impossible. The sewer system in the capital is strictly controlled.”

“Yes, that’s true. But not all entrances are. Some have been abandoned.”

Karyl once again traced a large circle around the capital and pointed north.

“No way...”

“The area inhabited by the immigrant tribes is different. It’s an abandoned ruin, so the imperial army hasn't touched it.”

“Are you saying you moved forty thousand soldiers to the northern mountains through the old empire’s sewers?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“How...?”

“They didn’t move on land. They traveled by ship along the strait.”

“By sea?” Bran frowned in confusion.

During winter, the wind mainly blew from the north to the south. Thus, to sail north from Tatur, which was south of the empire, would be quite difficult.

“Surprisingly, the waves were in our favor, as the wind actually blew toward the empire. Isn’t that amazing?”

When it comes to sailing, wind is an important factor when it comes to catching the waves. If the Sea King, who dwelled in the strait, stirred the waters, the ships carrying prisoners could move quickly regardless of the wind direction.

However, Bran, unaware of this, felt that everything Karyl had done was magic. Moving as much as forty thousand men in secrecy into the empire’s front yard was indeed incredible, and many people wouldn’t consider it possible.

Bran couldn’t help gasping in amazement. The very idea of traversing the capital through the old empire’s sewers was astonishing, and the mere thought of using this path for war was terrifying to him.

There are many secrets about the capital from my past life. It’s a bummer that I need to reveal even one of the cards I hold...

Merely holding a card wasn’t enough. In order to gain something greater, one must have the courage to play it.

“...”

“You won’t get it just by looking at a map. And it’s even less likely to find a strategy like this in any history books. It’s not just the sewers. The proud imperials avoid the paths used by the immigrant tribes...” Karyl said in a soft voice.

“You understand what I mean better than anyone. Soon, we will walk the main roads of the continent with pride. Do you need answers to the second and third questions as well?"

Gulp...

Bran swallowed nervously, breaking the silence.

“Bran Gamunt, studying the past is commendable, but you’ll never rise by just sitting at a desk."

With that, Karyl lightly placed his hand on Bran’s shoulder.

“You need to face things head-on. Imagine the sight of thousands of troops moving at your command. Those history books can’t give you something like that...”

“...”

“But I can.”

Karyl whispered one last time before leaving the storage room.

“You could write history yourself.”

“...”

Rumble...

As he stepped out, Karyl put a finger to his lips and winked, as if to urge Bran to keep this a secret.

Thud!

The second Karyl left the storage room, Bran’s legs gave out, causing him to collapse. When was the last time he’d had such an intense conversation, one that cut his breath and sent shivers down his spine? He brought his hands in front of his face, realizing they were soaked in sweat.

“Karyl MacGovern...”

Long after Karyl had left, Bran continued to stare blankly at the map.