Karnak, Monarch of Death

Each of the Seven Kingdoms had its own distinct characteristics. First, there was the Kingdom of Felmayer, with the largest territory and population, making it the most powerful of the Seven Kingdoms. Then, there was the maritime Kingdom of Tarum, which controlled the northern sea routes and dominated sea and river trade. The Kingdom of Altail, with the strongest knight orders, and the Kingdom of Lipaul, the breadbasket of the Seven Kingdoms, were also significant players. The Eustil Kingdom and the Kingdom of Atringen were once part of the empire, and they stood out for their advanced magical academies and flourishing arts and culture.

Compared to these other nations, the Kingdom of Ethriel was undeniably the weakest. It was easy to assume that it would be bustling with energy and strength, since it was the Land of Adventurers. In reality, however, it was filled with wandering newcomers, offering little more than a chaotic assortment of people without any real substance.

Despite this, Ethriel managed to survive and resist conquest from other kingdoms. It was all thanks to one key factor: the protector of the kingdom, the Strauss Duchy.

***

”Strauss... that Strauss?”

“The Martial King family?”

Serati and Millia gasped in shock. Unbelievable! The Strauss Duchy! There was no one in the continent who didn’t know the Strauss family, the powerful rulers of the Delphiad region, and the family of the ruthless, crownless King Gellard. Except, of course, for the girl with no memory.

”Do you know him?” Lapicel tilted her head, her expression innocent.

Afraid of being impolite, Serati and Millia quickly tried to stop her.

Oh, Lapicel!

I’ll explain later!

.....?

Leven smiled bitterly.

”Yes, the Martial King Gellard is my father. Unfortunately, I am but a disgraceful descendant who has tarnished the family name.” Turning his body, he gestured to the group. ”We can’t talk here in the street. Let’s move somewhere more private.”

***

The Lacania Empire was a formidable force. It surpassed the Seven Kingdoms Alliance in all aspects—territory, population, national power, and culture.

This dominance was evident in the figures who represented the era. Of the three archmages of the current age, two were from the empire, and three of the four Martial Kings had come under its influence.

Aside from the Supreme Guardian of the Fairies, Giyen Ren, the majority of the world’s strongest were subjects of the Lacania Empire. In contrast, the Seven Kingdoms Alliance had only one true powerhouse: Gellard Strauss, the Martial King of Delphiad.

As such, the Strauss family was revered not just within the Kingdom of Ethriel, but across all of the Seven Kingdoms. It wasn’t just for symbolic reasons. The Strauss family possessed an immense power that even the most prestigious families in the Lacania Empire could not rival.

For over two centuries, they had consistently produced Martial Kings. There was a saying that the hardest thing in life was raising children, and the second hardest was teaching disciples. Yet, this family had not only raised children, but had trained them as disciples, grooming each generation into another Martial King. It was truly an extraordinary achievement.

Hence, there was a saying in the world. The Martial King of Delphiad may not be the world’s strongest swordsman, but the Strauss family is certainly the world’s strongest family!

And this one is going to be the next Martial King, huh?

As Serati observed the young man walking ahead, she couldn’t help but marvel again.

It was impressive. He had hidden his power perfectly. Had Karnak not mentioned it earlier, had she not known that this was the future Martial King, she would have simply thought he was an ordinary knight.

—At first glance, he even looks like someone who hasn’t awakened their aura. Is this the level required to become a Martial King?

Serati was taken aback by Leven’s talent.

—Well, this is strange, but I’ve been watching him closely since earlier...

Varos wore a puzzled expression.

—It really seems like he hasn’t awakened his power.

—What?

Varos’s perception was still at the level of a martial King. Even if Leven tried to hide it, there was no man a young man of twenty could deceive his eyes. It was clear. He wasn’t hiding his strength. He simply didn’t have any to hide.

—This is odd. Why is he so weak? Is this really Sir Leven?

Karnak also asked with a hint of confusion.

—He’s that weak?

—Yes. He’d probably lose even if he fought Lapicel.

—Comparing him to Lapicel is a bit much, isn’t it?

—Well...

Varos thought for a moment before giving a comparison that Karnak could easily understand.

—Do you remember Randolph from Deventor?

—Yeah.

—He’s at that level.

—Oh, he really is weak.

Finally understanding, Karnak looked over the young man ahead with a scrutinizing gaze.

—The face is definitely Leven’s.

And yet, he still didn’t understand why this person was here.

—Shouldn’t he be in training, as Gellard’s successor?

—I don’t know. I can’t remember the exact years either.

That was understandable. The time they remembered was from Leven’s youth, a period that had easily spanned over ten years.

—Now that I think about it, I’ve heard that Leven took quite a long time to awaken his aura, even for a Martial King.

While both of them pondered, Serati asked curiously.

—Didn’t he join the King’s Order in his past life?

Varos chuckled softly.

—Of course not. The King’s Order didn’t even exist back then.

—So, something must have changed...

The three of them exchanged puzzled glances while watching Leven. Sometimes it was the people who lacked awareness that became oddly more comfortable in the situation.

Unable to resist her curiosity any longer, Millia openly asked, ”Excuse me, but may I ask you something?”

”Hmm? Yes, of course.”

”How did you end up working for the King’s Order? Shouldn’t a member of the Strauss family be focusing on training as the successor of the Martial King?”

At this, a tired expression crossed Leven’s face. He seemed almost bored by the question.

”Oh, you must be confusing me with my older brother.” But then, he quickly regained his composure and politely responded. ”The one who carries the name of Strauss is my brother, Emil, not me.”

Varos’s expression changed subtly.

That’s right. Leven wasn’t originally the successor to the Martial King, was he?

***

Gellard Strauss, the Martial King of Delphiad, had two sons. The eldest, Emil Strauss, and the younger, Leven Strauss, who was three years younger.

Emil had been known as a prodigy from a very young age. No matter how difficult the swordsmanship, he learned it with ease, and he treated even the harshest training like play. Even Gellard, the demanding Martial King, rarely scolded Emil.

In contrast, Leven was ordinary. It wasn’t that he lacked talent. He certainly had the potential to be a great warrior, thanks to the Strauss bloodline. Compared to most other knights, he could easily have been counted among the gifted. The problem lay in the fact that Emil was a genius blessed by the heavens.

Leven was undoubtedly excellent and talented, but unfortunately, his benchmark—Emil—was far too extraordinary. Gellard and everyone else in the family had already settled on Emil as the next Martial King of Delphiad.

Leven became more timid with age, due to being constantly compared to his older brother. The name Strauss was merely a heavy burden weighing on his shoulders. He planned to become independent upon reaching adulthood and live as a simple knight, free from the family.

Change arrived when Leven turned nineteen. His brother, Emil, met with misfortune. A powerful necromancer appeared in the Kingdom of Eustil. The necromancer spread chaos throughout the land. Emil, who was unusually righteous and devout, pursued this evil necromancer to protect the people but ended up ambushed instead.

But he was caught in the necromancer’s trap, and Emil died a miserable death at the age of only twenty-two. And so, Leven suddenly had to become the heir to the Strauss family, and to the position of Martial King.

***

—Hmm, so...

Serati paused mid-explanation and stared straight at Karnak.

—He was killed by some wicked necromancer, is that it?

She had a pretty good idea which wretch was responsible for Emil’s death.

Varos let out a brief chuckle.

—Who else would it be?

—How is it there’s never a place you go without stirring up trouble?

—That’s why he was chased all over the place. The young master didn’t become humanity’s enemy for no reason.

***

After that, Leven reluctantly walked the path of an heir. Since his brother had always been there, he had never taken his sword training too seriously, but now he had to devote himself to it. He also had to receive direct instruction from his father, whom he had always feared and avoided.

Gellard drove him hard, almost frighteningly so. The Strauss family had produced generation after generation of Martial Kings, earning a legendary status for its swordsmanship. Gellard was determined not to let that centuries-old reputation be tarnished in his time.

Fortunately, Leven’s talent finally blossomed, albeit late. Until then, he had simply been overshadowed by Emil, but he, too, was one of the Strauss family’s geniuses. Once he began to stand out, he grew at a terrifying pace, and in the end, succeeded Gellard as the next Martial King of Delphiad.

—And after that, he pretty much chased the young master around day and night, vowing to avenge his brother.

—Ugh, that really was exhausting.

—If you think about it, I was the reason he became a Martial King. Why was he so dead set on revenge?

Serati, exasperated, cut in with a single remark.

—Wow, that’s a truly trashy thing to say.

—Is it?

—Yes.

—In that case, I guess I shouldn’t say it again.

Karnak added another line in his mental notebook. He called it the List of Things to Avoid Saying if I Want to Live Like a Decent Person.

From experience, he had learned that if he waited to understand before acting, it would be too late. There were just too many things in the world one had to watch out for to process them all one by one. So he tried to change his actions first and work on understanding later. It was a personal attempt at living more like a human being.

For that purpose, he had asked Serati to correct him immediately whenever he made a mistake. But because of that, he sometimes felt she treated him more and more harshly. In any case, remembering the past gave him a general idea of the situation.

—So Emil’s still alive in this timeline, right? I didn’t kill him this time.

—Which means Sir Leven never had the chance to change.

—He left home and became a member of the Ethriel King’s Order, is that it?

—If it’s the King’s Order, there’s no way it would disgrace his family name.

The King’s Order was certainly made up of the elite of the elite, and it was a place many aspired to join. It was simply overshadowed by the sheer prestige of the Strauss name.

—Gellard would have gladly given his permission.

Varos looked wistful as he watched Leven’s back in the distance.

—Sir Leven, but not as the Martial King...

Among the Four Martial Kings, Leven Strauss was the one Varos had clashed with most often. It was hardly surprising, since Karnak was the man who had killed his brother.

They had risked their lives in battle twenty-three times. Varos had won six of those and lost seventeen. Leven had killed him nine times. Even so, Varos had never truly hated Leven. In fact, he had gone so far as to respect him, for Leven epitomized the ideal knight in Varos’s eyes.

Honestly, what’s there to hate? We were the ones who did all the wrong. It only made sense for him to despise us.

Varos was the one who had felt the greatest regret when Leven became a death knight. But now that Emil was still alive, Leven would have no reason to become the Martial King again. He would likely live quietly as an ordinary knight, as a mere member of the King’s Order.

So the Martial King of Delphiad I knew no longer exists, does he...