Published: January 4, 2026
The next morning, I set out alone.
Most of the soldiers in the morning camp were still asleep, but a few were keeping watch through the night.
Weaving through the edges of their consciousness, I left the camp by myself.
Just like the time last night when I went outside with Henry, this time too, I went out without any problems, without anyone stopping me.
Although it was called a camp, it housed a force numbering in the thousands, so even if it was makeshift, it was like a small town in itself.
But since it was originally outdoors, once you stepped outside the camp, nothing but a vast grassland stretched out before you.
I first confirmed the direction, then started walking.
Heading west at first.
After walking for a while, I realized someone was following me from behind.
“How many are there, Leviathan?”
Without turning around, I asked Leviathan, keeping my pace steady.
“Three. All lightly equipped.”
“So, they must be Henry’s men.”
“Why do you say that?”
Leviathan asked curiously.
“Henry was convinced last night, but that doesn’t mean he’s giving a free pass. Those men were probably assigned to support me just in case something happens.”
“Then they are enemies to be obstructed by their lord?”
“That’s right — but don’t get worked up.”
I chuckled softly and stopped Leviathan.
He really hasn’t changed at all since the old days.
Back when he was Leviathan, if he sensed anyone being rude to me, he’d immediately lose his temper.
He was a fascinating demonic sword, combining the qualities of a loyal dog and a mad dog.
“Still, having them follow me will just cause trouble from here on out.”
“In that case, give me the order.”
“Right….”
I thought for a moment and then shared my plan with Leviathan.
“Think you can do it?”
“Easy.”
Leviathan’s confident reply reassured me, so I left everything to him.
I kept walking.
Eventually, I found a solitary rock about the size of a chair lying in the middle of the grassland.
I stood in front of the rock, took a pen and paper from my pocket, and quickly scribbled something.
After placing the paper on the rock, I stepped back a little.
Soon, three lightly equipped men, exactly as Leviathan had sensed, arrived in front of the rock.
“Huh? Where is Your Majesty?”
“He was just here a moment ago.”
“Come on, search!”
The three looked around, eyes darting everywhere.
Though I was right there, nearly within arm’s reach, their gaze completely ignored me.
From an outsider’s point of view, this must have looked like a very strange scene, but it was another application of consciousness manipulation.
Leviathan’s consciousness manipulation made sure that, despite their searching, they would never look directly at where I was.
I thought this would be easy.
The idea came from an experience I had long ago when searching for something.
Often, no matter how thoroughly you search, you can’t find it.
Then, after some time has passed, it turns up in a place you think, “Why didn’t I check here?”
I used that as a reference.
Humans tend to believe they’ve searched everywhere, but there’s always some place overlooked.
By combining that with Leviathan’s consciousness manipulation, I could remain unseen even when just a glance away.
“Oh! This!”
One of the men searching for me spotted the paper on the rock.
He picked it up, and the three gathered around, reading it all at once.
“Written by Your Majesty…”
“‘Show this to Henry’…”
“Amazing… so he already saw through our tail.”
“Not only that, he left this note right under our noses and vanished.”
“What do we do now…?”
The three exchanged grim looks, then sighed collectively before turning around and retracing their steps.
The paper I had left only said, “Show this to Henry.”
Though it contained nothing else, Henry would understand everything at a glance.
After watching the three leave, I turned and resumed walking.
☆
The town of Kukuru.
The town where Jerry Eisen was stationed and assigned.
A border town in the west, quite small and desolate compared to the Imperial Capital or Almeria’s provincial capital.