The Path of Ruin-Chapter 98: A Sincere Advice

Kael had no reason to refuse the general’s offer. On the contrary, it would have been foolish to refuse. So he acted honestly and spoke with certainty.

"If possible... yes, I would like that."

General Loukan aside, even dueling Matthew would suit him fine. He needed all kinds of experience, all kinds of lessons, all kinds of methods to become stronger. This was a perfect opportunity.

General Loukan nodded slightly, as if satisfied, before answering.

"We usually train with Matthew on weekends, when he’s not on duty. You can join us whenever you can make it."

"Great."

Kael... had felt that his progress had slowed down a bit in recent months because he could only train on his own and couldn’t get advice from others.

He had learned a lot in other areas, such as scouting or spying, thanks to his missions, yes, but he couldn’t say he had made such tremendous progress as a ’combatant’. Since Hakon had told him the lie that he had nothing left to teach him, his progress in this area had been quite flat.

The opportunity to join General Loukan and Matthew’s training would help him close this gap a little.

He bowed slightly before the General, offering his respect.

"Thank you for the opportunity."

The general looked at the young man before him, even more satisfied this time, though he didn’t show it much on his face.

But then he paused for a moment. Kael and Matthew noticed it too.

The general’s eyes left Kael and turned to the walls of the arena as if he could see behind them and was focusing on the distance.

"It seems I have somewhere I need to be."

He turned his eyes to Matthew, his main student, who had remained silent until now.

"We will continue your training later. Evaluate what you saw today well; I will have questions for you next time."

Matthew bowed respectfully without questioning what was happening.

"I will, Master."

General Loukan then turned his back and headed toward the arena exit with relatively quick steps, though not running. He really seemed to be in a bit of a hurry.

Kael, watching right behind him as he was leaving, had only one thought in his mind.

’He’s going to Hakon for the Lockhend matter.’

Things were progressing faster than he had thought. The time he would have to testify as a witness was probably closer than he had anticipated.

"Looks like you’ve done something dangerous again."

Kael was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts by a voice echoing across the arena. He found Matthew’s azure blue eyes on him, then saw the curious expression on his face and the slight upturn of his lips.

He had been so focused on the general and his own thoughts that he had forgotten his presence, even if only for a moment.

He smiled back before answering.

"Just... some secret business, you know."

He winked after his words, as if to provoke him. But then he saw that Matthew’s expression didn’t change at all, and he couldn’t help but feel strange.

"I successfully completed an important mission, to put it briefly. It was a mission related to the recent events."

This time, Matthew couldn’t hide his surprise.

"Related to recent events, huh... So they really trusted you with something that big?"

He was being honest, clearly showing that he knew his master and Hakon didn’t fully trust him. Kael was the type to prefer that kind of honesty anyway, so he continued without taking offense.

"You can’t really say they trusted me... I was the one who proposed the mission. It’s just that they agreed."

It didn’t take Matthew long to figure out what was going on. Even though he had no idea about the details of the said mission, he knew that Kael could be used as a scapegoat in situations like this.

"I... see."

"Anyway, I succeeded in the end, and now they trust me more."

He paused.

"I guess?"

He didn’t seem quite sure what to say.

"I hope so. My rewards were good, after all. I got these new daggers on my belt, and apparently I’m starting to catch the Empire’s eye now. At least that’s what they say."

As he said this, he was also analyzing Matthew.

Even though he was telling him this, his suspicions about him hadn’t completely disappeared. Matthew was, after all, General Loukan’s direct student. Thanks to this information, he was now almost certain that he had a mission to observe him.

His friendly demeanor could be a role for the sake of this ’observation mission’. It wasn’t an overly remote possibility.

That’s why he was analyzing him. To see if he could catch even the slightest artificiality, perhaps something that might slip out.

Nevertheless, the things he had just said, his attitude... he was sincere in those.

Having a ’friend’ he could talk to, tell such things to, and even provoke... wasn’t bad.

As long as he didn’t share things that would threaten his own future, even if their friendship was just a facade, he intended to maintain it for the time being.

"Getting closer to the Empire... are you sure that’s a good thing?"

"Yes."

He answered the question he had been expecting without hesitation.

"I want to rise higher. I want to become stronger. I have a goal, and for that goal... I want to do everything I can. Getting closer to the Empire, even though it could bring problems, is a method I can use."

Matthew didn’t ask what his goal was. After listening, he took a slight breath, then pulled the sword from his waist and began twirling it as if it were a toy.

"Of course, you know best about yourself. Whatever your goal is, I wish you success. But..."

His eyes narrowed, his lips slightly pursed. It was as if... something disturbing had come to mind.

"As someone who has seen the Empire and what they do firsthand, allow me to give you some advice about that."

Kael hadn’t expected this reaction from Matthew at all. He had expected him to ask questions, to extract information from him. Which is why he found himself feeling tense all of a sudden.

"Based on what you’ve said, my guess is that the Master and Hakon will put you at the center of these recent events, drawing the Empire’s attention to you, just as you said. This means that in the end, you will join a department and start receiving additional assignments directly from the Empire, rather than just the carefully selected tasks that the Master and Hakon choose for you."

The atmosphere... why had it suddenly become so heavy?

"You’re talented. And also smart. You know what to do and where. So unless you’re unlucky, I’m sure you’ll rise higher and higher. But... never, ever, no matter how high you climb, think that the Empire values you as a person."

He was serious. So serious that Kael couldn’t help but swallow hard.

"The Empire will always see you as a mere tool. As long as it serves its interests, it will never hesitate to eliminate you, toss you aside, and use you as an example to others. So... however high you rise, never fully trust the Empire and those who work for it. Just as it uses you, you too should use them as tools."

"..."

Matthew hadn’t said anything much different from what he planned to do. He had no intention of trusting anyone so easily for the rest of his life, especially tyrannical entities as vast as the Empire, whose purpose he didn’t know. Trust was one of the many things that could spell a person’s doom in such a world, and he was well aware of that.

Even so...

"Thanks... I guess?"

He didn’t want to give a harsh, dismissive response to the only person he could currently call his "friend"—the one he had fought alongside, overcome hardships with, even if they hadn’t spent much time together and their relationship felt rather artificial.

"I’ll remember your words."

A silence fell between them. Neither of them uttered a sound for several seconds. Matthew stared at the floor with narrowed eyes, while Kael watched him, growing more tense by the second.

’Why... isn’t he saying anything? This is getting more and more uncomfortable...’

Finally, Matthew sighed deeply and fixed his eyes on the ceiling. He stared at the ceiling for a moment, just as he had stared at the floor, then closed his eyes, tilted his neck to the right, and then to the left. Then he turned to Kael, a smile on his face.

"Are you up for a duel?"

Seeing that both his mood and demeanor had returned to normal, he curled his lips upward, though it was obvious they were awkward and artificial.

’That... was extremely strange. Good thing it didn’t last long.’

"Of course. I’m always up for it."

He took his daggers in hand, creating distance between himself and Matthew, waiting for him to take his stance. Then, without saying a word, the two began clashing with each other, seemingly having forgotten the conversation that had just passed between them.

*******

General Loukan’s room was as usual as the darkness of night was slowly falling. Countless swords adorned the walls, and the room was well lit despite the late hour.

But it wasn’t the room that mattered, it was the people inside it.

"How did it go?"

The general’s deep voice echoed through the room, and Hakon’s serious voice provided the answer.

"Marshal Sirwill requested to personally handle the matter and that no one be informed about it for now. But he was suspicious. He doesn’t trust us and seems to think we fabricated the incident."

The general didn’t even flinch, seemingly unconcerned about Marshal Sirwill’s suspicion. He had other things on his mind.

"Let him think, it doesn’t matter much. Did he ask anything about Kael?"

"He seemed surprised in places while reading the report where he saw his name and what he did. He seems interested, but he didn’t ask any questions himself. As we expected, he just wants to meet with him this evening, almost two hours from now, without delaying anything."

"Good. Inform Kael, prepare him for the meeting. Sirwill will be watching him closely, trying to figure out if he’s a scapegoat we’re using or a talent we’ve stumbled upon. Try to protect him, make him look like your own student if necessary. Do everything you can to make Sirwill want him. We’ll try to get Kael as far inside as possible."

Hakon bowed his head respectfully and accepted the orders without question.

"Understood."

The General stretched slightly, turned his eyes to the only window in his room, and looked at the gray sky, which was turning dark. When he saw one of the stars just beginning to appear, he narrowed his eyes at the thought that came to mind.

"Any word from the Second Princess’s side? Have they made a move?"

"No word yet. They should realize there’s a problem since the troops haven’t returned, but they haven’t made any moves."

"Start keeping a light watch on them too. I want to know exactly how they’re connected to Feria Lockhend. If you have nothing else to say, you can leave. You’ll be busy enough tonight."

"I will do my best."

With those words, Hakon vanished, as if he had never been in the room at all.

The General, however... trusted him. That’s why he had shifted his focus from the present to the future.

He was thinking about other things he could do with Kael in the future.

He had big plans for him.