The girl’s earliest memory was from when she was four years old.

Her parents spoke in a gentle tone, but their eyes were cold.

Even a hedgehog finds its own offspring cute, or so the saying goes. Yet, the faces of her parents as they looked down at her showed not a hint of affection.

“Do you know? In the old days, people would bring a bird called a canary into coal mines. The canary had a weak respiratory system, so it would react very sensitively to harmful gases that humans couldn’t detect. So, when the canary died or showed signs of distress, people would realize the danger and evacuate.”

A bird that signaled danger through its death—the canary.

“That’s why your name is ‘Canaria.’”

Please, for our sake, be willing to die.

Just like the small bird in the coal mine.

The concern etched on her face was unmistakable.

How long had it been since someone looked at me with such an expression?

Actually, there was no need to measure the time. Encounters like this had been so rare that I could count them on one hand.

Whether it was the Royalists, the Nobles, or anyone close to power, they were always busy mocking, criticizing, and tearing me down. Those beneath me, knowing the extent of my power, didn’t worry but rather placed their trust in me.

And as for the Empire’s men, there was no way they’d be concerned about my well-being.

Since the beginning of my memory, the emotions I had received were far from anything warm or affectionate, so seeing Joni make that expression was incredibly unfamiliar to me.

...It’s uncomfortable.

For some reason, it made a part of my heart itch in a way that was unbearable.

When you feel itchy, you scratch it—but I didn’t know how to relieve the kind of itch I was feeling now.

“Kana... Canaria Grassis. That’s my name.”

I averted my gaze from the heartfelt concern she directed at me, focusing instead on the annoying flies who dared to rush at me. Only after I cleaned them up did the itch finally subside.

I lightly flicked my sword and started walking toward the last remaining fly.

Luckily, the sword didn’t crumble this time.

“Ku, kuh…!”

“Such a shame.”

You poor thing.

What did you do to fall out of the snake’s favor so badly?

People often make the mistake of thinking the choices they make are entirely their own.

It’s natural. How could anyone realize that a massive presence, one they can’t even perceive, is controlling their fate?

In this guy’s case, that presence was the snake.

Perhaps the same could be said for me, too.

“If you had just a little more time, who knows?”

Even if that wasn’t my most serious attack, surviving an attack meant to kill shows he’s not without talent.

Though he’s barely clinging to life, I suppose you could say he’s talented.

But it’s not like I’m the kind of person to let someone live when they’ve tried to kill me.

I raised my sword without any hesitation.

The knight commander clutched his waist, which had been severed along with his armor, desperately gasping for breath.

“S-spare me…”

“Oh, I know this one.”

He was definitely asking for mercy, right?

“Yeah, sorry.”

*Thrust.*

“Grk…”

As the light left his eyes and the sound of his life slipping away echoed in my ears, I felt the familiar sensation of the last remnants of his life coursing through my fingertips.

It wasn’t anything new.

It’s like someone who sews eyes onto cat dolls for a living suddenly sews eyes onto a dog doll one day. It doesn’t evoke any special feelings.

To me, this was just another one of those things.

Ah, maybe I shouldn’t have used the sword, though.

It feels a bit gross to hand it back all covered in blood, especially since I borrowed it.

“Well, thanks for letting me use it.”

I wiped off as much blood as I could before handing the sword back to Joni.

She looked at me like she had something to say instead of taking the sword right away.

“Grassis… wait, are you royalty? I thought you looked pretty extraordinary, but… am I going to be arrested for treason now? What, you think it doesn’t matter since the kingdom was destroyed anyway? Still… Oh, just ask her directly?”

Joni muttered to herself in Arkish, but then cautiously asked me aloud,

“Kana… Grassis?”

She drew something above her head with her fingers, like the shape of a crown.

Her Grannic was awkward, but I understood what she was trying to say.

I shook my head.

“No.”

What a terrifying thought!

Just thinking about sharing the same blood as those royals who sat idly in their castles, living in luxury, made my skin crawl.

It seemed like Joni had done some research on Grassis, given that she knew Grannic, but she didn’t know the whole story.

Well, that’s to be expected. Only the nobles would be privy to that kind of information.

The whole thing about Grassis was tied to old customs that had mostly become obsolete by my time.

According to *The Adventures of Zigrid*, Grassis was a kingdom founded by the first king, Zigrid, with the help of the Red Dragon, Grasid.

Whether Grasid gave Zigrid the national name out of respect for his efforts or for some other reason, no one knows.

But one thing was clear—Grasid gave Zigrid not only the Grannic language but also a great treasure. That treasure was a ring known as *Grasid’s Blessing*.

The ring, made and infused with mana by Grasid, became the most valuable treasure of Grassis. However…

The power of the ring was so immense that very few people could wield it.

It was too precious to just lock away in a vault, but the king himself couldn’t handle its power, and they couldn’t just give it to someone capable of wielding it.

So, Zigrid came up with a solution.

He created a knighthood and decided that the strongest person in Grassis would be appointed as the knight commander, entrusting them with *Grasid’s Blessing*.

It made sense—the knight commander’s role was to protect the kingdom, and the dragon’s protection wouldn’t allow the commander to ever turn their sword against royalty.

Furthermore, in a kingdom that revered the Red Dragon, even the smallest number of people who could wield the dragon’s mana were treated with respect, so those entrusted with the ring were given the surname *Grassis*.

It was a kind of proxy title, I suppose.

In reality, it was just a formality that eventually became meaningless over time.

By my time, the name *Grassis* was nothing more than an empty tradition.

That’s why commoners wouldn’t know about it. It was a name only mentioned during royal ceremonies.

So naturally, I held the surname *Grassis*.

After all, I was the last commander of the Crimson Flame Knights.

‘-Not that she’d understand any of this.’

Instead of explaining everything, I just shook my head and dismissed her question.

Joni still looked confused.

“So… you’re saying you’re not royalty? You’re not, right? Ugh, then what does that mean? No, wait… this isn’t what I should be worried about right now…”

She really talks to herself a lot, doesn’t she?

Seeing her mumble away again, I thrust the sword back at her to signal her to take it already. Flustered, she finally accepted it and, after glancing at me nervously, bowed deeply.

Her sudden and somewhat awkward action caught me completely off guard.

“Sorry. For the secret… your name.”

“Oh.”

It wasn’t until I heard her stuttering Grannic that I understood what Joni was apologizing for.

A simple apology, with only three words.

Yet, for some reason, those three words, spoken in her clumsy accent, resonated deeply with me.

Judging by her reaction, it seemed likely that the secret had spread because of Joni. Still, it didn’t seem like she had directly reported it to the Empire.

And for a coward, she had stood up against the Empire, so it wasn’t like she hadn’t tried to make up for her mistake.

Most of all, I didn’t know why, but the itch that I had been suppressing started creeping up again whenever I looked at her.

“Well… it’s fine.”

I averted my gaze from her.

As I fumbled with my hood, trying to pull it back up, I suddenly remembered that the fastener had been torn, so I awkwardly ran my hand through my hair instead.

“Should I… fix it?”

“…?”

“I can fix it. I’ll mend it for you.”

Joni, who had been looking at me with guilty eyes, waved her hands as if mimicking a sewing motion.

One hand looked like it was holding something wide, and the other seemed to be gripping a long object, mimicking stitches.

“Mend…?”

“Yeah! Mend!”

So, she’s saying she’ll fix it?

I tilted my head for a moment but eventually shrugged and agreed.

The cloak was already ruined, after all. Whether she really fixed it or ran off with it didn’t matter much to me.

Though, it’d be nice if she did mend it.

As I took off the cloak, a breeze brushed against my arm.

*Step.*

“Hello.”

“The greatsword chick?”

While I was talking with Joni, the Apostle who had been fighting with the greatsword approached me and greeted me.

She then thrust her sword, which was about as tall as I was, toward me.

“Fight me.”

“…?”

“Yuki, sir!”

“Hey!”

It didn’t seem like there was any malice in her challenge.

As I tilted my head, confused by the sword being pointed at me, it was everyone else who seemed to be freaking out.

Joni I understood—she was always like that.

As for the man behind her, hmm…

I still couldn’t clearly make out his face, thanks to Edel’s blessing, but he felt familiar in another way.

Like I had crossed swords with him several times before.

Right?

*Flash.*

*Drip.*

“….”

“….”

“…Ha, haha.”

…It’s a bit annoying, but seeing as how they fought against the Empire’s men to get to me, I’ll let it slide this once.

But there won’t be a second time.

As I averted my gaze, I heard a relieved sigh escape from behind me

.

Looking into the greatsword chick’s eyes, I could see a quiet flame flickering.

‘Ah.’

There are some people like this.

People with a strong fighting spirit who will charge in without hesitation, even against a stronger opponent.

They tend to have a high drive for self-improvement, too, so I don’t dislike them since they’re more straightforward and honest.

The only problem is that it’s a bit of a bother when I’m their target.

After thinking for a while, I reached out my hand toward Joni.

“…Huh?”

“Lend me your sword. One more time.”

Especially since this greatsword chick seems like the type who will pester me until I give her what she wants, it’s easier to just go along with it and be done with it.

“Yuki, sir, are you seriously going to fight her? Are you out of your mind? Really? For real?”

“Isn’t it even more fun that way?”

“Not at all.”

Joni grabbed the greatsword chick’s shoulders and shook her, but she stood her ground.

“Not that they’ll understand anyway, but please don’t kill her…”

Joni, wearing a resigned smile, reluctantly handed me her sword again. I just shrugged in response.

As always, I didn’t understand a word of what she was saying.