“Today, just focus on enjoying yourself. No need to overthink it. Simply make memories here. Think of this place as your hometown. Enjoy it to your heart’s content and fall in love with it. Once you love something, the desire to protect it follows on its own.”

“Do you love this city, Teacher? Is that why you became a knight, because you love the capital?”

“Well, not exactly.”

The unexpected question made Mirha pause. For a moment her eyes went distant as she reached back through the past. Then she returned to the present, looked at her new apprentice, and smiled.

“Not at first. I became a knight almost by accident. But the longer I spent growing fond of it, the more I realized, before I knew it, I had come to love this city.”

What did it mean to come to love something? What did it mean to feel the desire to protect it rise on its own? Young and inexperienced, Rain couldn’t fully grasp it yet.

But when he met his teacher’s warm gaze and thought of the soft hand that wrapped around his earlier, he felt he understood it, just a little.

“Let’s go now, Rain. It’ll be a pleasant afternoon.”

Mirha smiled and took Rain’s hand. Rain held it tightly, like a son following his mother.

One adult and two children left the lodgings together in good spirits. Just like a family truly bound by blood.

* * *

The Holy Nation of Alphernia, with its thousand-year history, advanced steadily over those long centuries.

The days when people had no sewage system and threw waste out of windows were long gone. Bathing in clean water every day became part of ordinary life.

The uneven dirt roads were paved smooth with asphalt, making it relatively easy for carriages and bicycles to travel.

Instead of riding horses or eagles on exhausting journeys to distant lands, people could board coal-powered steam trains, and in place of portraits, a new invention called photography emerged.

And the many superstitions once considered common sense vanished one by one.

Santir, the glittering capital of the holy nation, always led every one of those changes. It was no exaggeration to say that every trend began in Santir and spread outward to the fringes of the nation.

The most beautiful temple in the holy nation, the most renowned schools, the most powerful branch of the knightly order, all were in Santir. It had always been so, ever since the founding heroes established the first aristocracy here a thousand years ago.

Mirha loved this city and hated it in equal measure. She was proud of it and ashamed of it at the same time.

As was true of life in general, light and shadow coexisted in the holy nation, and even the heart of the nation, its vanguard of light, could not escape the shadow entirely.

Behind the brilliant, glittering city lay a corrupt slum and a debased upper class. The deeper the stench of the slums grew, the more twisted the upper class became.

The two were like two sides of the same coin. The people in each group would probably never admit it. They would straighten their faces and snap back, indignant, asking how they could possibly be two sides of the same coin as people like that.

Was it simply that the holy nation was too old? Like the waxing and waning of the moon, like other nations of the world before it, had Alphernia merely aged to the point where it was time to shatter the old and pour new wine into new wineskins?

Mirha didn’t know the answer. She didn’t think it was her place to provide one.

She simply focused, quietly, on the duty of a knight. Following orders, protecting the weak, and upholding the nation’s order.

The children’s thoughts were far simpler. Taniel was just excited to be out after a long while, and Rain, dazed with happiness, let himself be led wherever the other pulled him.

“Rain, look over there! It’s the biggest toy shop in Santir. They sell a giant bear plushie that’s almost as big as me. Shall we go look?”

“Yes, Senior.”

“Rain, that place over there sells ice cream. Do you know what ice cream is? Have you ever tried it?”

“No, Senior. I’ve never had it. I know what it is, though.”

“Rain, let’s go there too. It’s the biggest bookshop in Santir. They sell books, and once a week authors come in person to hold readings.”

“Yes, Senior. That sounds fun.”

A toy shop, an ice cream shop, a bookshop, a post office, a stable that rented out stagecoaches, various dressmakers and tailors, a pawnshop and a jeweler, and more.

Taniel dragged Rain from place to place with his hand in hers, and Rain followed along with a flushed face. Mirha kept a slight distance behind the two children, watching them with quiet warmth, like a guard.

She worried at first that Taniel’s lively nature might be too overwhelming for Rain, who was still so shy, but she concluded that Taniel’s unguarded cheerfulness was actually good for him.

If Taniel had been the type to hesitate and watch others nervously, it would have been hard for Rain to summon the courage to take the lead in any situation.

Precisely because Taniel steered Rain this way and that with an almost shameless brightness, Rain managed to enjoy himself happily even while still not quite sure what was happening.

Watching the children, Mirha felt relieved. She was glad Taniel welcomed Rain’s presence with such pure joy, and glad Rain opened up to Taniel so quickly.

At the same time, Mirha felt uneasy. It was because of the obvious difference in standing between Taniel and Rain.

‘In principle, everyone inside the order is equal. But in reality……’

It was a nation built on inequality from the start. The very political system that sustained the holy nation was not equal. The reality of this country was that only those born of certain bloodlines earned the right to propose policy.

‘Taniel is the precious only daughter of a sacred family, practically royalty in this nation.’

Bright and kind, Taniel Zinion approached even unfamiliar children without hesitation. That was partly her innate nature, but also the result of a lifetime of environment.

She always lived a life where that was perfectly fine. When she drew close warmly, no one could complain that it was too much. No one could frown and call her a nuisance. She was a young lady of the sacred nobility, after all. How could anyone dare.

‘Rain is a lowly boy without family, who nearly had no name either.’

Rain, compulsively watching the reactions of others, still passively letting a noble girl pull him wherever she pleased. Was that truly his original nature? Or had a wretched, oppressive environment simply made him that way?

‘And on top of that, he most likely came from the slums. ……Like me.’

Children registered as goods at slave auctions were sometimes kidnapped and sold, but most were children their own parents voluntarily gave away.

Kidnapping carried a relatively high risk. If you targeted a child wandering alone in a back alley and accidentally laid hands on a noble’s child, that day would become the most unfortunate day in the kidnapper’s miserable life.

On the other hand, adults desperate enough to sell their own children were, in most cases, just as destitute, and the slums were full of such people. People worn ragged in body and spirit. People poor in both pocket and conscience.

Lately, this country had an unusually large number of such people. Crime rates rose and slum settlements multiplied. They lived, of all times, in an age like this.

“Rain, are you hungry? It’s about time for dinner.”

“No, I’m fine.”

The moment Rain quickly shook his head at Taniel’s cheerful question, his stomach let out a loud growl. Rain’s face turned bright red.

“Oh dear, look how late it’s gotten. I’m sorry, I should have seen to it sooner.”

Mirha came closer. The sight of the boy, unable to honestly say he was hungry and only turning red as an apple, was painfully endearing.

“Rain, is there anything you’d like to eat?”

“……I’m not sure.”

“Then shall we go have meat noodles? It’s a dish made with rice noodles tossed in a meat broth and seasoned sauce. Have you had it before?”

“No.”

“Then this is a good chance to try it. Let’s go.”

Mirha held out her hand to him. Rain, his face still flushed, carefully took it. Taniel, who loved meat noodles, walked beside Rain with bright eyes.

Mirha led the children to her regular noodle shop. Taniel, who came here a few times before with her teacher, walked with ease, but Rain hesitated at the door.

“It’s all right, Rain. It’s just a restaurant.”

Mirha said gently. Rain rolled his big, rabbit-like eyes, then gripped his teacher’s hand like a lifeline and stepped inside with great solemnity.

They pushed open the door and walked in. A neatly dressed server came forward and bowed respectfully to Mirha. She was a familiar face as a regular, and knights were generally regarded with respect and trust.

“Welcome, Dame Mirha. I’ll show you to a private room.”

“Thank you.”

Whenever Mirha visited with Taniel, she always ate in a private room. An enclosed space was far more comfortable for protecting her apprentice than an open one.

‘There are people in this world who deliberately target the daughters of sacred nobles.’

The precious only daughter of the highest elder was protected on multiple layers by virtue of her distinguished status.

The number of people who could speak frankly to Taniel was limited, and even the roughest thugs from the slums would instantly bow their heads and grovel the moment they heard her background.