BTW 15

 Chapter 15

Zenon meant it sincerely.

He had no intention of becoming anything more than comrades with Kata.

Both in the past and now, she was an uncomfortable presence to him.

“Zenon.”

At last, Kata spoke. Her cheeks were slightly flushed.

“I missed you.”

Zenon’s expression hardened.

The unfiltered honesty of her words left him speechless.

“Even after I returned to my territory, I often thought about your estate. Whenever I was with you… I was always happy.”

People who speak from the heart always seem to glow with a healthy radiance.

Zenon lowered his eyes.

For some reason, when he finally answered, his voice came out cold and cynical.

“You had the luxury of indulging in nostalgia, that’s why.”

“…”

“I didn’t.”

* * *

The next day.

Kata began her day feeling down because of what had happened the previous evening, but by lunchtime she had recovered enough energy to be moved by the tenderness of the meat served in the dining hall.

“…Katarenia Donovan.”

Just as she was leaving the cafeteria in high spirits, Zenon called out to her.

“And you too, Luna Arden.”

“Me?”

“That’s right. A message from Sir Simon. You’ve both been selected for the monster subjugation mission in the Barony of Kaster. Report to the Fifth Training Ground after you’ve finished eating.”

After delivering the message in his usual stiff tone, he immediately turned and walked away.

Kata and Luna looked at each other.

Time passed, and they arrived at the Fifth Training Ground.

Besides the two of them, Zenon, Monia, and Perinem had already gathered there.

Simon looked three times more exhausted than usual.

“The deployment is in one week. There will be eight people in total. The full knights are myself and Sir Soran. Lea is a veteran, so I’ve excluded her from the training.”

After practicing how to destroy monster cores, they received swords from Simon.

“Since our numbers are small, every sword has a Transmission Stone embedded in its pommel.”

He tapped the end of his own sword.

“As the name suggests, it’s a magic stone that can transmit memories. Use it in emergencies.”

Once the rookies had learned how to operate the Transmission Stones, Simon yawned and shouted,

“That’s all for today! I’ll leave the cleanup to you.”

Thunk.

The doors of the training ground shut behind him.

An awkward silence followed.

Eventually, Monia spoke.

“I’ll fetch water and rags to clean the bodily fluids. Who will sweep up the monster corpses?”

“Then I’ll—”

BANG!

Kata turned her head.

Had Simon come back?

But standing there instead was an unexpectedly pale-faced Peter.

“K-Kata!”

After spotting her, he hesitated before speaking.

“Could you come outside for a moment? I have something to tell you.”

“Huh? Is it important?”

“I-I’ll explain once we’re outside.”

Perinem raised an eyebrow.

“Is it so secret that you have to call her out separately?”

“N-No, it’s not like that…”

“Then say it here. I won’t tolerate anyone trying to slip away from cleanup duty.”

Kata couldn’t help but admire Perinem’s shameless reasoning.

Peter, however, seemed completely intimidated by the prince’s overbearing attitude.

“I…”

After hesitating for a long moment, he confessed,

“I’m a bearer of Foresight.”

“…You?”

Perinem’s eyebrows shot up.

The three stigmata bestowed upon humanity by the God of Time, Semasiar:

• Foresight

• Prophecy

• Regression

Unlike Prophecy, monopolized by the Saintess, or Regression, about which almost nothing was known, ordinary imperial citizens occasionally possessed Foresight.

Even so, all stigmata were exceedingly rare abilities.

Perinem tilted his head skeptically.

“And how are we supposed to believe that?”

“Huh?”

“The Saintess is recognized by Semasiar himself, but Foresight bearers aren’t. There are plenty of swindlers claiming they can see the future just to scam people out of money.”

Peter hurriedly explained.

“I worked as a servant for the House of Baron Aragon. The Baron favored me because I saved the Baron’s wife’s life using Foresight. I predicted a carriage accident before it happened.”

“…”

“It’s true. Even if none of you believe me, Kata—you have to.”

Kata blinked.

“Me?”

“For this mission…”

Peter’s words grew increasingly strange.

“Do you really have to go?”

“What do you mean? Of course I do.”

He bit down hard on his lip before speaking with determination.

“Kata, don’t panic when you hear this.”

He paused for a heartbeat.

“In the future I saw…”

“You died fighting a demon.”

* * *

Silence descended over the training ground.

Kata slowly opened and closed her eyes.

No one spoke.

Even Perinem seemed to possess enough decency not to make a sarcastic remark.

“Is that all?”

At last, Zenon broke the silence.

“Is that the entirety of the future you saw? Was there anything else—any clue that could help us figure out the circumstances?”

“The more important the event, the more fragmented Foresight becomes. All I know…”

Peter swallowed.

“…is that Kata dies fighting a demon.”

Zenon slowly furrowed his brow.

Foresight was the ability to see the future with the highest probability of occurring.

If nothing changed, it generally came to pass in the near future.

“Kata, this is actually fortunate.”

Peter stared at her, trying to persuade her.

“You know this, right? If a Foresight bearer sees the same future three times or more, it becomes an inescapable future. It’s no different from Prophecy.”

“Peter.”

“But this is only the first time. You can avoid your death. J-Just stay at headquarters for a while and don’t go on missions.”

“…”

“Two years? No, one year should be enough. Most Foresight comes true within a year…”

Kata gazed at the restless Peter.

Suddenly, her father’s voice echoed in her ears.

“Up until now, what have you protected by wielding your sword?”

She slowly took a deep breath.

“Peter, it’s okay.”

Her voice was calm.

“I’m still going.”

Peter’s eyes widened.

“This mission, the next one… if I’m given the opportunity, I’ll go on all of them.”

“Are you insane?”

Turning around, she found Luna glaring at her coldly.

“Stop acting tough and lock yourself in headquarters for a while.”

“Luna.”

“Honestly, quitting the knight order would be better than dying to a demon. Even if you accomplish some incredible mission, what’s the point if you’re dead?”

Monia frowned and immediately cut in.

“I don’t see even a shred of knightly virtue in that statement! An honorable death is preferable to a coward’s escape!”

“Then you go die honorably.”

“W-Why are you being so harsh…?”

Peter finally spoke again, his voice heavy.

“Kata, my Foresight has never been wrong. If you’re not going to seriously consider what I’m saying—”

“No.”

Kata interrupted softly.

“I believe you, Peter. It’s not that I don’t trust you…”

She hesitated briefly.

“It’s just that… I’m sick of running away.”

Still, Peter looked unconvinced.

He opened his mouth to argue again.

“That’s enough, Peter.”

Zenon raised a hand to stop him.

“Unless she intends to leave the knight order, she should proceed with the mission as planned. If she repeatedly refuses assignments, people won’t have anything good to say about her.”

“If I tell them I saw this future—”

“Everyone will react exactly like Monia Montrose did.”

Zenon’s expression remained unreadable.

“She’ll simply be branded a coward.”

Peter’s complexion slowly darkened.

Zenon was right.

If a mere knight trainee avoided missions because she feared a death foretold by Foresight, there was no escaping the label of coward.

And if that person was Kata—someone who was already mocked because of her past—

Then there was even less hope of being understood.