Prologue - To keep order in the kingdom.

“That settles the matter of patrols around the country, then.” Prince Eliot says, looking to him and Sir Kain for confirmation.

“I believe so.” Samuel answers with a nod. “There’s little reason to change the brigades in charge this month.”

“Yes, and none of them have voiced any complaints, either.” Sir Kain adds, scratching his beard. “In fact, a few of them see it as good opportunities to train their weakest members.”

Then Prince Eliot, who is sitting across from Samuel at the small round table in Sir Kain’s office, takes a couple of documents in his hands and looks them over.

“All that’s left, then, are the issues of strangely aggressive monsters, the mine and the reinforcements to forts Cormag and Zaphiel, correct?” The prince asks.

“That’s right.” Sir Kain nods, but after looking at some of the documents himself, he can’t help the sigh that leaves him. “Your Highness, is your Lord Brother truly not coming?”

Prince Eliot bites his lip in frustration before he simply shakes his head. “He said any time spent in this meeting was better used honing his swordsmanship. He… trusts you and Sir Samuel to be able to handle things.”

Samuel closes his eyes, disappointed. It’s true that the First Prince’s swordsmanship needs improvement, but so do his skills to manage the country. In only two more years he’ll inherit the throne and his participation in the kingdom’s internal affairs so far has been minimal.

Prince Eliot has been covering for him for a full year now, since he was only thirteen years old. He walked up to the general one day, asking if he would be allowed to attend the meetings. Since then, he’s learned how the country works at an outstanding rate, and is never shy to ask questions when he doesn’t understand something.

Truly, he would be…

No. Samuel stops that line of thought immediately. Prince Ivan is the legitimate heir to the throne, not Prince Eliot. Suggesting otherwise would be a betrayal of the late king’s wishes.

“Let’s discuss the border issue, first. I’ve already looked through the paperwork for the supply lines and everything seems in order. Are the forts in dire need of reinforcements?”

“Not dire, no.” Sir Kain shakes his head. “But they’ve been asking for a few months already. Monsters haven’t attacked the walls, but they think something big might be coming.”

“Can we spare any men?” The prince asks.

“As always, all brigades are busy with some task or another, but if we coordinate with the nobles and the regular army we could fill in the spots for one or two brigades.” Sir Samuel answers.

“Would two brigades be enough reinforcement?” Prince Eliot asks.

“They should suffice, but I doubt those at the forts will think it’s enough. We can’t quite spare much more. The regular army defends the towns and villages while the knights patrol the country and handle special tasks. I don’t want to risk leaving blind spots in our own territory.” Sir Kain explains.

“Then if two brigades are all we can afford, we should prioritize Fort Zaphiel. They need to cover a wider area. Sending a bigger brigade there would be ideal, I think.”

“Agreed.” Samuel nods, smiling. “The terrain is also rougher around Fort Cormag, so sending too many knights there would be a waste.”

“Then I think I know who we can send there, but more on that later.” Sir Kain says. “I’d like us to move on to the issue of the monster’s increasingly aggressive behavior and how it relates to our iron mines up the mountains.”

“Yes, that is an urgent topic.” Prince Eliot grimaces, biting his thumb. “Our steel production has always been rough because the mines tend to spawn monsters inside, preventing the miners from going too deep. The iron they excavate is of poorer quality with each new batch and the blacksmiths are having to work miracles to make decent tools and weapons.”

“To make things worse, it’s been two years since the monsters inside have gotten even stronger.” Sir Kain sighs.

“Are you referring to the wave of dark energy that swept the continent two years ago?” Prince Eliot asks.

“I am.” Sir Kain nods. “Even now we’re feeling its effects.”

Samuel remembers it clearly. It happened the same day he rescued Arthur and Ms. Scarlett. He felt something like a dark aura passing through him, and later he confirmed he was not the only one who felt it. People around the country claimed the exact same.

Its effects started taking place only a day after. The monsters had become stronger all of a sudden. They attacked towns and villages, making all knights take up arms against them to solve the crisis. What’s more, even stronger monsters attacked Zaphiel Wall as if in a frenzy. That’s where Samuel was sent back then, to help defend the wall. Thankfully, the matter was resolved in only a week. All monsters were slain, the wall was successfully defended and the powerful monsters stopped appearing.

Until now.

The same wave of dark energy hasn’t been felt, but there have been reports of powerful monsters around the country in the last month. It’s the reason Sir Kain is hesitant to have less knights patrolling the country and what has the knights at the border on edge.

“I think we made a mistake two years ago.” Samuel says. “When the monsters tried to ravage the land, our first thought was to stop them at all cost. And we did. We killed every single one when we should’ve left some alive.”

“You want to have Clock Tower study them?” Sir Kain asks, catching on his line of thought.

“Exactly. If we can pinpoint the cause of their new strength and behavior, we may be able to develop countermeasures.” Samuel explains.

“So we should be on the lookout for monsters that exhibit the characteristics of those that appeared two years ago and try to capture them?” Eliot summarizes.

Samuel nods. “We don’t know if the causes are the same, but there’s a chance. At any rate, I think we should make that a priority and look into the matter of the mines after we know more.”

“No, we should send a brigade into the mines to capture one of these monsters. It’ll be quicker.” Sir Kain argues.

“But far more dangerous. It’s true that we know for a fact monsters like these are in there, but everything else is a mystery. How many are there? What type of monster? Can they use magic? There are chances the knights might not come back.” Samuel argues back.

“And I would rather we don’t take that chance.” Prince Eliot agrees firmly. “If we can catch an isolated monster out in the field, we should. The steel production issue is urgent, yes, but not enough to risk the lives of our knights unnecessarily.”

“And if that takes too long, I will head into the mines myself.” Samuel adds.

That makes Sir Kain and Prince Eliot stop for a moment as they share a look and a tired sigh.

“Samuel, I know you’d rather do this yourself, but you understand why I don’t give you many missions these days, do you?”

Samuel clicks his tongue in annoyance. “Foolish reasons, but I do understand.” He gives.

To put it bluntly, Samuel is too strong and too famous. Mobilizing the Sunlight Brigade would make the word spread throughout the country like wildfire. People would wonder what kind of crisis would merit the attention of the Kingdom’s strongest knights. It would make the people uncertain and possibly afraid.

It’s stupid, he thinks. His strength should be used to bring comfort and hope to the people, not to make them afraid. Yet he understands that there’s more to it than just that. If he were to be busy with a mission, it would be a chance for the Dead Souls organization to move. Samuel’s presence in the capital is in itself a safety measure against them. They’re forced to move in the shadows because he and his brigade are always watching.

“Who should we give this task to, then?” Prince Eliot asks.

“I was thinking it would be a good chance to give our newest recruit a taste of the action.” Sir Kain grins. “Poor kid has been waiting for days now. He must be bored out of his mind.”

“So, the Sanctus Brigade.” Samuel holds his chin with his fingers. “They’re a small group. They’ll be able to move quickly. Sir Erik is also a strong knight. Giving the job to him would be a good idea. Having Arthur gain experience from this is ideal, as well. They should be back from their previous mission soon, correct?”

Prince Eliot looks through some more documents that are on the table before he confirms it.

“Yes. After a couple of days for them to rest, they’ll be able to move out again.” He says.

“Good. Then that’s what we’ll do.” Sir Kain nods. “Your Highness, can I ask you to please find where the most recent report for strange monsters says they’ve been sighted?”

“The Noble Woods.” The prince answers immediately, smiling sheepishly. “I took the liberty to check before the meeting.”

Samuel and Sir Kain share a wry smile and a short sigh. The prince really is a hard worker.

“Then we’ll send the Sanctus Brigade to Planta Village in the following days on a mission to capture a monster with unusual powers.” Sir Kain summarizes. He then turns to the prince. “Your Highness, would you mind being the one to give them the order?”

“Not at all.” The prince says with an easy smile. “I’ve worked with the Sanctus Brigade several times already. Besides, I’ve wanted to properly introduce myself to Mr. Arthur. I don’t believe it’s fair that I know as much as I do about him without him even knowing me.” He chuckles nervously.

“Very well. Then, back on the topic of knight patrols…”