Yuri pressed Jared for answers.
He explained everything that had happened.
The Vengeance Knights gathered in Endia had applied for the Conqueror’s Banner tournament without hesitation.
Jared was confident of victory. Even though Yuri wasn’t there, the rest were all in good shape, so he believed they would win no matter what.
“What if you lost?”
“Then there’s nothing we can do.”
“That bastard…”
It seemed Jared hadn’t even considered the possibility of defeat.
“Didn’t you check the skill levels while traveling through the allied minor states? Unless the Empire interfered, this is an easy win for us. Even without His Majesty.”
“How can you be so sure? There might be some hidden powerhouse out there.”
“There isn’t. Even if there were, there wouldn’t be five of them.”
“So, no real proof then.”
“My gut feeling is proof enough.”
“Alright. Fine. Since you won.”
Yuri smiled wryly and patted his shoulder.
In any case, they had won.
Yuri snatched a cup of wine from the tray carried by a servant.
It had been a long time since he’d tasted alcohol.
“Let’s have a drink. We finally completed the Conqueror’s Banner.”
“That’s right. We haven’t tried matching the flags yet. I plan to do that with His Highness tomorrow.”
“Sounds good. Let’s do that.”
For Yuri, it was a deeply moving moment.
They had won the difficult battle against the Black Knight and completed the Conqueror’s Banner. Now that they had influence over the minor state alliance, his words would carry more weight.
If they exposed what had happened between the Empire and Konjed, the minor states would no longer rely on the Empire.
“So, how did the fight go? Are you alright?”
Only now did Jared ask after Yuri’s condition.
He scanned Yuri from head to toe.
His clothes were filthy, stained with blood in places. Though he hadn’t drunk much, his steps were unsteady—far from normal.
“Is it okay if I drink?”
“Go ahead.”
“You don’t look well.”
“I’m fine.”
“You won?”
“Of course.”
Jared’s eyes widened, and he gave a thumbs-up.
“Really?”
“Of course.”
Yuri hadn’t doubted he’d win, but he hadn’t expected to come back victorious. Knowing the opponent was the Black Knight, the current injuries felt minor.
Smiling at Jared, Yuri swayed once before raising his cup.
“To Briol!”
At once, the Vengeance Knights, who had been distracted, echoed his words.
“To Briol!”
From a corner, the King of Endia joined in, unwilling to be outdone.
“To Endia!”
“To Endia!”
“To Endia!”
The Endians weren’t exactly unified. They shouted the name of their country at random, cheering themselves on before downing their drinks. But when it came to clinking glasses, they all moved in unison.
The King of Endia approached Yuri.
“Yuri Briol, Crown Prince of Briol! A pleasure to meet you!”
“Thank you. The honor is mine.”
“I hear you’re the new Ten Strong. Quite impressive for someone so young.”
“Well, a sharp point always sticks out.”
“Would you join me for a drink to celebrate the friendship between Briol and Endia?”
“Of course.”
The King of Endia was clearly drunk. His face was flushed as he kept offering drinks, dancing on his feet.
“This is a special brew from Endia. Truly something extraordinary.”
“The color is radiant.”
“Golden, isn’t it? That’s why I call it Golden Wine.”
Yuri raised his cup with the King.
Normally, he could handle this much alcohol, but after the grueling fight and with his body in no condition to drink, the intoxication hit him harder than usual.
Seizing the moment, the King urged Yuri on.
“Such a fine day—why not finish the Conqueror’s Banner right now?”
“Shall we?”
“Let’s all piece the flags together! Then hang it atop Endia’s highest tower to fly proudly!”
The knights nearby cheered.
“Excellent!”
“The Conqueror’s Banner! The Conqueror’s Banner!”
“Complete the Conqueror’s Banner!”
“For Endia!”
“For Briol!”
Caught up in the excitement, Yuri shouted,
“Alright! Bring all the flags!”
“Yes, sir!”
Several knights in charge of the flags immediately left the banquet hall.
Yuri sat back down, waiting for them.
His body ached from the fierce battle with the Black Knight, but the alcohol dulled the pain. Though far from healthy, he decided not to worry—it was a good day.
Jared spoke again.
“Are you really okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“How did you win?”
“Curious?”
Yuri had no intention of hiding the fact that he’d defeated the Black Knight. As he began recounting his tale, more Endians gathered around.
“I blocked the Black Knight’s fierce attacks and, in a flash, unleashed a swirling sword energy…”
Yuri explained plainly, without exaggeration.
“When I swung my sword, a living, dragon-shaped sword energy appeared, clashing with the tiger-shaped sword energy the Black Knight summoned.
When the tiger bit the dragon’s neck, my dragon breathed fire. It looked as if our spirits themselves were fighting.
The sword energies filled the sky and earth, turning every step into a storm of blood. Suddenly, dark clouds gathered, and lightning struck with rain pouring down, revealing our faces in the darkness. We were both smiling. That’s the life of sword ghosts…”
Yuri deliberately left out the part about punching.
“The duel between the two sword ghosts was decided by a final secret technique. Each unleashed their hidden ultimate move…”
As Yuri continued, the banquet hall doors opened, and several flags were carried in.
Everyone’s attention shifted away from Yuri.
“The hidden true finishing move…”
“Flags!”
“Gather the flags!”
The crowd quickly dispersed, grabbing flags from various countries and trying to piece them together.
Muttering to himself, Yuri stood up.
“Hey, that’s not supposed to go there!”
Yuri opened his eyes.
He felt sick. As he tried to sit up, he realized the floor was hard.
“Ugh…”
Lifting his head, the scene around him came into view.
Countless people lay passed out on the floor.
“So, you see…”
“Yeah. Hehe…”
“In my prime, I was quite the looker…”
Amidst the drunken slumber of everyone else, only two remained awake, passing cups back and forth.
Sunlight filtered faintly through curtains around the window, illuminating their faces.
The King of Endia and Tirbo.
“You drink quite well.”
“I don’t get drunk easily. The alcohol’s strong. Hehe…”
“Good. Have a drink.”
“Yes, sir.”
Yuri pressed his throbbing forehead, recalling the previous night.
They had matched flags, drank, and made merry until people started collapsing one by one.
For some reason, Endia didn’t care that people were sleeping on the floor during the banquet. The servants ignored them as if it were normal.
One by one, they all passed out.
Yuri was no exception.
And so the morning came.
“Ugh…”
As Yuri staggered to his feet, the King of Endia and Tirbo called to him.
“Oh, you’re up! Come, have a drink with us.”
“Your Highness, please join me.”
“No, thank you…”
The next day, the wounds from fighting the Black Knight ached more. The dullness brought on by alcohol faded, and the pain intensified.
Yuri limped over.
“Ugh.”
“Here, drink up!”
“No, thank you. I’ll pass.”
“You don’t handle your liquor well.”
“I’ve never heard that before…”
Yuri gave a bitter smile at the bottles around them.
“Compared to Your Highness and this guy, I’m nothing. How many bottles have you two gone through?”
“You have to drink this much to feel pleasantly tipsy. Isn’t that right, Tirbo?”
“That’s right. A little and it’s just a beverage. Hehe…”
“It’s been ages since I found friends who match my drinking.”
The two poured each other drinks and downed them heartily.
A meeting of heavy drinkers.
Yuri scratched his head. Being around these two made him feel queasy and as if he’d get drunk without drinking.
“By the way…”
As he mulled over last night, Yuri suddenly turned around.
“The flags?”
The banquet tables had been pushed to the corner. In their place lay a large, colorful cloth spread on the floor.
Yuri approached.
The completed Conqueror’s Banner was there.
“…”
No, it wasn’t complete.
Because the drunken people had arranged the flags haphazardly, the banner was a complete mess. None of the connecting parts matched.
“What the hell is this?”
Yuri recalled last night. It was only sixteen puzzle pieces, yet they wouldn’t fit together at all. It wasn’t just the alcohol.
He folded his arms and studied it.
He occasionally shifted the flags around but saw no pattern.
The King of Endia and Tirbo came over.
“Trying to piece the flags together?”
“Doesn’t fit at all, does it?”
The two spoke, holding their cups.
Watching Yuri rearrange the flags, the King said,
“There’s a saying: the true form of the flag can only be seen with the eyes of the heart.”
“Huh?”
“They say the original Banner of the Conqueror wasn’t particularly meaningful—more like an abstract painting. People always asked about its significance, but the Conqueror would just say to look with the eyes of the heart. Since he wasn’t an ordinary man, everyone just accepted that answer.”
“The eyes of the heart…?”
“Yes. The eyes of the heart. Maybe only kind souls can see it.”
The King of Endia narrowed his eyes and glanced down at the roughly assembled Banner of the Conqueror.
“I don’t know much myself, but they say the banner holds the Conqueror’s most precious secret. Some claim his mana method is hidden within it, but who can say for sure?”
Tirvo’s eyes widened.
“His mana method is in there?”
“I doubt it. The Conqueror supposedly called what’s inside this flag ‘the truth.’ I don’t think someone like him would describe a mana method that way.”
“‘The truth’—that’s quite a statement.”
“Right? Have a drink.”
“Yes, sir.”
The two men raised their cups again.
Yuri stood quietly, mulling over the king’s words. The idea of seeing with the eyes of the heart struck him as deeply meaningful.
He summoned his soul’s gaze.
An unseen radiance extended from his eyes.
Soon, his vision slipped into the realm of the soul.
Within the blinding white light, the banner’s colorful background faded. No longer vivid primary colors, it softened into pastel tones that gently connected the entire flag.
And then, something appeared.
Yuri gasped.
He saw the soul itself—and with his soul, he cut through the darkness.
Perhaps the ancient Conqueror who created the banner possessed the same ability.
Entranced, Yuri rearranged a few of the flags.
Suddenly, the chaotic patterns on the banner began to form meaning.
Black letters stretched across the entire flag like a painting.
The sentence wasn’t extraordinary.
But in that moment, it carried immense weight for Yuri.
A quiet dawn was breaking, sunlight spilling through the window into a peaceful morning.
Within the soul’s realm, where light and darkness are distinct, the Conqueror’s message reached Yuri.
“Darkness can never overcome the light.”
The completed Banner of the Conqueror bore those words in the old continental lingua franca. It was as if it knew Yuri’s struggle against the dark magic.
Yuri’s gaze drifted downward.
In smaller letters, the sentence continued.
“I realized this truth atop Mount Jenel.”
The Conqueror had hidden a meaning visible only within the soul’s realm inside his banner.
His message, after many years, was received by Yuri Briol, prince of Briol.
And Yuri Briol was now standing against the overwhelming darkness that had fallen across the continent.
Darkness can never overcome the light.
Those words comforted him.
He whispered softly, “Message received, Conqueror.”
Having glimpsed the true nature of the Banner of the Conqueror, Yuri let the energy of his soul’s gaze fade. The banner’s colors returned to their bright, meaningless jumble.
But Yuri no longer found it ridiculous.
The King of Endia and Tirvo continued their conversation, looking down at the banner.
“Seeing it like this, it actually flows together more naturally.”
“Like a decent abstract painting, at least.”
“If this is the finished Banner of the Conqueror, it feels kind of hollow.”
“Well, that’s how legends go. Truth is always a bit disappointing.”
Yuri smiled wryly and spoke up.
“Do you really think so?”
“Hm?”
“I find this banner truly beautiful.”
“Are you serious?”
“Doesn’t it look like the darkness of night being chased away by the morning sun?”
“Hmm?”
It was true.
Though the shapes were vague, when Yuri’s words echoed in their minds, it almost seemed as if the sunlight was pushing back the darkness.
“Hmm, maybe you’re right.”
“Now that you mention it, I can see it too.”
“Suddenly it looks different.”
Leaving the two deep in thought, Yuri walked over to the banquet hall’s wall and flung open the curtains.
Bright sunlight poured inside. One by one, the knights lying about began to stir.
“Ugh…”
“Ugh, hangover…”
As the sun rose, the world was waking.
Leaning against the window frame, Yuri smiled softly as he gazed out at the tranquil morning in Endia.
Now, it was time to head to Mount Jenel.