The soldier, caught off guard by the scolding, jolted back to his senses. He wondered why the major hadn’t been sipping malt liquor in his study today, and had instead come out to inspect the post—and why he was in such a foul mood.
But when the two soldiers steeled themselves and looked closer, they saw the familiar chill in those eyes and felt their hearts sink.
“Y-Young Master… No, Commander, sir! What brings you here?” one of the soldiers asked nervously.
Though they hadn’t seen him in a long time, the two soldiers had personally witnessed the appointment notice that had filled them with pride, along with the portrait sent with the military dispatch. That was how they recognized the man before them at a glance.
Young Master Howard—or, as he was now known, the youngest admiral in the Orlan Empire and commander of the Imperial Navy’s First Fleet.
That’s right. Kain had never been the minor officer Roy claimed he was. He was a distinguished admiral who had inherited Governor Naren’s fearsome reputation as the Lion of the Empire!
The uniform Kain wore had been patched up by a tailor aboard a merchant ship, and its color had faded badly. But when he wore it to the fortress that symbolized the Orlan Empire’s military, the habitual dignity and authority he carried still made the two soldiers’ legs go weak, leaving them barely able to stand.
Despair rose in their hearts, as if disaster were just around the corner. They had no idea whether their commander, who had always been strict with his subordinates, would remember their childhood bond. But there was no escaping the charge of neglecting their duty.
To their surprise, the coldness in Kain’s expression gradually eased when he heard the words “Young Master.”
Perhaps he truly had remembered those days from his childhood. Or perhaps he’d realized that he was no longer an admiral—not even the epaulettes that marked his rank remained. They had been buried with the First Fleet’s sailors off Devil’s Island. In the end, he simply reminded the soldiers to “stay alert at your posts,” then told them to go inside and announce his arrival.
Before long, the heavy wooden doors swung open.
Three hundred soldiers stood in two lines, watching Young Master Howard pass—the young man they hadn’t seen in over a decade, who had now taken his father’s place as a pillar of the Imperial military. Then he and the major, who had come out to meet him with reddened eyes, entered the study in the main fortress.
“Oh, Young Master! If you were still alive, even if you couldn’t notify the military right away, couldn’t you at least have let the Governor know? Do you have any idea how many times the Governor has come to Fran Island in the past two months? Or how many times he’s taken a ship out to sea himself?”
The major was no longer young. His position had kept him from feasting on rich food and piling on the pounds, but he’d still developed quite a beer belly. By any measure, he was a bona fide old-timer—and right now, with his red eyes and endless chatter, he sounded like a housewife.
Fran Island was close to the conflict zone, but in truth, no naval battle had ever taken place nearby. No pirate would be foolish enough to waste the time and effort occupying such barren land, where there wasn’t even any profit to be squeezed out.
That was why only three hundred soldiers were stationed on the island. The major in command of them had all but been exiled there, with no chance of advancing any further. It was also why he’d grown so lax that he’d even become rather portly.
As for why he was so moved to see Kain, there were two reasons. First, the major was an old soldier who had served under Governor Naren and had watched Young Master Howard grow up. Second, the Lion of the Empire was held in such high regard by the military, and his record was so dazzling, that every naval officer looked up to him.
Two months earlier, the First Fleet had just entered the waters around Devil’s Island.
Hearing that his father had set aside his heavy administrative duties and come in person to search for him, Kain felt a faint warmth in his heart.
He and that man had spent more time apart than together, and his father had been extremely strict with him. He’d demanded perfection even in certain unimportant matters of etiquette. But there was no denying that Governor Naren truly loved him.
That brief warmth soon faded. Kain asked the major in a low voice, “Has the military been informed that the First Fleet is missing?”
“No. Only the Navy’s highest-ranking commanders, His Majesty the Emperor, and the three Governors know.”
Returning to the matter at hand, the major wiped the moisture from the corners of his eyes and composed himself. “Young Master, what exactly happened? The First Fleet…”
“It was wiped out.”
Kain lowered his eyes and clasped his hands so tightly that his knuckles turned white. The anger building inside him was plain to see.
The study fell quiet for a moment. Then the major murmured in shock, “How could that be? Unless the Punora Federation and the Southern Islands joined forces completely, something like this should be impossible.”
The Orlan Empire was the strongest military power in the world, especially across the boundless seas. The Imperial Navy was powerful enough to suppress any opposing force.
Aside from Roy, the unforeseen variable who had suddenly appeared, the Navy had suffered almost no losses in recent years. And a catastrophe like its total destruction? That was unthinkable.
As the major had said, the Great Captain and the Federal Council might have been able to make the First Fleet disappear without a trace if they’d joined forces and thrown the full strength of their nations and islands into the fight. But even that was absurd. The Great Captain, who ruled over countless pirates, would never ally with anyone! That was the promise he had made to the whole world when he took the position.
“It wasn’t the Great Captain, and it wasn’t those spineless fools in the Federation,” Kain said, confirming the major’s suspicions.
“Then… the Golden-Eyed Devil?”
The major hurriedly asked the question, but the moment it left his mouth, he knew how utterly foolish it was. No matter how powerful the Mermaid was, it couldn’t stand against the First Fleet. That cold-blooded captain wasn’t a god, after all.
“It was a natural disaster. One that came without the slightest warning.”
Nearly two months had passed, but when Kain remembered that scene of divine wrath, he still shuddered. Only when you truly faced the power of nature could you understand how ignorant it was to think that humanity had conquered the world.
“The whirlpools swallowed everything within a dozen miles. Lightning tore open the darkened sky and struck every warship. We couldn’t even put out the fires…”
Pain churned in Kain’s blue eyes. In only a few short minutes, that boundless force had buried the pride of the Orlan Empire—a mighty fleet without equal across the oceans—in that desolate stretch of sea.
Kain’s account was so unbelievable that the major stared blankly for a moment. But he soon accepted it, just as he’d never once doubted that the commander would make up a story to toy with him. That was the reputation the young star of the military had forged through time and honor.
Even if Kain had said it was Heaven’s punishment for the Orlan Empire, the military’s generals would likely have believed him without question.
“An accident like this couldn’t have been predicted, Young Master. Please… don’t blame yourself too much. I’ll write to His Majesty and the Governor at once. For now, stay here on Fran Island and wait for a reply. Once His Majesty knows what happened, I’m sure he’ll see the truth of it.” The major chose his words carefully as he tried to comfort Kain, who was still in deep anguish.
His words gradually calmed Kain. He furrowed his brow and hesitated for a moment before speaking slowly. “No. Just let my father and the others know that I’m safe. I won’t be rejoining the military for now.”
