Seeking the Truth

Beneath the pitch-black canopy of night, Benjamin sped all the way toward the Hori Kingdom.

He was still recalling the report from the Academy's Dark Division:

"There's a ninety percent chance the Riser Family really was seized. Although Duke Claude was secretly executed, someone saw his body. The bruises on his neck were obvious, and in the end, it was sent to a church to be cremated. We learned this from a handyman at one of the churches."

Even now, he found it hard to believe.

The last time he had returned to the Hori Kingdom had only been a few months ago. He had even met Claude in Havenlight. With Grant around, he had thought no one in the Hori Kingdom could threaten the Riser Family anymore, and that had put him at ease.

But...

Benjamin shook his head, still unable to understand how any of this had happened.

Had the Church's internal strife swept up the Riser Family? Had the nobles begun crushing one another as well? The Academy's Dark Division could not give him a clear answer. So Benjamin had set out himself.

—He had to know the truth.

Claude had saved him from the execution square, and when he had first arrived in this world, it was the Riser Family that had given him a place to stay. Perhaps, in the end, he was merely a traveler from another world who had crossed over here, but he had long since formed close ties with this world. He hoped that, aside from Mary, the members of the Riser Family could at least have lived peaceful lives.

And now, having received this terrible news and hurried toward the Hori Kingdom, Benjamin felt especially heavy-hearted.

If Claude really was dead, then at the very least... at the very least,