One didn‘t need much luggage to set off on a journey. Yujin packed only the essentials, planning to acquire whatever else he needed along the way.
Kazimierz. The Major.
Though people said the true meaning of the title had faded over the years, the honor remained undeniable. It was the arena where the great houses of Kazimierz clashed and the various corporations flaunted their power. To win was to seize both glory and proof of absolute skill; thus, every knight in the country dreamed of claiming the championship.
The problem, however, was obtaining the right to participate in the first place.
As a Sarkaz, Yujin would have to prove his worth without any backing or institutional support. With the labels of "Sarkaz" and "Kazdel" attached to him, he was bound to face eyes filled with even sharper hostility.
Well, starting from the very bottom was a familiar feeling.
Yujin looked at his blade, which gleamed sharply as it caught the light. What should he imbue into this sword? What was it that he truly desired? Nothing was certain yet. The only things that remained unchanged were his promise to change the world and his vow never to lose to the wicked.
As time passed, he sometimes wondered what a single person could truly achieve. But Yujin knew he was the only one who could forge his own path. That was why he was heading to Kazimierz—to find out what he truly wanted, what he hoped for, and what he yearned to become. To find meaning.
In a way, it could be called a journey of self-discovery. Perhaps the dream he had first prayed for could be found in Kazimierz.
Theresis probably thought Yujin was being incredibly selfish, heading off on a personal quest while the siblings were busier than ever. Yujin chuckled, thinking of Theresis pouting recently. Theresis had actually invited him to join the affairs of the Royal Court, but Yujin had refused. If brute force was needed, he would step in, but politics simply didn't suit him.
And there was one more thing weighing on his heart.
Theresia's attitude.
When he first told her he was leaving, she had clung to him with tears in her eyes, begging him not to go. As time went on, that attachment warped into something bordering on obsession. When she declared she would follow him wherever he went, Yujin had firmly rejected her, knowing when he needed to draw the line.
"Sigh..."
Yujin exhaled a long breath as he sat in his chair.
After her initial begging, Theresia had shifted to a cold, distant bystander. Even when they crossed paths, she would simply lower her head and walk past him in silence. Her behavior was so frosty it almost bordered on rude. Kalaisha had even lost her temper with Theresia once over it, so the topic had become taboo. Master Netsalem had apparently spoken to her privately as well, but nothing had changed.
Even on the eve of his departure, she remained this way. It weighed heavily on his mind. He didn't want the last memory of her to be that icy stare.
"Well, sitting here worrying won't fix it."
With that thought, Yujin stood up and walked to Theresia's room. He had always known that over-dependence and obsession were unhealthy; they were a detriment to their relationship.
Just as he stood before her door, lost in thought, it suddenly swung open. A slender hand reached out from the darkness.
"Whoa—"
Grabbed by the collar, Yujin let out a grunt as he was dragged helplessly inside.
Theresia's eyes, the color of a mild autumn, glared at him through the gloom. With surprising strength, she shoved him onto the bed. Over the last three years, the girl had blossomed into a stunningly beautiful woman.
Moonlight filtered through the window, illuminating her features as she stood over him.
"…You look like you're in a terrible mood."
Yujin managed a bitter smile. Theresia was glaring at him with a savage intensity, clearly holding back a flood of tears.
"You jerk. You bastard."
"You've picked up some rough language."
"And who do you think put me in this state...?"
Yujin lay on the bed with Theresia pinning him down. It was a compromising position, but neither seemed to mind the impropriety. Even after three years, Theresia was still Theresia. Her cold behavior was likely just a final, desperate tantrum because she didn't want him to leave.
"Why? Why can't I come with you?"
"Are you still asking that?"
He had asked her a hundred times and had never given a clear answer. Theresia‘s gaze burned into his.
"One day, you're going to become someone far greater than me."
"…What?"
Theresia narrowed her eyes at his nonsensical answer. To her, she was ordinary compared to Yujin. How could she possibly become greater than him?
"When you've traveled far beyond where I can reach... I want to be someone who can still stand by your side and protect you."
Why?
Why does it feel like you're looking at someone else through me?
Theresia looked at him in bewilderment, but Yujin just gave her that same sad, bitter smile.
"I feel like I have to at least become a Grandmaster before I‘m worthy of standing next to you."
Yujin‘s eyes grew misty as he recalled fragments of a past that was fading into obscurity. Because he had grown so used to his present life, he had forgotten his previous one. Yet, within those scattered shards of memory swept away by time, he remembered having seen a face like Theresia's before.
A small screen... a mobile phone.
It was a memory he thought was gone. Seeing the now-adult Theresia had brought it bubbling up from the depths of his subconscious.
Theresia, noticing the flicker of uncertainty and pain in his eyes, gently cupped his face with both hands.
"Just what is it... that you're so afraid of?"
She had kept her distance because she was terrified of him leaving. She thought that if she stayed away, maybe he‘d return to her. She feared that he would shoulder every burden alone and vanish forever. But looking at him closely, he hadn't changed. He looked just as he had three years ago—filled with doubt, yet possessed by a grim resolve.
"I‘m not afraid of anything. I‘m starting a new journey, after all."
Theresia felt a surge of anxiety seeing him smile like that—a smile meant to hide his fear. She instinctively felt he was keeping a secret from her.
"You know how much I admired the legends of Kazimierz. That‘s why I‘m going. That‘s all."
Kazimierz. The land of knights. She knew he watched the Major with stars in his eyes. But this felt like more.
"What is it you want to achieve there?"
"To enter the competition and win, of course."
Winning would bring fame and fortune. His name as a knight would spread across the world, even though he didn't even have a title yet.
"And after that?"
After gaining honor in Kazimierz, where would he go next? She wanted to hold onto him, but she knew she couldn't.
"I don't know. Maybe I'll keep traveling, maybe I'll come back to Kazdel. Nothing's been decided."
Yujin felt it was pointless to discuss the future when the first goal hadn't been reached. He had to win the Major first.
"To be honest... sometimes I look at you and I'm terrified you'll just disappear to somewhere I can never find you."
"Hmm. Even at the ends of the world, there‘s just the coast of Iberia or the snows of Sami."
Sami, the permafrost and the edge of the mountains. Iberia, the golden land by the sea, still basking in the glow of its prosperity.
"You know that's not what I mean," Theresia murmured, burying her face in his chest. She looked up at him with piercing eyes.
"Promise me. I hate the thought of you getting hurt, but promise me you won't die. Promise you'll come back alive as a knight. Keep that promise."
"…You saying that makes me more nervous than the trip does."
Who could possibly kill him? In a world where few could even match him in a duel, who was capable of taking his life? But the world was vast, and he knew monsters and masters far beyond his common sense existed.
"Promise."
"Alright. Don't worry. I'll make the promise. I‘ll come back with a title and a name worth hearing."
Thinking that everyone worried far too much, Yujin gently stroked Theresia's hair. He was relieved that her coldness had thawed.
Now, he felt he could truly begin his journey with a clear mind.