Typemoon: Starting Out as the Lion King's Personal Knight [424] (Patreon)

If the world allows for possibility, it expands the future and refuses to lose it.

Since the dawn of primates, this star has welcomed countless possibilities. Strength was undoubtedly their hallmark; some were even able to rival the stars themselves.

But none of them possessed a future. For all their might, they fell between the cracks of history. On the ever-growing Tree of Humanity, whose branches are constantly pruned, the correct history quietly blooms.

That is the foundational principle of countless parallel worlds, symbolizing the true nature of the human world. history contains subtle differences, but the main trunk has already been determined.

Even in the distant future, when humanity has surrendered its place as primates, the world still records everything that happened over tens of thousands of years.

And now, the pruned histories return from the gaps of time.

A fantasy descending from the cosmos wiped out all life on the surface of the planet, unfolding a domain known as a Lostbelt.

Unlike Singularities, which twist crucial nodes in human history, Lostbelts are lost histories fundamentally different from the root.

When Alaric revealed his next objective, the reactions inside the Shado Border were varied, but mostly filled with surprise.

“The Chinese Lostbelt, huh—”

Holmes’s eyes flashed. After the Fantasy Tree in the Russian territory was felled, the Shadow Border observed that the neighboring Chinese territory was also shrouded by a storm wall like the end of the world.

And to connect with the signals from Wandering Sea, they would have to head to the gathering point—the North Atlantic.

This was undoubtedly the start of a divergence.

“Partings are common, Miss Fujimaru.”

Alaric smiled. “You all still need to rendezvous with Wandering Sea, right? While imaginary number navigation can take you directly there, without a prior link it’s impossible—and it’s far too risky. It’s better to go via the real world.

So, Da Vinci-chan, are you planning to cross the Scandinavian Peninsula, or travel through Poland and Germany before heading out to sea?”

“Hmm, personally, I don’t recommend the sea route.”

Quick-thinking Da Vinci-chan replied, “Besides, using the Shadow Border for a sea journey would be quite difficult. While something like the Dover Strait could still be crossed, honestly, I oppose getting close to Britain. We have no idea what the world’s oceans are like now. I recommend the land route, across Scandinavia.”

“That route is already covered by the storm wall—the domain of the Crypter, Ophelia.”

Alaric, agreeing with Da Vinci-chan, asked, “Do we have enough energy for imaginary number navigation?”

“Not quite,” Da Vinci explained. “Holmes made it sound easy to convert mana to electricity, but there’s a limit. Supply can’t keep up with consumption. In a prolonged, life-or-death imaginary number navigation, this is fatal. But for short jumps—like entering a Lostbelt—it’s still doable.”

“So in order to get help, we have to break into a Lostbelt!”

Goredolf’s expression was grave, but he had no choice but to accept.

“Having a plan is always good—it’s better than blundering around.”

Before Alaric could finish, an alarm blared inside the Shadow Border.

Since entering, the Shadow Border had already started moving away from Russian territory, so—

“Something’s rapidly approaching us—closing in on our port side at 90 km/h!”

Da Vinci burst into the engine room, frantically checking the monitors. “Meunière, faster! We’re being chased!”

“It’s an incline ahead—I can’t speed up!”

Meunière’s protest was drowned out by a roar that shook the whole submersible.

“Oh no! This explosion—I remember! It’s just like two weeks ago, when I was nearly shot by an anti-materiel rifle! That was Koyanskaya’s attack! Sir Alaric, can you handle Koyanskaya?!”

In this life-or-death moment, Goredolf even turned to the ever-calm Alaric.

“Don’t worry.”

Alaric climbed out the window and stood on the deck, peering into the distance.

At that moment, those inside the submersible also saw what was chasing them—not a machine, but a human figure. A man running at such speed he could keep up with the Shadow Border.

It was none other than Father Kirei Kotomine, silent since their last encounter.

“The priest is likely here for Kadoc. What do you all think?”

Alaric knew the priest wouldn’t attack Chaldea directly. There was only one reason for him to appear now.

It was for Kadoc.

Normally, the Foreign God Apostles and Crypters weren’t allies, so this level of assistance was unusual.

From this, Alaric quickly deduced what was going on.

After seeing off Ivan the Terrible, Kirei had claimed he would visit the princess—so she must have given him instructions.

“He’s after that guy, huh!”

Goredolf gritted his teeth. “Let’s just throw him out—though I’d like Holmes to interrogate him first!”

Goredolf cared more about his and Chaldea’s safety than Kadoc’s interrogation.

“Sir Alaric, can you stop him?”

Holmes asked, unwilling to give up on Kadoc. “Can you intercept the priest?”

As a Crypter, Kadoc was a rare source of intel—Holmes didn’t want to lose him.

And—

“Leave it to me!”

Alaric leapt forward—seemingly from nowhere, yet the ground supported him. He launched himself with incredible force!

Focusing on Kirei, Alaric delivered a flying kick, tearing open a snowy white field hundreds of meters wide, cutting off the sub’s sensors!

No one saw the ensuing battle, but one thing was clear: after Alaric’s intervention, Kirei gave up trying to take Kadoc.

After Chaldea escaped, Alaric rejoined Da Vinci, who was waiting with her suitcase.

“Oh? Is that why you stood me up?”

Da Vinci, standing alone in the wintry wilderness, eyed Alaric with a not-so-genuine smile.

Alaric laughed awkwardly. “It was an accident, really.”

“Seriously, you said you’d come back to check after the ritual. Now everything’s packed up, so I’ll have to set it up in the next Lostbelt.”

She paused, then added, “So, the Chinese Lostbelt next?”

Now that Da Vinci knew Chaldea’s status, she wasn’t worried about what came next—Holmes and her lily version were on the sub, and if all else failed, there was still Alaric.

Even here with Alaric, Da Vinci had prepared measures for Ritsuka and the others.

The greatest of those measures was Alaric himself.

“That’s right. Next, we’ll meet the First Emperor.”

Alaric smiled. “Unlike the eternally slumbering Ivan, that Emperor is always awake.”

By now, the Russian territory was a blank slate. The two wasted no time, heading straight for the storm wall that covered the vast land.

Since Russia and China bordered each other, the journey wasn’t far. After a day’s travel, they neared the storm wall.

On the other side of this world’s end, instead of people struggling in the cold, stood a single imperial dynasty—one that had unified the stars and explored the unknown mysteries, reigning supreme over the world.

…

In a world as white as paper, an off-road vehicle sped toward the storm wall at the horizon.

That wall severed all physical contact—perhaps the world’s true barrier.

While Chaldea could cross the storm wall via imaginary number navigation, not even Kirei, an Apostle of the Foreign God, could move to the next Lostbelt without divine permission. He could only travel in ways similar to Chaldea.

Unlike Kirei, Koyanskaya possessed the ability to move between Lostbelts. That’s why Alaric lost track of her before acting.

Like Koyanskaya, after forming a contract with the Foreign God, Alaric received three iron rules—one of which allowed him to enter a Lostbelt under certain restrictions.

These restrictions meant he could only enter a Lostbelt via the blanked-out Earth, not directly between Lostbelts.

The off-road vehicle charged forward and disappeared into the storm wall.

As the pure white glow faded, Alaric and Da Vinci found themselves in a tranquil field.

Night had fallen, the moon high in the sky—like the cold eye of a god silently watching the earth from behind the clouds.

On this peaceful night, the scent of rice filled the air—a testament to days and nights of hard work.

Noticing the wheat fields, Alaric stopped the vehicle, lowered the engine’s power, and minimized the noise.

“I get it, I get it.”

Noticing Da Vinci’s look, Alaric glanced around like a thief. “Let’s sneak into the village and look for a pretty girl—”

“Oh? Are you really going to look?”

Da Vinci raised an eyebrow with a playful smile. “I can help~”

“Just kidding.”

Alaric waved his hand. “We’re stopping at the leyline, right?”

Using magical detection, Alaric parked the loaded vehicle near the leyline point.

He got out, grabbing his backpack from the back, while Da Vinci activated the vehicle’s optical camouflage and followed.

Walking through the wheat fields, Alaric surveyed the area. “No danger here—it’s peaceful. But it’s almost too quiet, Lady Da Vinci.”

“Yes, it’s very still.”

Da Vinci looked around. “The fields are huge, but there’s no farming machinery. That’s odd.

And look at that strange building—never seen anything like it. Maybe a communal dormitory?”

Da Vinci eyed the bizarre structure at the edge of the field with some reluctance. “I don’t even want to call that a building. They cleared a huge area, but the dwellings are horizontal caves? It’s like the Stone Age!”

At the end of the fields, the so-called horizontal cave dwellings were crude, primitive communal homes.

As an artistic genius, Da Vinci couldn’t consider these buildings.

“That’s odd—aren’t we in the Qin dynasty?”

Staring at the incongruent buildings, Alaric scratched his chin. “This isn’t even close to the right style, is it?”

No progress—is that why history was pruned?

Alaric wondered.

Lacking information, Alaric couldn’t judge.

It all came down to the fact that Koyanskaya had sold him two Lostbelt intel packets for an outrageous price—far too little for the money.

“Someone’s coming—looks like locals.”

Da Vinci watched several farmers with torches approaching. “Looks like they’ve found us—”

Before she finished, a voice with a slight accent called out, “Heard there were outsiders—must be you!”

The leader’s gaze was sharp, exuding authority, and he questioned Alaric and Da Vinci bluntly.

Behind him stood other farmers. From their mannerisms, Alaric guessed these farmers had spotted them and called their manager.

Despite slight differences, Alaric could understand.

Alaric snapped his fingers, casting a suggestion spell that twisted the minds of the farmers and their manager.

After absorbing part of the Third Beast, Alaric possessed a power of ultimate charm. Though his mind’s structure meant he couldn’t use it to full effect, its latent power remained. Even an ordinary suggestion spell was greatly amplified—enough to charm average people, and, who knows, even some mid-level Servants.

“We’re just passing merchants. Could you tell us where we are? What dynasty is this, or what year?”

At this point, Alaric began doubting Koyanskaya’s professionalism.

He trusted his own intel more.

“Uh—I only know I’m 22 this year.”

A young man answered, “We start working at five, and I’ve planted crops 17 times—so that’s right, isn’t it?”

“Let’s not get into how many harvests per year. What about calendars? Don’t you use them?”

Alaric looked at the group, but their identical worried faces gave nothing away.

“Sowing and harvest are always fixed. You can tell by the moon. Is that what you mean by calendar?”

A woman spoke up.

“No, not that.”

Da Vinci interjected. “Let’s try another question—who’s the greatest person in this world?”

“That’s obvious—it’s His Majesty, the Son of Heaven.”

The manager replied naturally.

“What is the emperor’s name?”

Alaric asked. “Any name at all?”

“Name? His Majesty is just His Majesty. Why name the sun or moon?”

The manager looked puzzled.

Alaric frowned. “Have you ever seen the Emperor?”

“The emperor lives in the capital. Of course we’ve never seen him!”

The manager said, “Normal people never see the emperor.”

“By the way, what’s your position?”

“I’m the head of the pavilion here, responsible for everyone’s safety.”

The man introduced himself.

“…”

Alaric and Da Vinci exchanged glances.

“The information is completely blocked—they don’t need to know anything except farming.”

Alaric gestured thoughtfully. “The emperor in the capital is as much a fact for them as the sun in the sky.”

Da Vinci, hand on chin, nodded in agreement. “It’s about necessity. In ancient times, travel was hard, so information was limited—but not to this extent.

They’re like specialized farmers—just farm, and everything else is taken care of.

Even their homes show that—this scale of communal living—”

Their entire meaning as humans was to farm.

In this world, can they even still be called human?

“And finally—”

Alaric looked up at the endless sky. Besides the bright moon, there was something faint—not made by him, but something else.

A gigantic structure in satellite orbit—a testament to the emperor’s glory, who had brought the whole planet under his rule.