Roland

**Roland** is a unit in *Last Cloudia*.

 Elements | Light
 Race | Human
 Birthday | December 12
 Height | 177 cm
 Demerits | All-or-nothing thinking

# Summary

As the leader of the Imperial Council, commonly known as the Council of Ten, Roland may even have more influence than his father — the current emperor.

As the council leader and crown prince, he guided the empire to greater prosperity and forged many reforms. But his most notable policy was undoubtedly to expel the beasts.

Before Roland ascended to the Council of Ten, the empire had been generally amicable to beasts. However, the people were fearful of beasts rampanging nearby them; the soldiers who protected the people were also generally dissatisfied. Some would argue that the older policy was not fit for the real world.

With the beasts threatening social order, Roland made a bold decision to radically change that policy. This won him the support of many.

"If the beasts are sowing the seeds of unease, it is my role as prince to uproot them."

Roland is currently one of the central statesmen in the empire, and as such he rarely leaves the capital. But his influence reaches throughout the world.

Roland commanded beast-slaying squads to put down any threatening beasts via squads lead by Lanceveil in the Imperial Army — the person with whom he'd learned swordsmanship. He is also aware of the smallest developments throughout the world, thanks to the Chiefs of Staffs' Department of Information Director, Eliza.

### First-class Swordsman

Although Roland is the crown prince of Aldana, he is also a first-rate swordsman. In his youngest days, he was thoroughly instructed by his female teacher, who strictly molded him into premier blader. Said to be an underachieving master, she at first considered refusing Roland as her student. When she saw Roland's visage, however, she could not help but take him under her tutelage.

"I was sure that teaching the crown prince would be an affair devoid of substance. I imagined it would be tedious. But seeing Roland's face convinced me how wrong I was. He was focused in every respect, so authentic that he was willing to lay his life on the line. I could tell. I would have expected nothing less from someone with the blood of the hero Adel."

That woman's training was merciless, and not a day went by when Roland wasn't cut or bruised. But he progressed shockingly fast as a swordsman. On the other hand, the instructor introduced her younger brother to Roland and had the two train together — additionally, she gave a neighbor girl the role of bringing the students lunch.

At the time, there was criticism that lines between public and private were blurred in the training. But no amount of public censure made the instructor keep the two other youngsters apart from Roland.

If anything, she wanted Roland to have friends because it was so difficult for others to approach him as the crown prince. The two other students, it turned out, were the knight Lanceveil and the mage Eliza. In later years, Roland said the following thing about his former instructor:

"She gave me three things: swordsmanship and two friends."

### Knightly Daze

Having grown into adulthood, Roland was expected to join a knightly order as part of an imperial custom. Typically, someone in his position would have joined the First Order of Knights, a group of imperial family members whose role was to protect the imperial capital — but he refused.

Thta knightly order was once said to be among the strongest of all in the empire, but members rarely fought in the present day; their position was basically a ceremonial one. Roland requested a position in which he would be able to accumulate more practical experience. His request was approved, and he took up a position in the Fourth Order of Knights, which acted against beasts and bandits on the Odalian Mainland. Soon after joining, his commander told the crown prince Roland that he somehow wasn't suited for the task and refused to let him head for any dangerous territories.

As if to express his disdain for the rules, Roland set out on patrol without the aid of anyone else. He focused particularly on territory where dangerous beasts ran rampant and slain them without restraint.

The best-known tale of Roland's time in the knightly order is surely that of his visit to Gorde Island. Roland's erstwhile wet-nurse lived there, and he stopped in to thank her for her service to his family long ago. He realized that she didn't seem happy, though, and asked what the issue was, encouraging her to speak without restraint.

### Firm Will

Roland's wet-nurse explained that wicked Vazards had begun nesting in the outskirts of the village in which she lived. While there hadn't been any major incidents yet, she and other villagers were racked with anxiety. Roland responded to her in this way:

"That is a trifling issue for someone like me. Worry no more."

Without a moment's pause, Roland headed to the den of the Vazards. Though approximately 30 of them lived there, Roland entered from the front of the den and prepared to fight honorably. The battle was one-sided because Roland's swardsmanship overwhelmed the Vazards — despite their numbers, they could not come anywhere near him. In under an hour, the last of the beasts had fallen, while Roland had yet to break a sweat. When Roland's wet-nurse saw him return, she breathed a sigh of relief and asked if he was scared. He answered with a laugh.

"I did what was correct. And when you do what's correct, not even the mightiest opponent can inspire fear. So no number of mere Vazards stood a chance against me. Heh, yes... I was much more frightened when you scolded me for hurting the hand of a handmaiden long ago."

Following this, he notified the commander of the Fourth Order of Knights what had happened, then he took a group of solders and eliminated all wicked beasts that lived on the Island of Gorde at once. He didn't harm the good ones, and as a result, all Gorde Island was free of beast-related incidents for a while.

After leaving his order, Roland was immediately nominated to lead the Imperial Council, commonly known as the Order of Ten. Some people said that he received the position due to his pedigree, but another important factor was surely his firm stance against the harmful beasts.

Supported by soldiers and civillians alike, Roland in his lofty position put Lanceveil in charge of military matters and Eliza in charge of intelligence.

How in days to come will Roland lead the empire — nay, the world?

## Traits

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