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Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu (Light Novel) - Volume 2, Chapter 2: The Girl, the Demon, and…
Volume 2, Chapter 2: The Girl, the Demon, and…
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
Though it was still mid-morning, the streets were filled with pedestrians. The latticed path was home to a steady stream of horse-drawn carriages dropping off luggage. The buildings that were lined up at the side of the road were of a different architectural style from that of Roland’s, making them look altogether new to him.
Nelpha’s imperial capital, Élarun, was brimming with liveliness.
Ryner looked around, taking in the exotic atmosphere. “Hau… I’m tired. Enough. I’m hungry, and I’m sleepy… and we just keep walking and walking. I’ve thought all this unexpected travel was a pain the second I heard ‘unexpected!’ That’s the kind of person I am, y’know? Maaan, I sure have been working hard. It’s amazing. Any more than I’ve already done’s impossible! Let’s go an inn, come on. Aaalright, after all this, I’m sleepin’ ten days straight!” Ryner said. He spoke with absolutely no sensitivity.
Ferris showed no excitement for being surrounded by a foreign country’s townscape. She spoke with her usual expressionlessness. “Hm… so you want to go to an inn in mid-morning. I see. You intend to invite a woman, and then for ten days straight… it’s as the king said. You’re a sex maniac.”
“…The hell?”
Ferris shook her head, willing Ryner to stop talking. “When men invite women to inns, without fail, they tell them ‘I definitely won’t do anything. I’m really just tired, I’ll just sleep.’ But then once they’re checked in, he turns into a wild beast, his mind becoming wilderness. I read it in a book.”
“Wow, what an eerily realistic story… not! You have the wrong idea. I’m not gonna do that stuff, you know?”
Ferris was quiet for a moment, studying Ryner. “Mm. Yes, it seems so. From attractive older women to kidnapping and raping little girls, you’re a master degenerate that specializes in the extremes. There’s no way you’d do something so roundabout.”
“…M…master degenerate…? Did you get that from Sion too?”
“No. It’s the result of my evaluation on your bad behaviour while travelling together.”
“Hah!? I don’t do any of that stuff!” Ryner yelled.
But Ferris ignored him and set out on a brisk walk. “Mm. Now then, playtime is over. Let’s go. The inn can wait, we’re searching for the library now.”
Her words filled him with exhaustion. “Ah, just now, you were playing with me?”
“Heheh.”
Ryner watched her retreating back, absolutely fed up with her. “I was being played with…”
He shuffled sluggishly on after her…
---
Eventually, they found the library in the center of the city. It was built on an imposing scale, and was filled with an innumerable amount of security guards and important primary sources.
When he saw it, Ryner’s eyes shone. “Oh, isn’t this amazing? Looks like there’ll be all sorts of sources here to read.”
Ferris nodded. “Mm. Now hurry up and go in and hurry up and research.”
Ryner sighed at her horribly unsociable words. “Hey, you… I’m gonna have to do my best and look through huge amounts of books one by one, yeah? It’s a huge problem, you know. So can’t you say something a little more motivating? I mean, you are really beautiful, after all. Throw me a ‘do your best!’ or an ‘I’m expecting great things ♡” or something. Normally people just coerce me and I hate that, so…”
“Hm,” Ferris said and nodded to herself.
Sheen! She unsheathed her sword with a high-pitched sound. In an instant, it slashed towards Ryner’s neck.
“Au… eh… umm, ah, I feel like I became really motivated just now,” Ryner said shrilly. “Uu… s, so… don’t you think it’s a good time to put your sword back away?”
Ferris nodded, satisfied, and sheathed her sword. “Next time, your head flies. Does that motivate you?”
“…Someday you’re seriously gonna kill me…”
They’d gotten remarkably friendly lately, as you can see. They moved to enter the library, but in that instant—
“Hey! Wait a sec!”
“Huh?”
Ryner turned. For some reason, a bunch of security guards plus an old man with a stark white beard, called out to him.
The old man looked him over carefully, then Ferris. “W-who are you guys?” This isn’t somewhere your race a’ barbarians is welcome!”
Ryner tilted his head. “Hah? Barbarians? What’re you talking about…?”
For some reason, Ferris nodded like it was appropriate. “Hm. I see. It must be that. He has figured out that night after night, you walk the night roads for women to rape…”
“You shut up! “ Ryner sighed. “Geez, what’s up with these guys? Whatever… anyway, old man. What you you mean, we can’t go in the library because we’re barbarians?”
The old man looked at Ryner like he was an idiot. ”Hn. The fact that you don’t even understand that is proof that you are a barbarian. The library that we protect is a spring of sacred knowledge. Letting in the likes of you, with that pretentious heavy armor, would be absurd!”
Ryner looked at himself and Ferris. Ryner was wearing white armor with a robe. The robe was fine, but… yeah. Ferris had leather armor complete with a longsword at her waist. It was pretty conspicuous.
“Ah… yeah, we’re not really dressed for the library,” Ryner admitted.
Ferris nodded. “It’d certainly be dangerous to let an armed sex maniac in.”
“Hey, I think you’re the bigger problem here.”
Ferris turned to him like she didn’t understand it. “A beauty can wear whatever she wants without a problem.”
What a thing to say about herself…
Ryner was at a loss for words. The guards and the old man, too…
They all stared at Ferris. Her face turned faintly red and she looked down. “I meant it as… a joke…”
The old man gripped his hand in a fist. “You pass! You pass!! The beauty gets full marks for charm. It’s my loss. It’s as you say, someone as beautiful as you can make anything stylish. More importantly, won’t you become my grandson’s bride… no, become my bride!?”
A security guard pushed the old man from behind. “Hey, don’t go getting a headstart without me! Won’t you become my lover?”
“Wait!! Why don’t you go on a date with me instead of him!?”
While they were all clamoring over her, Ferris walked right into the library.
“The hell?” Ryner muttered. He made to follow with half-lidded eyes, but the old man sudden sprung at him with a kick.
“I said barbarians aren’t to enter the library!”
“Hah!? How come Ferris can go and I can’t!?”
“Idiot. This is why I hate talking to barbarians. Aren’t you familiar with the phrase ‘a beauty can do whatever she wants!?’”
“There’s no such saying! Er, oh, I know! You’re only saying that ‘cause you don’t know how ferocious she really is. You’d regret this if you knew!”
Ferris turned her expressionless face back and spoke matter-of-factly. “Mm. He’s just resentful towards women because he was dumped a long time ago.”
“Hey, you and me never even dated!!”
Setting aside their arguments at the base of the library…
“What’s wrong with you, brat!? I’ll fucking kill you!”
“Kyyaaaaahhh!!”
Shouts and screams echoed towards them.
“What?”
“Mm.”
Ryner and Ferris set aside their mutual insulting and turned towards the scene. A few ruffians stood in the center of the street, a boy of five or six who’d gone pale white lying on the ground between them. When she saw the boy, a young girl rushed over. For some reason, she was holding a large book to her chest. It seemed like the girl was the one who’d screamed a moment ago.
Then a young man stood between the kids and the ruffians to protect them. “What’re you guys doing!?”
He had a dignified voice and dark brown hair. He studied the men with a strong glint in his eyes. He looked kind, and somehow high-class. Truthfully, he didn’t look like he could take all of those men on his own, but his voice was firm anyway.
“Ibel is still just a kid, but you kicked him anyway.”
The men glared at the young man. “Ahh? And who’re you? Are you this kid’s brother or somethin’? This kid just happened to end up under my foot.”
The young man shook his head in astonishment. “Well, I think it’s pretty obvious you were beating Ibel up.”
“What’re you sayin’!? Because of that filthy brat, my clothes got all dirty. I need compensation, I tell ya! Compensation!”
“…I see. So that’s how this started. But then you succumbed to evil in front of these kids. You’re being a bad role model.”
“Ahh? Sounds like you want a black eye, asshole!”
The boy had regained consciousness. He and the girl watched, worried.
“T-Toale!? Are you okay?”
“Can you win?”
The young man they’d called Toale’s calm expression was traded for something sharper. He smiled. “No way! But I definitely won’t let him get to you. You guys just need to get away while I’m fighting, okay?”
“Huh!?” The kids shouted in unison.
The scuffle began, five men versus one.
One punched, then another punched back. A third threw a kick.
“C’mon, hurry up and run! Ibel, Tellua!”
“B-buut…”
Ryner watched the scene with a vacant expression. “Hey, what do you think of that?”
“Hm. They must be your accomplices. And that Toale guy is a hardcore masochist.”
“…That’s not what I meant. I guess you don’t intend to save him or anything?”
Ferris made absolutely no effort to move, and spoke with a completely unconcerned voice. “Mm? Has that girl caught your eye this time? I won’t forgive bad people like you as long as I’m here.”
“…Ah, I just sorta realized why I gotta travel with you,” Ryner said, amazed. “But no matter how I look at it, those guys’re way worse than me, right? Anyway, it looks like they’ve got hold of a pretty good guy. C’mon, hurry up and save him.”
“Mm. You go hurry up and save him.”
“It’s a pain, so I don’t wanna.”
“Me neither.”
“……”
Ryner and Ferris glared at each other.
“Hey, just how cold are you!”
“I don’t want to hear that from a demon serial rapist.”
Their arguing started back up again, neither making the slightest move to go save the young man. No matter what anyone said, in the end, those two were far from good people themselves…
While Ryner and Ferris bickered, one of the men had begun choking Toale. “I’ll make you pay for that attitude ‘a yours. You’ll die at this rate, yeah?”
“Guh… uu, shit…”
The kids still hadn’t run away. Instead, the boy ran to grab at the man who was choking Toale.
“Y-you’re bullying our brother… ukyah!?”
He was easily pushed off.
The girl raised the book she’d been holding up above her head. “B-brother, I’m gonna save you, okay!” She heroically took off in a sprint towards him.
“Uu… don’t come any closer! Hurry, get out of here!”
It was a tear jerking single-act play.
A man turned towards the girl… and raised his fist.
A sudden surprised sound escaped Ryner’s mouth. “Ah.” Then his expression turned earnest. “Seriously!? This is bad!”
He ran towards her, faster and more fluid than one’d think his exhausted, motivationless body was capable of moving. He forced his way between the man and the girl. “Gotcha.” He hugged her, and before the man’s fist had the chance to connect, Ryner threw a kick at the man’s head. He fell to the ground, out cold.
Ryner confirmed that fact, then set the girl down and sighed. “That was dangerous.”
The girl stared, shocked. “Th-than,” she tried to stutter out nervously.
Ryner took the book she was holding. “I’m researching this stuff. It’s an old book, so I was worried it’d get ruined… what a close call.”
The girl blinked in surprise.
“W, who the hell’re you!?” One of the other men yelled.
Ryner’s face scrunched up. This was bad. “Shit, my body moved on its own… I just wanted to save this book, see…? You aren’t gonna beat me up because I got in the way, are you!? Uu, what a pain…”
He’d returned to his usual exhausted self…
And sure enough—
“You ran out here all of a sudden and kicked him, the fuck’re you doing? You coward!”
“You want us to beat you, is that it!?”
Well, it’d seemed like a good idea at the time.
“Actually,” Ryner said. “I didn’t really kick him? He just ended up getting hit by my foot by chance. You were saying the same kind of thing earlier, right? It’s just like that. So let’s just let it go…”
“Like hell we could do that!!” The men yelled and came running at him to attack.
Even now, Ryner’s behavior was decidedly lazy. “Ah, I’m tired from travelling, and like, I don’t wanna have to move much,” he mumbled and turned his back on the enemy. “Now, little lady. Think you could let me have that book of yours?”
“Huh? Ah… um, okay… ah! Look out!” She screamed.
In the same moment, Ryner’s body shifted just to the side. A man threw a punch in the empty space he’d just been in. He threw a kick in return. In contrast to his listless expression, his kick was unbelievably fast. The man hit the floor with great force, then stopped moving.
Three left.
“Wh-what was that!?”
“You underestimatin’ us!?”
“Die!!”
They came rushing towards Ryner, punches at the ready.
Ryner’s aimless, sleepy eyes met theirs…
Ryner kicked a man who came at him with a punch. Well, it was more like a light press with his foot, but it was enough to get him to fall onto another man’s fist. He fainted in agony.
The other man turned the arm he’d attacked his friend with around. “Ow ow ow… stop!”
Something caused his body to flip over.
In their surprise, they’d forgotten to keep an eye out for Ryner’s sluggish movements as he approached…
“Ah, ah, ah…”
The men drew back in fear.
“Yeah, it’s over…”
A flattened hand slammed into their necks, and they collapsed just like that.
Five men lay on the ground.
Toale, the girl, and the boy all watched with dumbfounded expressions…
To Ryner, a fight like this was no sweat, but… he’d been raised as a pointless killing machine…
And to top it off, there was a woman who’d make his own abilities look like child’s play close by. “Geez, why’d I have to be the one to do this? If Ferris did it, it only would’ve taken a second. In the first place, I main magic. But there’s no way I can use Roland’s magic in Nelpha where anyone could see, so really, Ferris shoulda done it. Yeah. That logic’s not wrong. I’m not wrong. Her bad personality’s gonna be the death of me,” Ryner grumbled to himself as he walked towards the girl holding the book.
But in that moment, a sharp attack approached Ryner’s eye at an unbelievable speed.
“Nnah!?”
Ryner moved to dodge in an instant. But considering that attack’s speed, there was no way he’d make it in time.
He’d been able to dodge the attacks from the men from earlier like they were nothing, but this one was different. Just how terrifying of an enemy was this?
It drove into his face and Ryner tragically collapsed onto the ground. His frightening opponent stepped on him. “Mm. Now all the bad people have been defeated. That was dangerous, girl… this man is a serial kidnapper of little girls. If I hadn’t been here…”
Rather than terrifying, her words were just plain idiotic… Ferris turned to look at Ryner.
“Youuuu!! Just what’re you sa—gwah!”
His words were cut off by Ferris stomping on his back. She moved her foot back and forth on him as if she was putting out a fire. “Whose bad personality’s gonna be the death of you?”
“Gyaaahhh!! Y-you heard that!? Ow, ow, I’m sorry!”
Toale and the kids watched them, trying to figure out what kind of relationship they had exactly with astonished expressions.
“Uh, um,” Toale started timidly. “Thank you so much for saving us.”
Ryner, laying on the ground, and Ferris, who still wasn’t stepping off of him, emotionless as she was, turned their faces to Toale.
“Ahh~,” Ryner said. “If you’re that thankful, you can get this demon o—ugyah!”
“Maybe it’s best if I deal with this kidnapping demon now before he decides to take another victim,” Ferris said.
Just what were those two doing…?
They continued for some time until they were satisfied. Then Ryner was freed. He stood.
The kids were embracing Toale and crying, rejoicing that they were all okay. He watched with tired eyes. “Ah, so what should we do now? There’s no point being here if I can’t enter the library. The armor’s no good, so I gotta go change clothes.”
Ferris nodded. “Mm. That aside, you had business with that girl’s book, yes?”
“Huh?” Ryner said. For a second he looked like he didn’t know what she was talking about before he remembered. “Ah, yeah! Right! I, I did. That’s why I went out of my way to help even though it was such a pain. Yeah. Right,” Ryner said, inconsistent and flustered.
Ferris stared at him emotionlessly for some time before nodding. “I see. You really do have a wicked liking for the girl—”
“Why do you keep saying that!? And also, you were gonna move to help too.”
“Mm. Because I’m a beauty whose pure heart holds more love than an angel’s.”
Ryner pictured a heaven overflowing with angels like Ferris, who although very beautiful, had terrible personalities…
“…Just now, I thought it might be nice to go to hell…”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t worry about it…”
Toale approached them as they continued their fruitless conversation. “Really, thank you so much for saving my little siblings. I would really like to repay you for it, if at all possible.”
“Ah, don’t worry about it,” Ryner said, his expression unconcerned. “Stuff like that’s just be a pain… let’s go, Ferris.”
“Right.”
They began to walk away.
Toale went quiet for a moment, astonished, but quickly caught up. “Er, um… sorry, but look. I’d be setting a bad example for my little siblings if I let you go without repaying you for saving their lives, so please… Even if it’s only something small…”
Ryner and Ferris didn’t even look at him.
“Ah, I’m seriously tired today,” Ryner said. “Hey, Ferris. I won’t talk any more shit on you, so let’s look for an inn for the day.”
“You bastard, you still want to—”
“That’s not what I’m after!” Ryner said. He picked up his pace.
Toale looked like he’d finally given up. His dejected voice sounded behind Ryner. “I suppose it can’t be helped. Ibel, Tellua, go return that book to Gynell in the library. Big Brother needs to go get groceries for dinner.”
“Okaaay,” his siblings said in unison.
Ryner and Ferris looked at each other, then turned back to Toale.
“I only just thought of it, but actually, there is something you can do to repay me,” Ryner said.
“Mm. We shouldn’t refuse the kindness of another,” Ferris added.
Toale was perplexed at their sudden change in attitude for a moment, but he soon smiled. “I’m glad. We should be kind to those who were kind to us in turn. It’s human nature to want to repay people. For now, I’ll show you to our home—”
“No, more than that, could you help us get into the library?” Ryner asked, turning Toale down easily. “For some reason, the old man there hated me and wouldn’t let me in.”
Ryner looked back to the library’s entrance. The men he’d beaten up lay in the shadow of its pillars. When the old man and security guards looked at them, then noticed Ryner looking back, the old man spoke.
“No! Even if a suspicious rampaging fellow like you were to blacken my eye, I still wouldn’t let you in!” So he said - and vigorously, at that - but the old man didn’t budge from the shadow of the pillars…
Ryner shrugged, then turned his tired face back to Toale. “See? It sounds like you guys’re pretty familiar with the library, so d’you think you could persuade him for me? I have something I really need to research there.”
Toale nodded, then spoke with a firm tone. “Hey, Mr. Gynell. These two saved me but you’re still not letting them enter?”
The old man unhooked his folded arms, flustered. “W-well, I certainly did see them helping you, Lord Toale… but I must carry out my post’s duty. There are important documents in this library, and…”
“And that position of yours says not to let him in even though he protected me? May I remind you who was standing in the shadows over there this whole time?”
“W-well…”
“I’ll say it one more time,” Toale said. “These people saved me. So I want to repay them for their kindness. I’d obviously want to repay my benefactors, right? So you’ll let them pass, won’t you?”
“Uh… I, I understand. There’s no helping it… if Lord Toale wishes it.”
Ryner and Ferris exchanged another glance.
---
They made it inside the library.
As expected from its strict guard (though the guards were awfully spineless), the institution itself was amazing. The books were from everywhere as well as all the ages of history, nearly overflowing from their tightly packed shelves. In addition to what was open to the public, there were also special shelves for outstanding students and nobles - the upper echelons of society - to use as they pleased.
So that left one possibility for why Ryner was allowed entry: Toale, who persuaded that old man called Gynell to let him in, was either an outstanding student or otherwise a member of the upper echelon of society…
“Uwah, this place is amazing. Toale, Ibel, Tellua, get that and that, and this and the book way over there. I’ll use that, too, ah, and Ferris, you go get that… ah, no, that was a lie. I lied. You don’t have to do anything, I’m sorry. You really took your sword into the library, huh… geez… umm, Old Man, pen and paper, please. Guess I’ll work the morning away…”
Ryner’s eyes shone as he looked around the library. He had everyone set his materials out as he himself sat.
Toale and the others nodded at his orders, and flitted around the shelves just as he asked…
Gynell’s face turned bright red at the scene. He turned on Ryner. “Y-you bastard! Myself aside, how long do you intend to treat Lord Toale like this!? You may have saved him, but remember who he is!”
Ryner’s expression showed no interest in Gynell’s astonishing words. “So? Is he someone important? A noble from somewhere or other?’
Gynell suddenly puffed up his chest. “Heheh. Won’t you be shocked when you hear. As a matter of fact, Lord Toale is the grandson of Imperial Nelpha’s king, Gread Nelphi!” He said proudly.
“Wooow, amazing. Ah, Toale, not that one. The big book beside it.”
“Oh, sorry. This one?”
“Yep, bring it here.”
“Got it.”
“Gooootttt iiiiiittt!!!??”
The old man’s loud voice vibrated through the entire library. As expected, Ryner, Toale, and everyone else turned to look at him…
“Whoa, whoa. Your face’s all red,” Ryner said. “Don’t tell me your lifespan’s—”
“—Over? Of course not, you bastard! Were you even listening to me? This man is Imperial Nelpha’s emperor’s grandchild!!”
Ryner was at his wit’s end. He blinked his sleepy eyes. “I was really listening. I said it was amazing. I was all shocked and everything. Do you have a problem with—”
“Obviously! You heard me, so what are you thinking using Lord Toale like this!?”
“What am I thinking…? Well, it’d be a pain to get the books myself…”
“A… pain…? I’ll kill you! I’ll never forgive you! You’ll die by my hand!” The old man yelled and lifted his fist…
“Mr. Gynell, stop,” Toale said, his expression troubled. He was hugging a huge number of books to his chest with one hand.
The old man made to take the books from him, flustered. “L-Lord Toale, what are you doing? This is work for a horse’s back… Imperial Nelpha’s name itself sheds tears at this!”
Toale shook his head and scowled. “I think Nelpha’s name would cry harder if I didn’t pay back my benefactor. Besides… my dad has women here and there he’s thrown out, and I’m the child of one such affair, thrown out along with my mother. Why should I suddenly start acting all important like him?”
Ryner raised his face like the conversation finally caught his interest. He looked to where Ferris and Toale’s sister Tellua were reading a book together earnestly. “I see,” he mumbled to himself. “So that’s why Sion’s character never twisted into a noble’s. It certainly wouldn’t suit him…”
His words trailed away.
For some reason Ferris, who maintained an emotionless expression no matter how critical the situation was, had turned beet red…
The girl who was enthusiastically reading with her spoke. “See? It’s amazing, right! I always read this when my brother goes shopping. But it’s been my secret until now. Um… top secret, you know? It’s that.”
Ferris nodded. “I understand. But… this is included in Nelpha’s education for children, is it… in Roland, this would be treated as a terrible menace,” she said. She turned the page. “Ah!? This is… unbelievable…”
Ryner looked at the book Ferris, who was always so expressionless, was holding. It was titled The Voluptuous Lady’s—
“No!” Ryner shouted. “What the hell are you guys reading!?”
He took the book from them as fast as he could.
Ferris looked at him with her usual expressionlessness. “Mm. This girl was enlightening me on Nelpha’s most important confidential materials—”
“Hey, you… doesn’t it go without saying that you shouldn’t read this kind of stuff with this kid? It’s bad for her.”
“Certainly. We’ve only read the beginning, but it’s already clear to me that if she reads this, she’ll grow up to be an adult like y—”
“I don’t read this stuff… and like, if you’re here, you should research…”
Suddenly, the old man’s voice interrupted. “Ah, it’ll soon be closing time. Now, everyone, time to head home.”
“Huh? But I only just gathered all my documents. I was gonna start researching now…”
The old man smiled meanly, satisfied with himself. “You can’t. The favor you asked of Lord Toale was just to let you into the library, correct? So his debt has already been repayed now hasn’t it. So he doesn’t have to do anything else for you. Now shoo, shoo.”
“No… I won’t. Barely any time’s passed since we got here. I haven’t researched a thing yet.”
The old man’s face became more and more full of itself. “Heheeeh. I had no way of knowing that. It’s your fault for starting your research so late.”
Ferris nodded in her typical way. “The old man’s right, Ryner. You were reading titles like The Voluptuous Lady’s Travel Diary 4 instead of working.”
“That was you, not me! Ugh… for some reason, I’m really tired suddenly,” Ryner said. He let out a big sigh.
Toale smiled cheerfully. “The sun’s already gone down, so how about we check these books out and continue researching at my house?”
“Augh!? Lord Toale, even as a joke, Imperial Nelpha’s—”
Toale shook his head. “Uncle Gynell, don’t make me keep saying it. They’re my benefactors. I can’t not repay them. Besides, I’m… no, we’re not that important of people in this country. Certainly, I’m that man’s… no, the heir to Nelpha’s child, but… that’s all it is. My mother is low-born, and we were all discreetly shoved out and into another residence with other children that man made while messing around. So I have all sorts of little siblings. But those children have no mothers to feed them her milk, you know? Even though there are infants who have been separated from their mothers… the only one they have to call a guardian is me.”
Toale pulled Ibel and Tellua close and pet their heads.
“Do you really think people living in those circumstances are going to stand at the forefront of this country’s politics?” Toale asked.
“W-well... but, I… no, all the people of this country yearn for the chance to raise those children ourselves, and it’s a blessing that you, Lord Toale, will speak so familiarly to us all. You could even surpass Prince Starnelle… your studies tower above his own, and you’re far more excellent and well-known…”
Toale smiled bitterly. “That’s just your own vision, Uncle Gynell.”
“No, I have truly seen how happy you make this country. Did a minister not see you back then and fix important problems by using you as a window to the populace? And since then, this city… no, this country has grown to be one of wealth. That is something the entire population is aware of. You have the support of a great number of ministers and nobles… So if possible, my wish is that you should come to lead this—”
Toale stuck his tongue out. “No waaay. My current lifestyle is pretty carefree. I like it. I can raise my siblings without making them see the filth of this world, too… besides, if anyone heard you say that, they’d arrest you, Uncle Gynell. Academics is really the only point I’ve surpassed the official princes in. Even the ministers… only came to talk to me because they couldn’t get a hold of the princes for discussions… do you understand? I’m not deserving of all that praise. And having someone like me as king? That’s impossible. I don’t have it in me. Now then, Ryner.”
Toale turned to him, smiling relaxedly.
“Which books are important?” Toale asked. “We’ll check them all out and bring them to my place. I don’t know if it’ll taste good or not, but I’ll treat you to my home cooking anyway.”
“Big brother Toale’s food is tasty!” The boy added. “It’s his specialty! Right, Tellua?”
“Yup!”
Ryner watched them, then nodded. “I can understand why they want to elevate Toale’s position. I think his circumstances are pretty similar to Sion’s… but there’s a big difference between Toale’s good personality and that guy’s bad one. He doesn’t call people old diggers or sex maniacs, for one…”
Ferris nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that damned king threatened to destroy a dango shop, too… I can’t help but think of that as something only a demon would do.”
They kept talking about them like Toale wasn’t there. He stood before them, arms full of books. “Let’s head out now. My home is full of kids, so it may get a bit loud, but I’d definitely like to introduce them to my benefactors.”
“Let’s hurry and go!” Ibel said.
“I’ve got lots of other amazing books at home!” Tellua told Ferris. She took her hand and led her out.
The old man watched them, a little sad. “Shit… how pitiful… those kids are of low status, and to top it off, were even thrown away by their parents… Isn’t there anything I can do for them…?”
Ryner’s eyes narrowed at his words. “They’re pitiful because their status is low? Because their parents threw them away? That’s not it. They’re happy. To be even a little like those kids—”
“Give it a rest!” Gynell cut him off. “What do you understand?”
The old man’s severe eyes met Ryner’s gaze. Ryner’s eyes were as tired as always, but for some reason, he seemed sad. “I could say the same of you. You don’t understand anything.”
With that, he left the library.
---
The scene changes once again to the Roland Empire.
A wooden sword was approaching in a sharp arc. The girl made to stop the wooden sword, but…
“Augh!?”
…But she couldn’t do it. They weren’t going easy on her at all - the sword slammed into her head and flew back away. Her blood danced in the air.
She fell and rolled on the ground, but she didn’t falter. She quickly readied herself again, tensing her body.
She was a petite girl. Her flaxen hair was pulled in a ponytail, and she was on the verge of tears. But no tears fell from her big red eyes.
She was probably around fifteen or sixteen. Blood was leaking from her straight lips after that attack… but even so, her wavering head was full of pep. She studied the men before her.
There were five brawny swordsmen, each with his own wooden sword.
It didn’t look like she could win. If one just felt their aura, they’d understand that. Five men were five men, and they were all pretty skilled… the girl grimaced and turned to the man in his forties or so who was staring at her intensely.
“Do it,” he said.
In an instant, three swordsman raced at her with their wooden swords.
She understood that it was impossible for her to take the three of them at once. She threw her wooden sword and took her hand to the air before her to draw a magic circle of light.
She used the Roland Empire’s particular style of magic. She deployed her spell with unbelievable speed.
“I wish for thunder… eh!?”
Before she finished her spell, a swordsman threw his sword. It hit her chest dead on, and the sharp pain caused her to stop her spell…
The other men approached, swords fixed on her neck while she recovered…
Were they going to kill her!?
She closed her eyes tightly. But… no attack came.
When she opened her eyes, the wooden swords were stopped just before her neck…
They were looking behind her to confirm their victory with the older man, who’d been watching them closely. They spoke to the older man politely.
“Umm… the match has been decided… what’s the matter, Lord Callaud?”
The man, whose hair was streaked with grey, stared at the girl with cold eyes. “Why did you stop? Continue. Hit Milk just as you were about to.”
“Huh!?” A swordsman said, his volume rising in surprise. “B, but… if we were to do that, there’s a possibility that our lady would lose her life…”
“If she dies, then that’s all she amounted to,” he said. “I’d just buy a new kid. If she isn’t capable of breaking this level of a deadlock, then she isn’t needed as a daughter of the Callaud family.”
Even if he said that, the swordsmen stood with their swords lowered, bewildered.
“Do it!” Callaud shouted, turning to the girl called Milk.
“Sorry!” A swordsman swung his wooden sword at her.
“Kgh…”
Milk collapsed on the ground.
The other swordsmen lowered their swords on her, too.
“Uuh… augh!? Ah…”
Milk’s consciousness got further away as sharp pain ran through every corner of her body.
If they kept hitting her, she’d probably die.
Even so, she could feel it. It was hard. She wanted to cry. It was hopeless.
A man watched her as she was beat. Her father. Her father, who’d bought her with money.
Right. Milk was his puppet. She was bought just like one.
It wasn’t like it’d ever been loudly declared or anything, but this abominable system was natural under the previous king’s reign. Instead of using their own children, the nobility used puppets to gather military achievements under their name…
That was why Milk was being kept as a puppet under the prestigious Callaud name…
Nobody needed an incompetent puppet.
Anyone would get rid of an incompetent puppet…
That was the life she lived.
Day after day, she went through abnormal military training…
Her tears began to overflow.
If this was how every day would continue for her, then…
Maybe it was better if she did die now…
She’d lost count of how many times she’d thought that as she was hit and hit by wooden swords…
The pain weakened as her consciousness finally left her…
But—
Words suddenly rose in her mind.
The words of a boy with black hair. He lacked ambition and drive, and his eyes were always sleepy and unmotivated, but his face was truly kind.
“You cry too much. And don’t say you’ll die - you’re tough. I don’t plan on dying either, so…”
So…
Milk opened her eyes. Her tears stopped falling.
Her arms were already powerless from pain. But she moved them. “So… don’t die… don’t die… don’t die…”
She whispered the words that boy had told her over and over again.
She hid her arms with her back, and began to draw a magic circle where the men couldn’t see. “I wish for rain clouds - Leveling Rain!”
Fluid gathered below her, then exploded, covering the ground with rapids.
“Uwah!?”
“What!?”
They spoke over each other, falling over against the force. The water carried the swordsmen away.
Milk confirmed that they’d been swept away, then drew a second magic circle from her position in a waterless spot. “I wish for thunder…”
She held a hand up high. Her voice was hoarse from pain. “Don’t move, everyone. If you move, I’ll use this spell on you. If I do, you’ll all be electrocuted. It’s my win.”
She looked at Callaud as she spoke. So did the swordsmen.
He nodded. “Alright, it’s over. Food’s in an hour. Your next training session’s in two. Don’t be late, Milk.”
She understood that…
When she got good results, she was quickly pushed into another session.
And another and another and another.
It was to raise her value as a tool.
Callaud walked out. Milk watched him go.
“…Yes, sir,” she replied quietly.
---
Some time later.
(Do your best, Milk! It’s okay. You can do it, yeah! Don’t make a sound. Use proper manners, and be on your best behavior. It’s okay. If you just ignore the pain… ah… it does hurt, but… keep doing your best!)
She recited those words to herself within her heart as she drank her soup like she was on the verge of starvation. Her whole body hurt from being hit, and if she dropped her soup, she’d probably be done for…
“Mm… ah.”
Sharp pain raced through her at the slightest movement.
(If I don’t eat here and now… my body won’t be able to survive! Drink up, Milk! C’mon!)
She was currently enduring a painful battle at the candlelit dinner table. The whole Callaud family was assembled.
They were Milk’s adoptive father, mother, and sisters who were close to her in age.
In contrast to Milk, they were having a pleasant and fun chat. Dinner was a time they could enjoy.
The sister who was just older than her spoke happily. “Mother, Lady Anna invited me to travel with her over our next school break. May I go?”
“Well, does Lord Anna have Marquess Ishurna’s permission? And where has she invited you to?”
“To stay by the Cornell coast so that we may enjoy swimming in the ocean.”
This time the daughter the same age as Milk spoke. “Whaat! No fair, sis! I wanna go too!”
“There’s nothing I can do about that. Anna is my friend. So, Mother? May I?”
Their mother tilted her head, troubled. She turned to the head of the family. “What should we do, Father? Nellua is saying she wants to go now, too. What do you say the whole family takes a vacation?”
“Hm. Sounds nice,” Callaud said with a small nod.
His daughters cheered. But Callaud quickly turned to Milk.
“You understand, don’t you?”
“Huh?”
Milk hadn’t really been listening. The hand holding her spoon stopped and she raised her head to look around her. “Ah, yes. I understand. I have military training, so…”
Milk’s sisters looked at her, at her wounds, and hung their heads.
Milk noticed and smiled, flustered. “Ah, Lady Amy, Lady Nellua. I’m happy for you. Please enjoy your travels.”
“Y-yeah.”
The two sisters’ expressions sunk even lower.
Milk’s adoptive mother looked at her like she was something dirty. Callaud continued to eat silently.
It was a completely average meal for them…
Milk didn’t pay too much attention to the girls. She just went back to eating with a smile…
“…Ah,” she whimpered. The pain she’d been enduring until now flashed through her even stronger than before. Her spoon fell from between her fingers…
It made a harsh, high-pitched sound as it hit the plate. That sound echoed through the dining room.
“…Uu.”
Milk raised her hand, a pained expression on her face. “I’m s-sorry,” she finally managed to say.
But Callaud was already standing, moving towards her with his fist raised.
Milk watched him. She was at ease. After enduring that tough military training day after day, her endurance and reflexes had far surpassed that of a normal person’s…
But she didn’t dodge. Dodging was meaningless. He’d just hit her again. He’d come closer and closer, until there was nowhere she could run.
She watched his approaching fist with eyes that’d given up…
It slammed into her, pushing her petite body right out of her chair.
“Kyaaah!” Her sisters screamed after the fact.
Milk lay on the ground like a marionette whose strings had been cut…
She coughed. “Augh…”
Her cheek was cut open a second time today, and blood dripped from her mouth…
Callaud looked down on her from behind, his eyes horribly harsh on his unfeeling face. “It appears that you don’t yet understand the weight of the Callaud name. You’ll soon be entering the military under the Callaud name. By then, you must be more skillful than anyone so as to not bring shame to our elegant name. That is why I bought you. It is your only value…”
Milk rose slowly. “I-I understand. I apologize.”
He nodded.
Right.
That was the only reason why it was okay for her to be here. He always told her that. Since he bought her when she was five years old, she was always, always told that that was the only reason she was born. Every coming day was dyed by the blood spilt in her military training, training that so often walked the line between life and death. Her life was inherently not enough. If she died, then that was that. If she couldn’t survive, then she wouldn’t earn the right to carry the Callaud name into the military…
That was her life.
Nobody loved her, nobody would gaze at her…
Then one day, she suddenly realized something.
The promise she’d made long ago. Her dreams from long ago. She wouldn’t be able to make good on any of it.
She despaired. She didn’t have anything left. Her life had no meaning. There was no light at the end of the tunnel for her.
Even so, she couldn’t just give up and die. She couldn’t lose here and now.
Because she’d promised that boy that she’d do her best.
So…
She smiled with all her might.
So as to not bring shame to the Callaud name.
So as to keep that boy from from laughing at her.
She smiled elegantly… with her blood-stained face.
---
Young people’s voices.
The thunderous roar of spells firing again and again.
They were the Roland Empire’s Advanced Military Academy’s training grounds.
It was a military academy for the children of the nobility - a truly elite military academy.
Sion had come to visit. He had a sweeping view of the young students from the glass window of the observation deck. He gazed at the students’ training for some time before his eyes fell to the thick documents in his hands.
It was an orderly survey on prospective personnel that Fiole had compiled. It contained detailed profiles about their abilities and personalities, if they were nobles, if they might serve Sion…
Such as…
Those who were not the children of nobles, but had instead been bought by them. Whether they had grudges against the nobility or not. Depending on the person, it even detailed the sort of upbringing they’d had in their noble families. Sion gazed at the files.
“Ahh, geez… That Fiole didn’t have to go leaving me alone with such a thick document to go through myself,” Sion said sadly.
Sion often came to this academy to gather people according to this report to stabilize his position. That should’ve been Fiole’s duty, but…
Fiole wasn’t with him anymore…
Claugh, his guard, spoke from behind him. “So what kind of guy caught your eye today?”
Sion raised his head from the documents and smiled meanly. “A girl, just for you.”
Claugh, who’d been obviously bored, was suddenly wide awake. “Oh, seriously? Man… I had this feeling when I woke up today. So I told Calne to leave guarding you to me for the day. Looks like it was destiny.
Sion stared at his older subordinate, exasperated. “So it was destiny that I’d interview this kid today?”
“Heheheh. Don’t treat me like an idiot, Sion. It’s destiny when I meet any girl.”
“Ah. Undeniably.”
Suddenly, Claugh took a wise tone. “Your Majesty the King, I am not worthy of the honor of your praise… anyway, jokes aside, who’s today’s pick?”
Sion nodded at Claugh’s question. “She’s really excellent.”
He looked at the documents. Today’s target’s grades were outstanding. Her magic formulation, from theory to technique and her hand-to-hand combat put together made her combat abilities quite versatile. Her abilities all indicated that she was something of a genius.
But that wasn’t what made her stand out to him. What made her stand out above all of her peers was her outstanding grades in tactics. The team she commanded in tactical simulations has, to date, never lost… She set an amazing record for it.
Magic and hand-to-hand combat were both skills that could be learned with effort. Tactics were different. They required a certain kind of genius. Quick-wittedness and popularity.
One had to be quick-witted to understand strategies and tactics and adapt them for every situation. They also had to be able to form completely new tactics as the situation called for them.
As for popularity…
It was definitely the hardest out of everything. A team, and even an army, had to have complete trust in their leader. With just that, their battle ability drastically improved.
In any case, this particular person towered above the rest in those regards. All at the tender age of sixteen, no less.
It was easy to see why Sion wanted her… but now that he was observing her, he didn’t really see that kind of ability…
“Well, see for yourself,” Sion said. He handed Claugh the documents.
Claugh immediately lost interest. “Mm… ah? What the hell. This is a daughter of the noble Callaud family… Don’t expect much. They’re stinking nobles, through and through… how exactly are you thinkin’ you’ll make an ally out of her?”
Sion laughed. “What? You’re always going around seducing nobles’ daughters, but I’m not allowed to make allies out of them?”
“This and that are different. Claugh’s voice sunk low, and he traded his usual flippant tone for something sharper. “See, I… I’m mad about what happened with Fiole. The nobility uses dirty, underhanded methods without thinking about the pain it’ll cause others. I can’t forgive that. After this noble brat joins us, she’ll just stab us in the back. Nooo thank you.”
Sion nodded. “But Claugh, it isn’t like all nobles are our enemy. There are surely nobles who aren’t comfortable with the current state of affairs as well as nobles who understand people’s pain.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
“Plus, the person we’ve come to recruit today is someone Fiole chose. I believe in him. Also, this kid was bought by the nobility.”
Claugh knit his eyebrows. “I see… But… buying people, huh. I hate that. I really don’t like those nobles.”
“I feel the same.”
Then Claugh’s eyes started to shine. “Then I’ll take the hand of this sixteen year old girl, who’s been the nobility’s plaything all this time…!”
“Hey, you. You can’t. The kid we’re meeting today has a previous engagement.”
“Hah? Previous engagement? The heck is that?”
Sion laughed boldly. That was the real reason he’d chosen this girl…
According to a detail in these documents, she’d been affiliated with the same organization as that man. It was known as Roland’s Special Institute #307.
Roland’s Special Institute #307.
It was a name that had fallen to the dark side of Roland’s past. It wouldn’t be wrong to call it hell.
On paper, it was an institution to raise children orphaned by the war so that they could live on their own… but reality was different. It only accepted children who showed signs of talent and gave them exhaustive military training. Children who couldn’t keep up were soon thrown away. The few kids who lived were sold off to nobles for a high price and sent to war while they were still young…
She was one of the few who survived.
And she was also that guy’s…
Someone knocked on the door, and soon spoke from the other side. “Milk Callaud,” she introduced herself. “May I come in?”
Sion and Claugh exchanged a glance. “You may,” Sion said.
An energetic, petite, and beautiful… no, cute girl entered. She stood before them, unmoving and clearly nervous…
“Your Majesty the King, I have heard that you called for m… aah, ow!!” Halfway through her sentence, she lost her articulation and turned around and crouching down. “I bit my tongue… It hurts… uu… but I can’t lose heart from just this! Do your best, Milk! Go get ‘em!”
What a thing to whisper to herself, crouched on the floor…
Sion and Claugh watched her, dumbfounded.
When she stood back up, her face was bright red and she was on the verge of tears. “Ah, um, I’m sorry. Really sorry. Uh, um, er… Your Majesty the King, I have heard that you called for me! And that you would like me to take some sort of exam.”
This time she said it without any mistakes. She stared up at Sion, her eyes free of ill will. Sion couldn’t feel any of that hatred particular to nobles from her. Instead, she gave the impression of a kindergartener that still didn’t know how disgusting the world was…
Sion and Claugh shared a look.
Then Claugh laughed, pained, and moved to whisper in Sion’s ear. “Hey, Sion. She’s here for a job, right? She’s so funny. I like this funny girl already.”
Sion laughed at that, then cleared his throat. He looked at Milk. She had an adorable face with big and round eyes, flaxen hair tied up in a ponytail, and a petite build.
She looked really… undependable…
She didn’t look like she had outstanding grades in every subject, or like she led an undefeated team in tactics practicals…
It was even possible that she’d used the Callaud name to unfairly raise her grades…
If that was the kind of person she was, he didn’t need her.
Even if he had history with her…
“……”
Milk was nervously standing at attention. Sion gazed at her for some time. Then he exchanged a look with Claugh, who nodded. His hand moved quickly, and he threw a pen Milk’s way. It headed for Milk’s cute, innocent face with amazing force.
Milk was still staring straight at Sion, like she hadn’t noticed Claugh’s pen at all.
It’d hit her.. Sion was sure of it. Her documents were all nonsense…
Milk’s hand moved casually. She wasn’t looking at the pen, but her hand moved to precisely the right place to stop it. She looked at the pen for the first time when it was already caught in her hand.
She suddenly become flustered. “Augh!? D-did you know I forgot my pencil case!? Um… I”m sorry. It won’t happen again… I’ll be borrowing this, okay? So where should I take the exam?”
What a response. It seemed like she didn’t think catching the pen was impressive in the slightest…
Claugh laughed happily. “She’s the real thing.”
“Right. But… just by the look of her, I’m really doubting that her leadership skills are as high as we’ve heard.”
Sion stared at her, unblinking. She stared back, head tilted. She was pitiful and yet precious in the same way animals were… Sion forced a smile and softly. “At a glance, she’s completely undependable. Would subordinates really follow her? What do you think, Claugh?”
Claugh grinned. “Unreliability can fire subordinates up. Especially since she’s a girl.”
“Hmmm… does that sort of thing really happen?”
“It happens. You’ll see when she’s a commanding officer.”
“You sure are pushy. Well then, Claugh. Why don’t we make her your boss and see?”
“Hah!? W-wait. Why’s she gotta be my boss?”
“Mm? Are you dissatisfied?”
“Well… I wouldn’t say dissatisfied.” He looked at Milk. “But like, I prefer a more adult-like woman. Ah, but not older women like Calne likes. It’s like, I like them ladylike, see, so when I invite them at night…”
Claugh kept talking and talking, carrying on a thoroughly one-sided conversation about his ideal woman. Sion listened for a while before sighing. “Alright, alright. I get it already. I never really intended on placing her with you. Her path’s already decided.”
“Oh? Where’s she going?” Claugh asked, deeply interested.
Sion smiled meanly. He looked to Milk, who was watching them talk with a mystified look her her face. “Milk Callaud.”
“Y-yes!” Milk said, tensing instantly.
“I am appointing you a first lieutenant here and now.”
“…Huh? Uh, aahh!?” Milk raised her voice in shock, her already large eyes widening. “Um, umm… but I still haven’t graduated yet? And even a second lieutenant would be a lot… so first lieutenant all of a sudden is, well…”
Sion laughed. “You don’t think your grades are enough to have earned you the spot?”
“Well… but…”
“Are you dissatisfied?”
“No! That’s not it! I just think there’s someone more suitable than me. Someone with good grades who’s already graduated. Making me a first lieutenant before them is just…”
Sion and Claugh forced another smile at Milk’s modesty. They didn’t think she’d say that in this situation. The path to success in life was unraveling before her. Normally one would eat a chance like this up. And yet, she was seriously bewildered…
Was it her way of revolting against the noble who bought her? Becoming successful in the military was exactly what the Callaud family wanted…
Sion studied her with sharp eyes. “You’re hesitating. Is the duty of a first lieutenant too much for you? Or are you revolting against the Callaud family?”
“Huh?” Milk stared unblinking for some time before finally breaking out of her silence. “Your Majesty, you even know about that?”
“Yes. My subordinates are excellent, you see. They’ve already gathered information on you going all the way back to your birth. Even back to Roland’s Special Institute #307…”
Milk shivered.
“So what is it?” Sion asked. “What’s making you hesitate? Do you hate the idea of following me?”
Even though he’d asked her a question, Milk just stared at the floor like she was thinking of something… like she was recalling something…
“I… don’t hold a grudge against the Callaud family or anything,” she finally said. “It was so strict I really could have died, but… they did raise me up until now… if I had the chance to repay them for that, I feel like I should take it. I don’t think my mother liked me much, but Amy and Nellua are kind, and… I don’t hold a grudge on Roland’s Special Institute #307 either. Because it’s there that I…”
Her words were so quiet that Sion couldn’t hear them from there. But he could imagine what they were.
Because it was there that she met him.
Milk raised her head. Her face was different from before, like she’d finally found her resolve. She smiled elegantly. “I understand. I accept the position with pleasure.”
Her answer was satisfactory. “Well then, Lieutenant Milk Callaud. I’m sure the Callaud family will be glad to hear of this. I’ll notify them of your assignment. Until then, please rest at home for a while.”
“I will! Thank you so much!” Milk bowed her head, then left the room.
“She’s a real good kid,” Claugh said. “I want a daughter like her.”
“Hm? Shouldn’t you hurry up and settle down with a family then? You already have plenty of partners.”
“If I did that, they’d kill me!”
“That’s what you get for sleeping around,” Sion said.
“I’m impartial, what can I say?”
“Listen to you.”
“Anyway, that girl… Milk, right? Where are you gonna put her?” Claugh asked.
“Captain of a Taboo Hunter team,” Sion answered easily.
Claugh’s eyes widened. “Why’re you bothering with that again?”
His surprise was natural.
Captain of a Taboo Hunter team. It was always an assignment people hated.
Catching taboo breakers - personnel who left the country without permission - meant arresting or even killing people who used to be one’s allies, even if their only crime was running from war.
But if people didn’t accept this post, then it was dangerous for them. Deserters would just end up supporting other countries. Taboo breakers were those who had studied Roland’s powerful magic, after all.
Because they had to eliminate taboo breakers regularly, Taboo Hunter captains were held in contempt as committers of amicicide. So children of nobles really didn’t want assignments like that. The people that ended up taking the jobs were those who certainly had the ability, but had no status such as orphans…
So Claugh was surprised. “Sion, what’re you thinking?”
Sion shrugged. “Heheh. It’s a secret. Anyway, I’m entrusting her to Miller and Luke.”
“Luke? He’s already done taboo breaker stuff. Why’re you making him do it again? He already did during the revolution…”
“Haha. He said he likes being Miller’s subordinate. He has no interest in promotions.”
“Even so… You can just promote Miller more…”
“It’s important to give Miller a job where he can control who lives and dies. He said himself that it suits him. ‘I was asked to become a lieutenant general, but turned it down without a second thought. It’s easier to move around as a major,’ is what he said.”
Claugh made a stupid face. “I-is he an idiot, staying in such a hated position…?”
Sion laughed happily. “This county will be fine as long as there are people like them around. Even if someone like me is king.”
“I see.”
“Don’t agree with me,” Sion said and stood. He closed his documents. “We’re done for the day. Shall we go?”
“Yeah.”
They made to leave the room, but right then… they were struck by an overwhelming murderous intent…
It was coming from beyond the door.
Claugh moved forward as if to protect Sion. “What was that!?”
“I don’t know… but…”
Sion scowled at the door. He understood that something dangerous was there. It wasn’t just one person, either. It was several people.
“The nobles didn’t stop caring about what it’d look like and come to kill you, did they…?”
The door… slowly opened.
A lone man stood on the other side. Sion couldn’t find anyone else there. He watched the man suspiciously. He had long, pitch black hair that was beautifully straightened. His height was around that of Claugh’s, but compared to Claugh, he came off as rather thinner.
His face was surprisingly handsome… but there probably weren’t many people who realized that. Because at the center of that face were cold, dark blue eyes that seemed to look down on others. They were cold enough to cut deep, and gave him a horribly dark atmosphere…
Age-wise, he was a bit older than Sion - twenty-two or twenty-three, perhaps?
He looked at Sion and Claugh with those cold eyes of his, then smiled.
“Who is he…?” Claugh muttered. He studied the man with his own eyes, red and overflowing with vigor.
The man raised both hands in feigned innocence. “It appears that I’ve surprised you, Major General Claugh Klom and Your Majesty the King.”
He entered the room with a relaxed pace and stood before Sion and Claugh. He placed a hand bearing an unusual black ring on his chest, then politely lowered his head. “I am Miran Froaude, son of Marquess Karlal Froaude and a lieutenant colonel in the Roland Empire’s army.”
Claugh all but spit his words after hearing an introduction like that. “Hoh. And what business does the son of an honorary noble have in a place like this?”
Froaude gave a small nod. “I heard that His Majesty the King came here to stealthily gather personnel in opposition to the nobility.”
“Ah!? You bastard!”
“Calm down, Claugh,” Sion said, then faced Froaude, whose cold, icy gaze met his sharp golden eyes. “Lieutenant Colonel Miran Froaude. I know about you. You became a second lieutenant at seventeen, magnificently suppressed many conflicts during the civil war, and rose to your current position of lieutenant colonel via your outstanding talents. You may be Marquess Froaude’s son, but… I heard that you were really bought, too. You were originally an orphan. Isn’t that right?”
A weak smile rose to Froaude’s face. “Marvelous, as expected. Lord Sion Astal. If I may make an addition - ‘though his achievements aren’t entirely despicable, he will do anything to rise through the ranks. Due to his faithfulness to Marquess Froaude, winning him over will be difficult, but I will do it’ - is that not what the documents left by the late Fiole Folkal have to say about me?”
He said it all easily. But nobody but Sion should’ve seen Fiole’s documents…
Sion didn’t let it bother him. “What business do you have with me?”
Froaude’s eyes flicked to Claugh, then he resumed studying Sion.
“…If at all possible…”
That was all he had to say.
Sion smiled and nodded lightly. “That’s fine. Hey, Claugh, can you leave for a minute? Lieutenant Colonel Miran Froaude has something he wants only me to hear.”
Claugh instantly became flustered. “Hey hey hey hey hey wait. There’s no way I can do that. I came here to protect you. What kind of a conversation could you even have with this guy that you don’t want me to hear?”
Sion smiled wryly. “It isn’t that I don’t want you to hear, it’s that the Lieutenant Colonel won’t open his mouth if you’re here. But I want information, no matter how trivial it may be. You know that, right? It’s my character.”
Claugh face-palmed. “Yeah, I know… guess you’ve made up your mind and don’t wanna hear my opinion on it… geez, if Calne hears about this, he’s gonna complain and tell me off for being a useless role model.”
“Haha. Well, he is pretty good at that stuff.”
“Mm. But…” Claugh glared at Froaude for a moment. “Be careful.”
“Yeah,” Sion said with a nod.
Claugh reluctantly left the room. Once he was gone, Sion turned back to Froaude.
“So? I’ll ask again,” Sion said. “What business do you have with me?”
That was the real issue at hand. Froaude thoroughly studied Sion, then spoke. “I believe that is something you have already realized. Is it not? Seeing that you would need me, I came here myself.”
“Um? That’s not quite—”
“You have probably already realized it,” Froaude interrupted. “Just by looking at him, it is clear that Major General Claugh Klom shines. Fiole Folkal, too, and Milk Callaud from a moment ago. You have assembled people filled with light to take the center stage of politics. I wonder, is that truly enough to accomplish your true goals? Do you alone intend to shoulder the darkness? That’s impossible. Perhaps you have been able to do that until now, but you have already become king, the light of the country itself. So you must have someone else to shoulder the darkness. I will do it so that you may obtain what you truly desire.”
It was almost like he saw directly into Sion’s heart as he spoke. “You’re saying you want to shoulder my darkness? That’s pretty serious. So, do you understand what I want?”
“Of course I am aware,” Froaude replied. His expression didn’t change in the slightest, nor did he falter.
“Oh?” Sion said, smiling like he was enjoying himself. “Then try to answer.”
Froaude paused for a moment, closing his eyes. Then he began to speak in a detached tone. “Right… The Roland Empire is currently only a single country among many on the Menoris Continent… but the continent should be covered by a single Great Roland Empire with you as the king. I was thinking that I would like to help you achieve that dream.”
Sion raised his eyebrows. “You’re saying that’s my dream? Haha. That’s quite the ambitious dream. But I’ve never thought of something so extreme? All that I want is a country with no wars where the people can smile.”
Froaude smiled coldly in satisfaction, then lowered his head respectfully. “Of course, Your Majesty. No matter what is truly inside, that is what a king must say. I will shoulder the remaining darkness. For that, I am even prepared to raise my hand against my own father.”
Sion gazed at Froaude, whose head was sincerely lowered.
“Please, allow me to stand at your side,” Froaude said.
“……”
What a bullshitter.
That’s what Sion thought of him.
He had horribly cold eyes and a sharp mind.
The fact that he’d said those words with ease was no small feat.
He said that he wanted to carry Sion to the throne of a Great Roland spanning the entire continent of Menoris. That’d drive the whole continent deep inside the horrifying flames of war…
And yet this man said that was what Sion wanted…
What he wanted…
He wanted…
Sion’s eyes narrowed. Had Lucile not said the same thing? What he wanted was not just to be the king of Roland, but far, far more…
Sion internally shook his head. How stupid. What he really wanted was what his mother wanted, what Kiefer wanted, what everyone wanted. What he wanted…
An unremarkable, peaceful world with no wars…
Sion looked back to Froaude. “Don’t say strange things, Miran Froaude. You probably want to kill your father, don’t you?”
Froaude raised his face. For a moment, he was surprised. “Ha, haha. Please, don’t joke about that…”
A smile so dark it was like a corpse’s rose to his face.
It held a deep darkness. This man was dangerous. But he was also necessary.
He had a sharp mind, and he could make cold-hearted decisions that Sion, Claugh, Fiole, and the others couldn’t.
He had the same smell as Lucile. No, he wasn’t such an eccentric monster as Lucile… Froaude’s darkness was far more human than Lucile’s.
Could Sion manage him?
Sion scoffed at his own weakness.
“…Fine. You may work for me as well.”
Froaude lowered his head again. “It is my humble pleasure,” he said quietly.
---
Several days later, Froaude was promoted to Colonel and was moved to be one of Sion’s direct subordinates.
He carried out his work so perfectly that it was unpleasant.
He did what Sion couldn’t have left to Fiole, the dark things only he himself had been doing until now, one after another.
Today, too.
Froaude gazed at the document Fiole had assembled on the situation with Lord Culliard’s fiefdom refusing to pay taxes in opposition to the nobility, featuring the opinions of the fief, with cold eyes.
“Let’s leave this problem as it is for a while,” he said.
Sion raised his head from the documents spread across his office. “This is a problem because Lord Culliard raised the taxes, right? The people are suffering. We can’t just leave it…”
Froaude didn’t even glance at Sion. “Your Majesty. The nobility has the right to speak before the weak commoners do. You do not presently have the right to tell the nobles no on this matter. To top it off, Lord Culliard is a part of Duke Staelied’s party. Unfortunately, we do not currently have the power to oppose them. Our best and only course of action is to keep the fief as they are and allow their dissatisfaction with the anti-monarchy party to grow.”
Keep the suffering populace… as if they were animals or something…
Sion scrunched up his face. “Even if that was the best course of action, it’s not one that I can accept. If I did, I’d become the same as the previous king—”
“It is so that this country may belong entirely to you as quickly as possible,” Froaude interrupted. Should we commit a hypocritical act in the present, causing the populace to suffer… or should we resist that course of action and advance towards a military rule…”
“……”
Froaude was correct. Opposing the nobility’s anti-monarchy movement would only give them more fuel. The ones who would end up suffering the most from it were the people. The way Froaude suggested was necessary. They had to weaken the nobility’s influence while strengthening Sion’s first.
But…
“I can’t do it after all,” Sion said. “I’m sending relief to the people of the Hewled region.”
Froaude narrowed his eyes at Sion, a little disappointed. “Relief… you say?”
Sion smiled meanly. “Yes. Relief. But it’s not like I can send it under my name. I’ll send it under the name of a wealthy merchant or something. Of course—”
Understanding dawned on Froaude. “I see. And that wealthy merchant will of course be one of your supporters, causing the people’s opinions of you to rise in turn… alright, that is what I’ll do this time. But we cannot always use this sort of plan…”
“…Yeah, I know. I know, okay… I’ll leave that to you.”
“…Understood,” Froaude said and bowed. As he left, he passed Claugh and Calne who were just entering Sion’s office.
Claugh turned back to look at Froaude, then forward at Sion. “Seems like he did pretty well enticing you to ally with him?” Claugh said, disheartened.
Sion smiled. “Yeah. He seems to be quite able. He’s helping me out a lot now.”
Calne looked around restlessly, from Sion to Claugh to the door Froaude had just left through. “Eh? Who’re you talking about? The new hire from a second ago?”
Claugh nodded gloomily. “He’s a guy Sion scouted when I took your place guarding Sion the other day.”
“Huh? He was scouted…? Huh? But when I asked, you said it was a cute girl, didn’t you?”
“Ahhn? Stop naggin’ about the details,” Claugh said. “Not talking about men is a principle of mine.”
“What kind of principle is that… I’m not sure I’m comfortable leaving my work to you anymore,” Calne said.
“Hoh… and yet you’re always saying I’m so remarkable. Aren’t I the one who’s always giving you work?” Claugh asked.
“What’re you saying? You don’t give it to me, you force it on me. You make me do all the work you think is going to be a pain… oh, whatever. It’s fine. More importantly, who was that? The new hire, I mean.”
“Froaude. Miran Froaude,” Sion said.
Claugh grimaced. “He’s an unpleasant guy… Hey, Sion. He’s probably not here for your sake… he’s difficult, and to top it off… his eyes’re just horrible…. they’re icy, hateful eyes… they’re clearly different from ours.”
Calne tilted his head. “It’s rare for you to hate someone so much.”
“Ahh? I hate all men,” Claugh said.
“I mean, I prefer girls too, but… that’s not what I meant…”
Sion forced a smile at their back-and-forth. “It’s because Froaude is the son of a noble, Calne.”
“Oh, my senior here does hate nobles,” Calne said. “Though he’ll still date noble girls…”
Calne nodded to himself. In contrast to his talkative friend, Claugh looked to Sion. “So I guess you’ve changed how you think. Since you allied yourself with him and all. D’you think you’ll be able to use him?”
His expression was serious. Claugh looked straight into Sion’s heart with earnest eyes so different from Froaude’s.
“Using people is what a king does best, isn’t it?” Sion asked.
Claugh was silent for a second, then smiled. “Fine. If that’s what you’ve decided.”
“Obviously,” Calne said. “Unlike you, when has Sion ever been wrong?”
“Aah? I’ve never been wrong, either,” Claugh said.
“Hah?” Calne said. “Then why do I have to go around apologizing to girls for you!?”
“You tryin’ to pick a fight, asshole?”
“No way. I’ve yet to meet anyone who could win a fight against you. But when the match is cards, you’re the one who ends up black and blue.”
“Hoh, listen to you. Can’t you tell I’m different from usual today?” Claugh asked.
“Aren’t you always saying that kind of thing?”
“Shut it. Today I’m making up for all my past losses!”
“Even if I lose I’m not gonna give you any money… but fine. Let’s do it,” Calne said.
Claugh suddenly slammed some documents on Sion’s desk. “That’s how it is. I’m gonna beat this guy black and blue, but I’ll be right back. Here’s the report on that investigation we talked about the other day. See ya.”
With that, Claugh left, swinging the door too hard on his way out.
Calne eyed the papers. “I’ll have a look at this report t—”
“Calne, get your ass out here!”
“Ah, well, I’ll be leaving then!”
Sion watched the two of them as they left…
“…Geez, do some work, you two,” he mumbled to himself and sighed.
Meanwhile, outside of the room…
“So, what game are we going to play today?” Calne asked. “Poker, crooks, fists?”
Claugh didn’t answer.
Calne tilted his head. “Senior?”
“Huh?”
“Weren’t we going to play cards?”
“I’ve got work to do,” Claugh said.
Unbelievable. That was as unbelievable as sudden news of a horrible natural disaster. Fear shadowed Calne’s face as he stood, utterly shocked. He took two, three steps back. “S-s-s-s-s-senior, that’s unbelievable!!”
“…What the hell do you think of me? Well, whatever. More importantly, it’s Froaude.”
“Froaude? Oh, that new hire. Does he bother you that much?”
Claugh nodded earnestly. “Yeah. He’s bad. I can feel it.”
“You’re intuition’s always saying guys are sooo bad. It’s soo trustworthy. They’re always beas—”
“It’s not just my intuition. I think you know what I mean… anyway. What’s our duty?”
“Our duty…? Well, I’d say it’s protecting Sion. Right?”
“Right. I thought this finally became the country I wanted it to be when Sion became king,” Claugh said.
“I think so too,” Calne agreed. “Sion can lead this country on the right path. That’s why we follow him.”
“But that guy’s different from us. This country needs him. So protecting him is…”
“…Our job,” Calne finished seriously. “So you thought you’d investigate that Froaude guy, and…”
Claugh smiled. He ruffled Calne’s wavy golden hair. “Geez, what a troublesome king. He always needs us to look out after him.”
“…I spend more time looking out after you, though…”
They talked as they walked through the halls.
They passed by Froaude at some point, but they didn’t call out to him…
