Published at 20th of February 2020 3:26 pm

Volume 6, Chapter 70 – Past

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Translated by: Reiji

The subjugation force arrived at Gioni two days later than scheduled.

Aria-san was dumbfounded seeing the town.

「The place is already battered.」

The outer wall that was created by piling up stones was mostly crumbling with only a part of it remaining. The buildings too, the wooden buildings were burned while the stone and brick buildings were destroyed.

The fields stretching out around the town were also devastated. It felt like the town, or more precisely the whole of Gioni, had been driven into a corner until a state of utter destruction.

But, there were still people remaining.

Seeing the subjugation force arriving, there were people hiding in the houses that were still barely remaining, and there were also people glaring at them. Frankly speaking it was hard to say that they were being welcomed.

Sophia-san looked down.

「……As I thought, we took too long to arrive here. It would have been great if we rushed here quicker.」

Sophia-san was a daughter of a feudal lord noble. She was only born into a vassal knight house, but it was still a house of a small feudal lord.

She might have been reminded of her birthplace.

Aria-san was feeling indignation.

「To begin with, it’s wrong to take several weeks like this. It wouldn’t be like this if only the palace sent help right away.」

「It’s just like Aria said. Besides, the gathered soldiers are also problematic.」

The cause of the slow march in the first place was because of the participants’ lack of training.

I could hear the Second’s sigh.

『Lyle, silence the two of them. The ones who are feeling truly frustrated are……the residents of this town.』

I warned the two of them whose tone was getting rougher.

「Both of you, it’s better to not say that right now. It’s the people of this town who are feeling frustrated.」

When the two became quiet, the Fourth looked at the situation.

『People from the surroundings are also running away to here. They escaped to a town that has a wall.』

The houses and buildings outside the wall were mostly destroyed completely. The fields were also devastated to a terrible degree.

The Fifth was questioning something.

『The situation is different from what we heard. ……If it’s like this, is it just like what we predicted?』

A person who seemed to be a higher-up of the town rushed out towards the arriving reinforcement.

The aging male was clinging on a horsed knight.

「Knight-sama, why didn’t you arrive quicker!?」

Norma-san made a gloomy face and didn’t answer.

In exchange Morris-san dealt with the man.

「Aa~, can I ask your name?」

「I’m called Patto. Even the magistrate had run away, while the other higher-ups either ran away or died in battle. There is only me remaining.」

The higher-up who introduced himself as Patto seemed to be in charge of managing the craftsmen of the town.

There was one store in this small town. Other than that there were several buildings of the craftsmen.

It seemed there was also an inn, but it didn’t have the space for 400 people to stay there.

「We have come so it’s already safe. We have this many soldiers. We won’t lose against the likes of a Hippogriff so rest assured──」

Then Patto-san’s complexion changed.

「Wha, what are you saying? The one leading the monsters is a “Griffon”! The one leading more than a thousand monsters is a Griffon!」

Patto-san’s scream made Norma-san who was disinterested until now to completely change.

She yelled angrily from the horseback.

「Idiot! I heard that it’s a Hippogriff leading the monsters!」

「The, there’s no way it’s like that. Even the magistrate who ran away saw that it’s a Griffon, the letter was also definitely mentioning that it’s a Griffon!」

Even though they had risked their lives sending the letter, the reinforcement that finally came thought that the enemy was a Hippogriff.

Patto-san must want to cry right now.

Although, the feeling of wanting to cry was also the same with us, the subjugation force that thought our opponent would be a Hippogriff.

It was a bolt from the blue.

.

──The royal capital.

In the palace, the nobles working in the palace including Ralph were meeting.

Everyone was either a baron or a viscount, and each of them had a post as an elite bureaucrat.

The lineup gathered inside a room in the palace were talking about the true objective of dispatching soldiers to Gioni.

「The case this time is just the right chance.」

A fat baron began the talk with that sentence. The surroundings was also making a small laugh together in satisfaction.

「The monsters are also really thoughtful.」

「With this, the capital will also become slightly cleaner.」

「It’s just the right chance to decrease the numbers.」

They had grasped the fact that it was a Griffon attacking Gioni and not a Hippogriff since the beginning.

The report of the magistrate running away from the town and the request that was sent to the palace by risking the messenger’s life informed them that fact. They knew it, and made use of it.

Ralph opened his mouth.

「After the subjugation force is annihilated and the town destroyed, we’ll dispatch the knight order as the actual subjugation force. If there is anyone who you wish to become independent, please make them participate. It will be a chance to obtain achievements that will allow them to become independent.」

The desire for the subjugation force to be annihilated.

The reason was because they wanted to decrease the number of houses of nobles in the lowest rank.

A baron nodded with a smile.

「I’m thinking to make the second son in my place to go independent. I’ll make him raise achievements in the subjugation this time so he can have his own house.」

If the subjugation force was annihilated, it was something that might become a shame for Bahnseim, but in the first place the Griffon was attacking a territory under the direct control of the royalty.

There was no feudal lord who would complain, and there would be no problem if the Griffon was subjugated by the knight order in the regular army.

Rather, the knight order’s reputation would increase because they subjugated such a dangerous monster that had annihilated one subjugation force.

For the people in this place, the current subjugation force and the place called Gioni only had that much value. There would be damage, but they thought that it wouldn’t be a particularly great loss.

The territory of the kingdom was vast. With the loss of Gioni, the damage numerically wouldn’t be really much.

「I wonder if there will be people who will desert.」

「There might be some but, it’s unthinkable that the Griffon will let them go.」

「IF they return to the capital, we can just judge them as deserting in the face of the enemy.」

They didn’t mind even if the knights and soldiers──and the volunteers they sent there were gone.

A lot of noble houses would vanish from the case this time. Like that new nobles would be born using the opened up spots.

Ralph matched his smile with the surroundings.

(With this the nuisance brats will also vanish. If Doris can marry with the right person later, this problem will also be taken care of.)

Sending away the unnecessary people altogether, that was how they were thinking of this──

.

In a half-destroyed private house within the town of Gioni.

We parked Porter beside it and started preparing to camp.

Shannon talked to me.

「Hey, why is everyone relieved when it was a Hippogriff, and then became depressed when it’s a Griffon?」

I was exasperated at Shannon’s question.

Certainly, a Hippogriff was troublesome but it wasn’t undefeatable.

However, a Griffon was extremely dangerous.

「……You, what do you think a Griffon is?」

「It’s similar to a Hippogriff isn’t it? I know because I saw it in a picture. They’re like relatives right?」

Certainly the two monsters were similar.

They were both monsters with eagle heads and wings.

But, a Griffon had──a body of lion instead of a horse. Their size was also bigger than a Hippogriff. They were ferocious and also smart. A dangerous monster.

If someone defeated a Griffon, they would be treated as a hero.

That was just how great the difference between the two monsters was……it would be fine to think of a Griffon as a Hippogriff’s superior version.

I explained about Griffons, but Shannon didn’t seem to understand.

「……They’re relatives just as I thought isn’t it?」

「I’m telling you they’re similar but different. Or rather, you only saw the picture but didn’t read the words huh. I’ll tell on you to Miranda-san later.」

「Wait. Don’t tell Onee-sama. I’ll give you candy so wait!」

Shannon begged with tearful eyes. Shannon couldn’t see from her birth so she couldn’t read letters. But, now that she became able to see she was in the middle of learning to read and write.

She should be punished for skipping her studies.

「No good.」

「Uu~……Lyle you idiot!」

「I’m fine with being an idiot. But, it’s you who’ll be scolded.」

When I sent her a smug smile, Shannon was,

「That face, somehow it looks exactly like Doris-oneesama’s boyfriend. That guy is also a gigolo as expected after all. You two are completely like each other.」

「What did you say!」

Shannon ran away when I got angry.

I sighed.

The matter of Shannon was of course a problem, but right now there was a mountain of problems that should be prioritized.

The morale of the subjugation corpse had hit rock bottom. In addition, the faces of the townspeople towards such subjugation force were filled with disappointment.

Norma-san declaring right away to retreat was also really bad.

There were also some who agreed, but Morris-san somehow stopped it, which led to now.

There was no way to win against a Griffon. That was why talking about running away wasn’t mistaken but……thinking of our position, that was a bad move.

The palace should be waiting for us to run away.

It was also fine if we were annihilated. It was fine even if the town was destroyed. It was fine even if we ran back. If we ran back to the capital, surely they intended to make up excuses and execute us.

Morris-san had guessed various things from how the palace was giving us false information.

Bluntly speaking, it was fine to say that the situation was the worst.

But──

『Griffon. With this Lyle, too, will become a full adult huh.』

『Griffon, nice!』

『I want to obtain the materials and magic stone. They will fetch a really high price.』

『I didn’t get many chances and could only bring down two when I was alive.』

『As expected, a Griffon extermination cannot be missed for a man! Lyle, you’re lucky!』

『Stuffing. Let’s stuff it. Let’s make the Griffon Lyle defeats a stuffed animal for decoration!』

──The mood of the ancestors was horrible.

For the Walt House that seldom got the chance for dragon subjugation, Griffon subjugation was treated as a proof of adulthood.

That’s not it. It’s wrong. This is wrong.

Thinking with common sense, a Griffon was something at the level where you had to resolve yourself to die when something like that came out.

The Second sounded frustrated.

『If Lyle can take command, then he should be able to bring it into one-on-one. However, if it’s Norma in command then it’ll be difficult isn’t it?』

The Sixth denied that opinion.

『On the opposite there’s also the possibility of Lyle’s group getting pushed aside. Well, she’s an idiot who tried to run away in this situation, so isn’t that possibility the higher one? ──Hm?』

Suddenly the Sixth’s attitude changed.

It seemed he had familiarity with the surrounding scenery.

『This scenery, it feels like I’ve seen it somewhere……if I remember right……come to think of it, when speaking of Gioni there was a small village in my era……』

『What’s with you? Perhaps you came here once in the past?』

The Fifth addressed him, so the Sixth spoke after a pause.

『……ah』

It seemed he recalled something, but suddenly he fell silent. The ancestors also got curious seeing the Sixth like that and pressed him with questions. But, the Sixth wouldn’t open his mouth.

Aria-san came to where I was.

「Lyle, I found someone who will show us around the town.」

「Thank you very much. A local person is valuable after all.」

It would be a great difference whether we had a guide or not.

Anyway there wouldn’t be any way to form a plan without studying the current situation.

Aria-san scratched her head.

「No, I don’t know how I should say it but……come here, give your greeting.」

Hiding behind Aria-san was a really small kid.

His age might be around six or seven I guess?

「Could it be you’re the guide?」

The kid nodded nervously.

He had tanned skin. The scratch on his exposed skin stood out.

「Most of the men are……. This kid, when he heard me talking, he said that he is a son of a hunter. It seems he knows a lot about this area from his father’s talk.」

「Err……that’s」

I was at a loss of words. The inside of the Jewel was completely silent must be because they had realized just how severe the present situation was without a doubt. I was thinking so.

The kid bowed at me.

「Ni, nice to meet you. My name is Luka. I’ll do my best so please hire me.」

I intended to prepare a reward for the guide, but I never even imagined that a kid this young would come.

While I was worrying about what to do, the Second and the Third were──

『……Dewy』

『Dewy-niisan……how』

They muttered a different name from “Luka” with a sad voice.

.

The kid’s name was Luka.

His father who was a hunter died. He took the request to become a guide to earn money even just for a bit. The remaining male laborers were gathered by the subjugation force under Norma-san’s lead, so we couldn’t find anyone else except Luka.

It seemed that the Second’s son and the Third’s big brother──Dewy had a very similar appearance to him.

However, the two of them were reluctant to speak about the circumstance.

It was a relief that the voices inside the Jewel were quiet.

I walked behind Luka.

「Over here, Lyle-sama.」

「Lyle-sama……you can call me without honorifics.」

「Tha, that’s no good. Kaa-san told me, if I’m receiving money then I have to do my work properly.」

He was a laudable boy who was trying to protect his mother in the place of his dead father.

Seeing his back figure made me feel ashamed of myself.

I had no memory of when I was his age. It was really vague.

If I was asked whether I was as earnest as him at that time……I had no confidence. Frankly speaking, he was even more levelheaded than the me a little while ago. Yes, compared to the me when I left from the house, this boy was definitely more levelheaded to a marked degree.

Not just showing the way, he even knew in detail about which wall had broken or which part was brittle.

「This part is repaired every time, but it will break right away.」

「Ri, right.」

「The bridge here is fragile, so it’ll be dangerous when several adults are crossing it.」

「Ye, yeah.」

「Over here──」

「Ye, yep.」

When I asked, it seemed he was knowledgeable from helping his father and playing in the town. It was great that I was able to learn various things, but somehow I ended up feeling really down from comparing myself with him.

This boy, he might be more dependable than me.

After we finished looking around the town, the sun was already setting.

At first I wondered if one silver coin would be alright but……my gratitude to Luka who was doing his best and thinking of his living from here on, I handed him three silver coins.

「Is it alright for me to receive this many?」

「It’s fine, just take it. Your mother……take care of her.」

「Yes!」

I saw off the boy who was going home while waving his hand energetically, then I returned to where my party members were staying.

.

──The city’s inn.

The knights and the men of the town gathered there.

There was also Lionel’s figure among them.

Everyone was disheartened. The more they listened to the present situation, the more they learned how bad the situation was. Their complexion was also bad.

Lionel was terribly flustered inside his heart.

(Lies. Something like this is absolutely a lie. Because, they said that it’s a Hippogriff! Even though I heard that it’ll be alright because there’s a ten-man knight squad leader with us!)

Where did the information become awry?

Perhaps the townspeople were lying, or there was a misunderstanding. He thought that several times but, when he listened about the damage of the town and the surrounding areas, it was unthinkable that it was a lie.

Norma was also looking pale while only listening.

Morris was continuing the talk in her place.

「Several Hippogriffs are obeying the Griffon?」

「That’s right! Don’t make me say it over and over!」

The attitude of the townspeople was also getting worse. That was because the knights they thought were coming to help were unreliable.

「How many Hippogriffs?」

「You think I know. We once saw four at the same time. But, as for their accurate number……」

The men of the town. And then the men who escaped to here from the surrounding areas.

Many of the people who fought bravely died, while the remaining people almost had no willpower left to fight.

Lionel tried to ask his question, but then,

「I, it’s bad! The Griffon is outside!」

When everyone hurriedly rushed out, there was a Griffon swooping down on the town’s outer wall and looked down at Lionel and co.

When they looked up to the sky, there were six silhouettes in the evening glow that seemed to be Hippogriffs.

(Hu, huge.)

Lionel was surprised by the Griffon’s size. Although the outer wall wasn’t as big as the royal capital’s wall, he still needed to look up at it. But that wall looked small with the Griffon standing on it.

The Griffon opened its mouth broadly as though it was smirking, then it spread open its large wings and flew away.

It led the Hippogriffs and went off to the distance.

(Sca, scary……that’s a Griffon.)

A monster that came out in stories and fairy-tales. Those who defeated it would be called heros. In front of such a monster, Lionel’s body was paralyzed and couldn’t move.

It seemed Norma was also in the same state.

She fell to her knees and then she held her head.

「I once heard about it. When a Griffon is enjoying the hunt……it’s over. We’re going to get toyed around with by that monster before getting killed.」

When the commander lost their nerve, it would quickly spread to the whole army.

「Commander, just what are you saying! We have to immediately act in order to take countermeasures, or else we’ll really get killed!」

Morris reached out to make her stand up, but Norma slapped away that hand and yelled.

「You idiot! Only the elite even among the knight order can face that monster! How are we going to face it with this kind of mishmash group and battered city!?」

Norma held her head and started crying on the spot.

Seeing her like that, Lionel thought.

(I gotta run. I can’t die in this kind of place. Even though I finally obtained a chance. I need to escape to a safe place and aim for the next chance to marry into the family.)

Lionel was leaving that place with an unsteady gait──

.

Night.

We were eating dinner around a bonfire. When we finished,

As expected it seemed everyone was also shocked that a Griffon showed up. But, the ancestors had been mentioning how this request was suspicious from the beginning, so my heart was somewhat composed.

「The opponent is a Griffon huh.」

Aria-san responded to my muttering.

「How can you act that calm!? It’s like we were deceived here!」

Clara-san corrected Aria-san’s opinion.

「No, we were deceived for real. I heard that the magistrate ran away and reported to the palace. I also heard that the request the town sent also reached the palace. The palace should know about the correct state of this case.」

There was no doubt that they knew. With that many things could be explained. How someone hated became the captain, and the disordered mishmash of nobles and soldiers.

Aria-san was dumbfounded.

「……Just why are they doing something like this.」

I also felt the same. But, it was the current palace that was wishing for this.

Clara-san looked at me.

「We don’t have the equipment to face a Griffon. Lyle-san, have you considered retreating?」

Clara-san calmly spoke the pertinent opinion as an adventurer. In response, Aria-san stood up.

「Wait! Are you saying we should abandon the people here!?」

「……It’ll be ideal to save everyone, but we also should understand that we aren’t strong enough for that.」

「But……such thing……」

Warm drink was poured into the cup I received after the meal.

The steam could be seen clearly in the night’s cold air.

I put the cup on my mouth and took a sip.

Shannon was in a dither while looking for help from Miranda-san.

「Onee-sama, can’t something be done?」

「As expected it’s impossible to rally back from this state. Besides everyone doesn’t have the motivation.」

Eva-san was also sitting down.

「A Griffon is it……I can’t see how we could somehow manage it with our current lineup. Or rather, it’s your father who gave this request wasn’t it? He would do this kind of foul play towards his own daughters?」

Miranda-san crossed her legs and placed her elbow on her knee. She placed her chin on her hand. Her figure when answering Eva-san’s question looked somewhat annoyed.

「He is that kind of parent. At this point it also became clear the reason he tried to detain me from coming. That guy, he planned to kill Lyle here. ……He really is a pathetic guy.」

‘That guy’. She must mean Ralph-san. She addressed her own parent as ‘that guy’……but, no one was able to reproach her that she said too much.

Gazes gathered on Shannon who fell into silence.

The one asked to stay behind was only Miranda-san……I understand that Ralph-san’s thinking was focused on his house but, like this it was just too pitiful for Shannon.

Sophia-san asked Eva-san.

「Is there any legends that might be useful? Like the way heroes defeated the Griffons?」

「It’s troubling even if you ask me. It’ll be a different story if I’ve seen it directly but, in the first place, legends or songs have some exaggeration in them.」

「I, is that so.」

Sophia-san was in a low spirit.

Monica was just like usual.

「I will manage somehow if it’s one-on-one though. As expected flying is unfair. Even I cannot fly without supplemental equipment.」

……This fellow, she’s useless when it’s crucial.

Novem was looking at me, waiting for my word.

The inside of the Jewel was completely silent since some time ago. I was troubled at what to do. From the reaction of the ancestors, there must be a way to fight the Griffon.

However, they didn’t say anything right now.

Could it be they were testing me?

「Anyway let’s rest for now. They said that the Griffon only came for reconnaissance after all, even if we’re running away it’ll be too dangerous to do it at night.」

We decided the night watch turns and then slept.

I sent my consciousness inside the Jewel.

.

Inside the Jewel.

The Third was talking with the Second with an unusually serious face. The other ancestors were watching that quietly.

『They look similar.』

『To think that we would meet a kid who looks exactly like Dewy-niisan. I never even dreamed about that.』

Originally it was Dewy-san who should have become the third head of the Walt House.

The Second talked with a complicated expression that looked slightly sad and also happy.

『It wouldn’t be strange for a kid with a similar appearance to exist somewhere but, I wonder if this is what they call fate.』

The Third also nodded a bit.

『Isn’t this good? If the Second vanished early, you wouldn’t be able to meet with Luka-kun. Lyle only came here by coincidence but, with this Luka-kun can be saved.』

『You’re right. I want to save him.』

Dewy-san died before he became the head of the house.

Because of that, the second son Sleigh inherited the house.

It wasn’t a guarantee that the eldest son would always inherit the house safely.

That was why, people had more than one son.

However, the increased number of children sometimes would also quarrel for the headship of the family.

Fortunately something like that never happened in the Walt House. No, if such thing occurred, then surely the house wouldn’t be able to grasp its current glory.

I who couldn’t inherit that glory didn’t have any right to say anything though.

The Second looked at me.

『It’s mysterious.』

「E, err……yes.」

I could guess that something must have happened. Dewy-san died and the Third became the heir. Even I could guess that.

But, I didn’t know the details.

『……It’s also awkward to keep it unclear like this.』

When the Second said that, the Third scratched his head.

『You’re right. We want Lyle to do his best after all. We should tell him the reason.』

The reason why the Second and the Third were fixated on the boy named Luka.

The Third straightened his posture.

『It’s not like there was a complicated circumstance. But, I want Lyle to know. About our feelings.』

The Second stood up.

『Lyle, come with us for a bit.』

.

The Second’s memory room.

Even though usually it was sunny, it was raining only for today. Furthermore the rain was a heavy one. The visibility was poor.

When I spread my hands, I could only see the rain but unable to touch it. But, there was certainly the sensation of stepping on muddy ground.

The mud splashed when I walked, but my clothes didn’t get dirtied. This was a memory room.

The sensation of not getting wet under a heavy rain was a strange feeling.

The Second was walking in front of me.

The fierce rain and the bad visibility would make me lose sight of the Second if I didn’t focus.

「Did something happen?」

『You’ll understand if you follow me.』

The Second was a man of few words. We walked until a certain place wordlessly and then stopped.

『This isn’t just my memory. Sleigh──the Third’s memory is also mixed in. It’s something that I have never seen before until now.』

The Jewel was a mysterious item.

When the Second stopped walking, he started talking about that day.

『That day I promised to Dewy and Sleigh──to the two of them. I promised to see their bow training. But, I left the mansion because of a sudden business. The weather was good in the morning, but from the afternoon it was raining heavily when I returned.』

Perhaps it was an unforgettable day for the Second. He remembered even the small details. It seemed he felt bad towards his sons and brought presents for them.

『When I returned, the people in the mansion were panicked because the two of them hadn’t returned home. Everyone was searching around for them, yelling at each other where they had gone. I thought that perhaps they remembered the promise and rushed out.』

I could hear the talking voices inside the heavy rain.

When I turned my gaze towards the voices, there were two children there.

And then……a one-horned rabbit with a horn jutting out from its forehead was lowering its head and raising its butt high in a preparation stance to jump anytime.

『Nii-chan!』

A soaked wet blonde haired boy was crying. He must be the young Third.

The other boy was Luka──no, the boy was really similar but it must be Dewy.

『Sleigh, get behind Nii-chan! I, it’ll be fine.』

A one-horned rabbit entered the village.

Perhaps it was a trivial monster if it was against an adult, but it was a threat from the perspective of two children.

Dewy readied his training bow.

『I, I’m not going to let you harm my little brother!』

The boy was dependable even though he was still so young, but the one-horned rabbit was seething with killing intent. I couldn’t bear watching and took a step forward to do something, but the Second lost his self-control earlier than me and rushed out to stand in front of the one-horned rabbit. However, the one-horned rabbit passed through the Second──jumping at Dewy.

The sharp horn stabbed the chest of the still young boy.

Sleigh cried out loudly. Dewy was struggling in anguish. I couldn’t touch him even when I reached out. It was impossible to touch him.

The Second’s face looked like he was going to cry.

The one-horned rabbit didn’t stop. It pulled out its horn and aimed at Sleigh this time.

The instant it jumped towards him.

Inside the rain, a sharp arrow pierced the one-horned rabbit’s body.

It didn’t stop with just one. Several arrows stabbed the one-horned rabbit’s body. The force of the arrows changed the direction of the one-horned rabbit’s body midair. It then fell on the ground and stopped moving.

When I looked at the direction the arrow came from, the Second──Crassel’s figure holding a bow was there.

Crassel hurriedly ran closer. Sleigh was crying while pleading to him.

『Nii-chan. Nii-chan is!』

Crassel hugged Dewy’s body.

The blood overflowing from his chest was mixing with rain while flowing to the ground.

『Dewy!? Oi, Dewy!!』

He called to him, but Dewy’s gaze was blank and he only moved his mouth slightly. His words couldn’t be heard because of the rain and Sleigh’s crying voice.

Crassel placed his hands on Dewy’s chest to stop his bleeding, but blood was flowing rapidly from between his fingers.

『It’s fine. I’ll bring you to the mansion right away. Kaa-sanMother is waiting there. Your Baa-chanGrandmother too──even your Jii-chanGrandfather is waiting for you.』

I could do nothing except to watch this scene.

The wound was obviously fatal from a glance.

The panicked Crassel called at Dewy many times but there was no reply.

The small life vanished in his arms…….

『I’m sorry I didn’t make it in time. It must hurt. It must be tough. ……I’m really sorry.』

He strongly and gently hugged him, and then he loudly cried and shouted towards the sky.

The Second looked embarrassed seeing himself.

『……It was really pathetic. It makes me hate myself.』

「Tha, that’s not」

Before I finished speaking, the Second shook his head.

『It’s my own responsibility of being unable to protect Dewy. It would have been okay if only I kept my promise.』

The children who were gone to practice their bows.

The rain fell so they took shelter from the rain, but it didn’t stop even after waiting for a while so they tried going back to the mansion even if they got wet from it.

While they were running under the rain unable to see well because of it, Sleight crashed on a one-horned rabbit.

Watching Crassel and Sleigh crying, I realized what kind of feeling the two of them had when seeing Dewy’s figure overlapping on Luka.

And then the reason why the First until the Third hated one-horned rabbits also became clear. I was puzzled why they hated that monster so much but, I understood after knowing the reason.

……I also somehow understood why the three of them didn’t speak of the reason clearly. Surely they didn’t want to touch the happening of this day. No, perhaps they were unable to bring themselves to touch it.

「Second, I──」

『……I’m changing the scenery.』

The Second’s words cut me off.

When the rain stopped, the scenery changed to grey color. It was slowly changing color to a different scenery. When color returned to the scenery, it was a bow training place.

There a smiling Crassel was teaching the bow to both Dewy and Sleigh.

It seemed he made small bows for the use of children and the two of them were practicing using those.

Dewy hit the target with his arrow.

The distance was short and it wouldn’t be hard to hit the target, but Crassel looked happy.

『You did great, Dewy!』

『Yep!』

On the other hand, Sleigh couldn’t do it well so it looked like he wanted to cry. Seeing that, Crassel ran to him in panic and talked to him.

『Sleigh, hold your bow more firmly. Right, like that……no good huh.』

Sleigh who couldn’t do it well looked at his big brother Dewy and cried.

『Let’s work harder, Sleigh.』

『……yes』

The Second was looking at that scene with a sad smile.

『Sleigh was obedient. You wouldn’t be able to imagine it right now but, he was always following behind Dewy and playing. Dewy was honest and kind. He was also taking care of Sleigh often because he was the big brother. Perhaps……this was the time when I was the most happiest.』

Crassel who was having fun teaching the bow and the children training diligently.

『I was awkward after all. I didn’t understand the way to play. My father was like that after all, I couldn’t remember what he did for me in my childhood.』

The First, Basil, even from my standpoint he was an awkward person.

I didn’t know if he ever played properly with his child.

The Second looked back at me.

『Lyle……I don’t want to see that kid die. I also understand that he isn’t Dewy but, this is a request from me.』

He was saying that he wanted me to protect Luka.

I silently nodded and looked at Dewy’s figure.

He looked similar to Luka. No, I guess it was Luka who looked similar to Dewy.

The Second scratched his head in embarrassment.

『I really didn’t want to show myself looking like that.』

「Then, why are you showing me now?」

『……Well, for various reasons. If I’m going to ask for a favor, then I believe that I also have to explain the reason.』

The Second’s face turned serious.

『Say, I’m changing the topic but……. You, actually can use my Art can’t you?』

I became unable to look at the Second’s face hearing those words. I felt my gaze wandering around.

『I’m not blaming you. Certainly I was angry several times but……I got the feeling that you failed on purpose.』

「……It’s true that I was unable to do it.」

『Really?』

When I fell silent, the Second smiled slightly.

『You, you made the same reaction like Sleigh.』

When I lifted my head, the surrounding scenery started changing once more.

This time it seemed that several years had passed.

Sleigh had grown.

But, his hand was holding a sword instead of a bow.

Crassel was making a troubled face.

『Sleigh, do you hate the bow?』

Sleigh looked down and wouldn’t look at Crassel’s face. And then, his gaze wandered.

『……I don’t hate it. It’s just I’m not good at using it. I’m just training using a sword which I’m good with.』

Seeing Sleigh making the same reaction like me made me feel embarrassed for some reason.

If he was honest, Crassel wanted him to train using a bow, but the obstinate Sleigh was swinging a sword in training.

The Second watched that scene while,

『Thinking back now……Sleight might be dragging along that day with him all this time.』

Perhaps he would have been able to protect his big brother if he brought a sword instead of a bow?

I don’t know whether he was thinking like that, but Sleigh wouldn’t even look at a bow anymore since he lost his big brother.

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