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Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? (Light Novel) - Volume 7.5, Chapter 3: The Golden Flower
Volume 7.5, Chapter 3: The Golden Flower
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
Part 1
Having left the cliff, Koutarou and Clan were being guided by Alaia and were walking on a thin path in the forest. It was the road she had taken when chased by the men.
“Just a little further ahead is where I fell off my horse... the scream Reios-sama heard was most likely from then.”
“I see, so that's why.”
Koutarou was in the front. Right behind him was Alaia and a few meters after her was Clan, bringing up the rear.
“I'm glad you weren't hurt when you fell off your horse.”
“The surrounding growths cushioned my fall... I was lucky.”
“That must surely be divine protection from the goddess of dawn.”
“One can only hope.”
Koutarou and Alaia's steps were light.
“W-Wait up, Lord Bertorion, you're walking too f-fast!”
However, that wasn't the case for Clan in the back, as she was beginning to fall behind. Only a few minutes had passed since they had began walking, but she was already out of breath.
“That's unsightly, Clan.”
Koutarou stopped moving forward and walked back down the path he came from while sighing.
“Fufu.”
Alaia giggled and smiled at Koutarou as she walked towards Clan together with him. Seeing that smile, Koutarou felt bad. Although Clan was his enemy, it felt like she was an incompetent sister of his.
“You've only walked for a few minutes.”
“E-Even if you say that, this is my first time walking in this kind of place!”
Clan complained to Koutarou with a rough breath. Her face was flushed red and some sweat was running down her forehead.
The path Koutarou and the others were walking on was an animal trail in the middle of the forest. On top of that, there were a lot of ups and downs on the trail, so it was hard work for a princess like Clan. The more active princess Alaia was fine, but to Clan who was more of a thinker, it was almost unbearable.
When Koutarou got close, Clan turned off the translation device and complained to Koutarou in modern Forthorthe.
“It must be nice for you, since you're wearing that armor!”
Alongside Clan's words, the armor set the translating language to modern Forthorthe. With that, Alaia couldn't understand what they were talking about.
Clan had turned off her translation device because she didn't want Alaia to hear her whining. Since she was a Forthorthe born girl, she had a strong sense of admiration for the legendary Silver Princess. So she didn't want to show the Silver Princess her weak side. And since they were both Forthorthe princesses, she didn't want to lose. Those girly sides to her led to her turning off her translation device.
“Me aside, even princess Alaia is fine. And I'm sure Theia would be fine with this too.”
“I'd prefer you don't compare me to people of this age and the mountain bred Theiamillis-san!”
In this age where the only mode of transportation was a horse, the people here had more stamina than modern people. Theia would be fine because she had more stamina than Clan.
And Clan calling Theia mountain bred was deeply rooted in their families confrontation.
The Mastir family that had produced both Alaia and Theia held the mountain region to the north of the Forthorthe capital. On the other hand, the Schweiger family that Clan was from held more modern territory with a merchant town at its core. Because of that, the Schweiger family had a tendency of treating the Mastir family as country bums.
By the way, the Schweiger family was formed several generations after the Silver Princess's era. Because of that the family naturally gained territory with a developed city at its core. It was an obvious development since they were established after the Mastir family. Since the Mastir family was older, they treated the Schweiger family as newcomers.
With circumstances like that, Clan felt it was only obvious she didn't have stamina to match theirs.
“I can't take another step!”
Clan turned her face away with a spiteful attitude. At first glance it looked like she was just being selfish, but she did have an exhausted expression.
Now that I think about it, she must have walked all over the place looking for me...
Seeing that, Koutarou thought of a reason for why she was so tired, and lost his urge to complain.
“Can't you just fly?”
“And what will you do when Alaia-san sees that!? I can't let more strange things happen!”
“Even if you say that, that group might be chasing us.”
“That's because you didn't kill them! Take some responsibility!”
While Koutarou put his hands on his hips and sighed, Alaia asked Koutarou a question after watching over them for a while.
“What is Clan-sama saying?”
“She's saying that it's going to be hard to continue walking at this pace.”
Koutarou's translation device switched back to ancient Forthorthe alongside Alaia's words, and Clan quickly turned her own translation device back on.
“That is a problem...”
Alaia gave Clan a concerned look. Seemingly embarrassed, Clan turned away from her.
“Hmm...”
After thinking for a while, Koutarou showed Clan his back and squatted.
“Here.”
“What's this supposed to mean?”
“Get on my back. I'll carry you.”
Fortunately, carrying Clan was nothing for Koutarou's armor, even on a mountain road in poor condition. And since Koutarou was used to walking around with Sanae on his back, he didn’t mind carrying Clan.
“T-That's fine!”
Clan's face turned red and she shook her head. Unlike Koutarou, Clan was a girl of age, so having others see her get a piggyback ride was too embarrassing. And she also felt reluctant riding on the back of a man who was her enemy just a short while ago.
“Quit acting tough and get on. Now's not the time to be childish.”
“G-Guess it can't be helped...”
But after Koutarou said so one more time, Clan reluctantly leaned her body on Koutarou's back.
He's got an armor on anyways...
Clan attempted persuading herself that it wasn't embarrassing because she wasn't directly touching Koutarou’s back.
“Fufufu.”
“...”
However, as Alaia laughed, Clan's embarrassment maxed out. She turned her face down and cursed Koutarou out of spite.
“Your back is too hard.”
“Just bear with it.”
“G-Guess it's unavoidable...”
“Fufu, fufufu.”
Alaia laughed even more. Having gotten even more embarrassed, Clan pressed her face against Koutarou's back and hid it from Alaia.
To think I doubted these people...
But this time, Alaia wasn't laughing at Clan. Watching over Koutarou and Clan's heartwarming argument, she laughed at her own doubts that they might have been enemies.
And this is the kind of person Reios-sama is...
At the same time, Alaia felt relieved. Up until now, she had only seen Koutarou fight and speak and act like a knight. While Koutarou was talking with Clan, this was the first time Alaia had seen him act like his age.
It seems like he gets along well with his servant too...
What relieved Alaia the most was the way Koutarou treated Clan. They had called themselves Knight and servant, but she had never seen a knight carry his servant on his back up until now. And since Alaia herself had vassals as close as family, a sense of intimacy sprung up as she looked at the two.
“Fufufufu.”
She couldn't help but find her doubts funny. Along with her relief, Alaia laughed in a tone resembling bells.
“I have shown you a shameful appearance.”
“No, that's not true, Reios-sama. Now, let's go!”
Alaia began walking out in front, leaving a smile behind.
Even though she's a legendary princess, she laughs like a normal girl...
That's what Koutarou felt when he saw her smile, and that it very closely resembled Harumi's own.
Since princess Alaia looks just like Sakuraba-senpai on stage, it makes sense for her smile to resemble Sakuraba-senpai's, huh...
Koutarou looked at Alaia's back and slightly smiled himself.
“...What’s with that look? Don’t tell me you’re falling for her?”
Seeing that, Clan gave Koutarou a cold glance.
“I was just thinking that there's a big difference between you and princess Alaia, despite both being princesses.”
“W-What!?”
Koutarou followed Alaia with a cool expression. Since he dealt with Kiriha on a daily basis, Clan's words weren't enough to move him.
“Besides, why―”
“Calm down. There's something I want to ask you.”
“Huh?”
Clan was about to complain before Koutarou interrupted her. He then whispered so that only she would hear.
“...Can't you use your powers to find princess Alaia's allies? If we just aimlessly look for them, those guys really will catch up to us.”
Koutarou had also gotten closer to Clan because he wanted to consult her. Since he could talk to her without Alaia hearing, Clan tiring out worked out great for him.
“We're not the real Blue Knight and servant. If the situation is as you say it is, shouldn't we do something?”
That action would be unnecessary for the real Blue Knight, they were fated to safely group up with their allies. But since Koutarou and Clan weren't the real ones, there was a chance they were walking down a different path than the real Blue Knight. Or it could be that the real Blue Knight cut the men down. Those slight differences might be enough reason for the men to catch up to them.
“So that was your reason―”
“Half of it was. So, how about it?”
Clan pulled her expression together as she heard Koutarou's question.
“It's possible. I can send out the observation device from the Cradle and scan through the area.”
“Then please do so at once.”
“I understand. In return, I'll borrow your back for a while.”
Walking through a mountain path while using her bracelet to remotely control observation device was hard. Controlling them while she was leaning onto Koutarou's back was more efficient. While being shook on Koutarou's back, she quickly began fiddling with her bracelet and sent her observation device flying from the Cradle.
“Not a problem. You're heavier than Theia, but not heavy enough to pose a problem, thanks to the armor.”
“Quiet you, fake Blue Knight!! Take that back right now!! There's no way I'm heavier than Theiamillis-san!!”
But she immediately interrupted her controlling, and the observation device was left floating in the Forthorthe sky without a goal.
Part 2
Alaia was leading Koutarou and Clan to a small waterfall she and her allies had been before they were scattered. They had taken a short break there and she was hoping that they would all regroup there.
“I just hope they've all returned to that place...”
“There's no need to worry, princess Alaia.”
The sun had set and they were now relying on the light of lamps they borrowed from the men as they moved forward. The light was weak and unreliable. To Koutarou and Clan who were used to the brightness of the modern age, the forest seemed even darker than it was.
“Ooh.”
“Kyaa!?”
Because of that, there were several instances that they almost fell over. They had repeatedly been taught the dangers of walking in the mountain at night.
“Keep it together, I don't want to go down with you.”
“Sorry, sorry.”
Koutarou apologized to Clan on his back and whispered to her so that Alaia who was behind them wouldn't hear.
“...So what's up ahead, Clan?”
“...There is indeed a waterfall.”
Clan responded with a whisper as well. At the same time, she used Koutarou's back to control the observation device without Alaia seeing it.
“...There's a group of five people there.”
“...Do you know what group it is?”
“...Since the sun has set, I can't tell. But since the number of people matches Alaia's description, there's probably no doubt.”
“...Good work.”
If it was as Clan had said, Alaia would be able to safely reunite with her allies at the waterfall.
If we regroup, we should be within the history's tolerance...
But he couldn't let his guard down yet, and Koutarou asked Clan another question.
“...What about our followers?”
“...I sent out a second observation device to follow them, but it seems like they're heading away from here. It seems like they're taking the shortest route to the Mastir checkpoint.”
By now, the men that Koutarou had knocked out had woken up. Having lost sight of Alaia, they for some reason gave up on searching and were heading north.
“...The Mastir checkpoint?”
“...It's a checkpoint between the borders of Forthorthe's capital, Fornorn and Mastir's territory.”
The checkpoint was on the way to the Pardomshiha territory that Alaia and her group were heading to. The fastest way there was passing through Mastir territory to the north of the capital. It was a safe route. Since Alaia belonged to the Mastir family, no matter the circumstances she would always have a lot of allies there.
“...Rather than looking for princess Alaia that they've lost sight of, they've decided to beat her to the punch and get to the checkpoint before she gets there, huh.”
“...They'll probably try to ambush on the road there.”
There were plenty of roads to the Mastir checkpoint, but they gradually connected and at the end there were only a few. So the most efficient place for an ambush was where roads in this area merged together.
“...And they'll probably bring backup too, having seen your strength.”
“...Hm....”
I see, so that's how they're coming...
Even if they chased after Alaia as a group of ten, it would be useless if they were defeated by Koutarou. Instead it would be better to set up an ambush and call for backup. With enough numbers, no matter how strong Koutarou was, he would have a hard time defending Alaia.
While Koutarou was thinking, he could see a small light up front. Unlike an electric light, it wasn't a stable white light, but a wavering red one. It was most likely a bonfire.
“What's that?”
“Reios-sama, the waterfall is around there. I'm sure everyone is gathered there!”
Alaia's voice leaped. She was happy that she would be able to rejoin with her allies. She had also felt helpless because in the worst case, she would have to travel to Pardomshiha's territory alone.
“Let's hurry, princess.”
“Yes.”
Alaia passed by Koutarou and hurried forward. Alaia was normally less rash, but this time she acted before thinking. Grabbing the hems of her long skirt, she ran forward along the dark road.
“By the way, Clan.”
“What?”
“What would you prefer? Meeting the princess's allies while being carried, or walking on your own?”
“Let me down, right now!!”
“Yes, yes, as you wish.”
Koutarou and Clan ran after Alaia shortly thereafter.
Part 3
“Sister!”
“Your highness!”
“Alaia-sama!”
Noticing Alaia, the five girls by the bonfire all stood up and they all welcomed her.
“I'm glad you're all okay!”
With a large smile, Alaia joined the group.
“I'm glad you're safe!”
“We were worried when only the horse returned!”
“Your highness, I'm so glad!”
“I knew you were safe♪”
The girls all smiled and rejoiced that Alaia was safe. But the smallest and youngest, a blonde girl, showed her joy with actions as well as words. She ran up to Alaia and jumped at her.
“Welcome back, sister!”
“Charl!”
Alaia caught and hugged the flying girl. Since they always did this, Alaia didn't panic and strongly held onto the girl.
“I'm back. Charl...”
Alaia and Charl's silver and golden hair shone orange, dyed by the flame, at the same time the tears the two were shedding were being lit up as well. Of course, they weren't the only two crying. Tears were forming in the eyes of all the girls. It wasn't just because Alaia was royalty, but also because she was their friend or family. Which was why ever since the attack where they had been split up, they had all been worried sick.
“H-Hey, isn't that...”
“It can't...”
Koutarou and Clan watched over the six girls rejoicing in their reunion by the waterfall, though they were rejoicing like the girls, but had rather confused expressions.
“That's Theia, right?”
“Yes... she looks just like Theiamillis-san when she was a child...”
The blonde girl that Alaia was hugging, the girl she was calling Charl, looked just like Theia. But she wasn't exactly the spitting image of Theia; Charl was young, she most likely wasn't even ten years old yet. But even then, Charl's appearance perfectly matched with Clan's memories of a younger Theia.
“What an amazing coincidence...”
“It might not be a coincidence.”
“Why?”
“They are from the same lineage after all.”
Theia and Charl are from the same lineage of the Mastir family. It was somewhat inevitable that they would look similar.
“Oh yeah, now that you mention it.”
“Look, that Pardomshiha has some familiarity to her as well, no?”
“Oh, her hairstyle and stuff are different, but she's kinda looks like Ruth-san.”
One of the five girls was wearing knight armor. Her hairstyle, hair color, eye color and what she was wearing was all different, but she had a similar face to Ruth.
“That's probably the Pardomshiha in this age. The famous woman knight, Flairhan.”
“Ah, right!”
That was when Koutarou realized that he already knew the names of the girls. Alaia and the others were all characters that appeared in the play.
“Princess Alaia, who are those two?”
The woman knight, Flairhan, looked towards Koutarou and Clan. The girls had rejoiced in their reunion for a while, but now they had cooled off and paid attention to Koutarou and Clan who had accompanied Alaia.
“Flair, these two saved me.”
“Is that so.”
The woman called Flair by Alaia stepped forward to guard Alaia. She looked at them with a serious expression, trying to appraise them. Her powerful glance was saying that based on the circumstances, she just might cut them down.
“...Who are you?”
Flair put her hand on the handle of her sword while asking Koutarou that. The weapon she used wasn't a knight's sword like Koutarou's Saguratin, but it was thinner, closer to a saber or rapier. To make up for her feminine physique, she fought using a thin sword while aiming for weak spots.
“I'm Reios Fatra Bertorion. I'm a wandering knight on a training journey. And this is my servant, Clan.”
Koutarou carefully responded. The Blue Knight was a squire, and Flair was a holy knight. He responded like the Blue Knight in the play, though the part about Clan was ad-libbed. Knowing that he would be struck down if he said something careless, Koutarou was constantly serious and cautious.
“I am grateful that you saved her highness. But―”
“Flair, please stop. You mustn't be rude to my saviors.”
That was when Alaia grabbed Flair's arm and stopped her. But Flair couldn't back off right away.”
“But your highness, he's a man we know nothing about! He might have been sent to kill all of us!”
“If that was the case he would have already done so. That person, Reios-sama defeated the men that scattered us all on his own.”
Flair was trying to persuade Alaia, meanwhile, Alaia put her hands around Flair's hand grasping handle of her sword. Alaia was nowhere near as strong as Flair. By doing that, she still wouldn't be able to keep Flair from pulling her sword, but instead Flair let go of the handle. She was a knight that had sworn loyalty to the royal family. She decided to put her belief in Alaia's judgement.
“...I understand, your highness.”
“Thank you, Flair.”
After thanking Flair, Alaia then apologized to Koutarou.
“...I am sorry, Reios-sama.”
“Not at all. A wandering knight just happening upon that scene does sound too good to be true. It is only natural to be doubtful.”
Alaia had apologized, but Koutarou felt that Flair's reaction had been appropriate. Plays or movies aside, if something like that happened in reality, it was only obvious to be doubtful.
If anything, princess Alaia believing me is more amazing... But, I guess that's what makes her a legendary princess...
Therefore, Koutarou felt like Alaia was an amazing person. It also made him happy that she had believed him.
“As long as you are aware of that. If you try anything strange, I will cut you down on the spot.”
“That's fine.”
Koutarou then noticed one more thing.
If they hadn't been this careful, they probably wouldn't have been able to get this far...
He had noticed how difficult their journey up until now must have been. If all had gone as plays or history said, they had endured hardship after hardship before meeting with the Blue Knight. It wasn't hard to imagine that the only knight, Flair, had supported them during that time. The enemy was so large that she had no choice but to be this careful.
Looks like I should keep myself together. If I think I just need to follow a script, things won't go very well... This a desperate journey that will decide the fate of a country after all...
Seeing Flair's serious appearance, he decided to pull himself together after he had started relaxing as Alaia rejoined with her allies.
“Well then Reios-sama, allow me to reintroduce my friends.”
“Your highness, calling us friends is going too far...”
“Fufufu, it's fine isn't it. It's an emergency after all.”
Alaia smiled at Flair and began talking as she put her hand on Charl's head.
“This girl's name is Charl. More accurately, it's Charldrissa Daora Forthorthe, my sister and the second princess of this country.”
Having been introduced by Alaia, Charl looked up at Koutarou with her large eyes.
“Blue Knight or what it was.”
“Yes, princess Charl?”
Koutarou kneeled down in place. Kneeling, Koutarou's eyeline was slightly below Charl's. Doing that made it easier to talk to her, and he was no longer looking down on royalty.
“It seems you took care of my sister. Good work.”
“It was only a natural thing for a Forthorthe knight to do.”
Hearing Koutarou's answer, Charl's expression lit up. Her innocent smile warmed Koutarou's heart. It was the smile of an honest and energetic child.
“I like it, Blue Knight! Continue proving your loyalty!”
“Hah, as you wish, my princess.”
Smiling, Charl patted Koutarou on the shoulder a couple of times, walked around him and climbed up his back onto his shoulders.
“Stand, Blue Knight.”
“As you wish.”
Obeying Charl, Koutarou stood up and carried her small body.
“Oooh, it's so high!”
Riding on Koutarou's shoulder, she was higher than anyone else. That pleased her and her energetic smile grew even bigger.
I wonder if Theia was like this when she was a child...
Peeking at Charl's face, Koutarou thought of Theia and revealed a small smile.
“Fufu, oh Charl.”
“Your highness...”
Alaia smiled as she looked at Koutarou and Charl. Carrying Charl, Koutarou was smiling the same way he had when carrying Clan. That made Alaia happy.
I see, so this is what her highness believes in...
Looking at her master, Flair could faintly understand why Alaia had put her trust in Koutarou. And since Flair herself felt like she could believe in the same thing, her cautiousness around Koutarou slightly eased.
Not good... I can't let my guard down yet!
However she quickly pulled herself together again. Because of her position, she couldn't readily trust Koutarou. While carrying those complex feelings, Alaia introduced Koutarou to her.
“Reios-sama, she is Flair. She is my friend and a holy knight from the Pardomshiha that have served the royal family for ages.”
“Flairhan Nye Pardomshiha. Nice to meet you.”
“Reios Fatra Bertorion. I apologize for my appearance.”
With Charl still on his shoulders, Koutarou presented his right hand. Because handshakes were a custom in Forthorthe as well, Flair grabbed his hand.
“Blue Knight, Blue Knight.”
“What is it?”
“Flair is diligent and stubborn. But she doesn't hate you as much as she says. Don't worry.”
“Hearing that puts me at ease. I might not end up being cut down.”
Koutarou and Charl laughed together.
“Princess Charl!”
“Leave the rest to me, Blue Knight!”
“As you wish, my princess.”
Sensing that Flair was in a bad mood, Charl withdrew to Koutarou's back. As he played with Charl, it felt similar to when Koutarou did the same with Theia or Sanae, so it didn't feel like this was their first time meeting. Because of that, the distance between Koutarou and Charl shrunk, and after having just met they got very well along.
“Ahahahahaha.”
Looking at Koutarou and the others go back and forth, the girl wearing a more plain dress than the other girls began laughing.
“You can't beat princess Charl, Flairhan-sama.”
The girl's friendly tone with Flair let Koutarou ease up a little. Noticing Koutarou's glance, she began introducing herself before Alaia could open her mouth.
“I'm Marietta Alsein, a maid from the imperial palace. So, Blue Knight-sama which of the girls here is your type? Is it Alaia-sama after all!?”
That girl's, Mary's, rapid self-introduction reminded Koutarou of someone on Earth.
This girl is like landlord-san...
Although they didn't look very similar, her gossip loving side and being easy to talk to, reminded Koutarou of Shizuka. But it might simply be because she was a girl of age.
“Mary, asking Reios-sama that is rude.”
“Ahahaha, you won't get angry, right Reios-sama?”
“I guess so.”
“See.”
“That's not it. It's only natural for Reios-sama to respond like that because you're our maid.”
Even though this is ancient Forthorthe, they're all normal girls...
While thinking that, Koutarou looked at the girls faces again. Alaia, Charl, Flair and Mary; they all had unique personalities, but to Koutarou they were well within the limit of normal girls. That was because of his daily life with the invader girls, but Koutarou had no self-awareness of that.
Two more...
Koutarou then looked at the two girls that hadn't been introduced yet.
One had long hair and sharp eyes. She was wearing something more flashy than Mary, but it could be called a stylish attire. Together with her figure, she gave off the impression of an intelligent person.
The other girl was wearing an outfit that had a very different feel to it. She was wearing a long white robe and had a star shaped pendant hanging down her neck. She looked less like an aristocrat and more like a clergy from the church. Her face had minute childish features, and combined with her outfit, she gave of a very friendly impression.
“Ah, did those two catch your attention? That's unexpected.”
Noticing that Koutarou was looking at the other two girls, Mary began talking about the two in a rapid fashion.
“Those two are Lidith Maxfern-sama and Fauna Mordraw-sama. Lidith-sama is a famed scholar at that young age. Fauna-sama is a priestess that serves the goddess of dawn and was a classmate when Alaia-sama went to seminars.”
Even though she wasn't talking about herself, Marietta boasted about the two. After being introduced, the two greeted Koutarou.
“I am Lidith Maxfern. Pleased to meet you.”
“I'm Fauna Mordraw. Thank you for saving Alaia-sama!”
Their greetings were polite and friendly. That wasn't just because of their personality but also because of their respective professions.
“Nice to meet you two.”
Koutarou responded with a nod while thinking about Alaia and her group.
Hmm, an intelligent girl and a mysterious girl, huh...
Charl looked just like Theia when she was a child. Flair looked similar to Ruth. Mary, Lidith and Fauna didn't look like anyone, but thinking of the gossip loving, intelligence and mystery feel that the girls gave off, they seemed similar to Shizuka, Kiriha and Sanae. Thinking like that, Koutarou felt like Alaia's allies were similar to the girls related to room 106.
“This feels like a group I've seen before.”
“I guess you could call it synchronicity.”
Clan got the same impression and agreed with Koutarou's muttering. Ever since her defeat in November, she had constantly been observing room 106, so she had a good grasp of the personalities of the people there.
“Synchro-what?”
“Synchronicity. Even though it's supposedly unrelated, as if guided by fate, similar people or events will appear and occur.”
“But that wouldn't really apply here because there are people connected by the same bloodline, right?”
“That's true. Then it might just be a coincidence.”
Clan determined it to be a coincidence. Koutarou felt the same way. If this was fate or synchronicity, he felt like though everyone was together, they would look just the same.
Everyone?
However, that was when Koutarou noticed that one was missing. Theia, Ruth, Shizuka, Kiriha and Sanae, there was one more related to room 106.
“Yurika's not here...”
The group of girls reminded him of the people related to room 106. But he couldn't see a girl that corresponded to Yurika.
“...Well, I guess that would be like her...”
Koutarou smiled wryly.
Yurika was generally unfortunate, so her not being here would be just like her.
“What's wrong, Blue Knight.”
“No, everyone just reminded me of my friends in my hometown.”
“I see. Do you love them?”
“Yes.”
Koutarou obediently nodded.
That's right... right now my answer is 'yes'...
Koutarou was a little surprised that he could nod at that question. And his urge to return home grew even stronger.
“More than me?”
“Of course I admire you, princess Charl.”
In reality, Koutarou loved the friends in his 'hometown' more than Charl who he had just met. But he would feel bad telling the young Charl that, so he made an adult decision and said that he loved her more.
“Well said, Blue Knight! Let me praise you!”
Still riding on Koutarou's back, Charl cackled. Seeing that face when he casually glanced at her, he noticed a horse in the corner of his eye. That was Alaia's horse, and after she had fallen down it had come back on its own accord.
A horse, a horse is it...
Koutarou stared at the horse.
Although it was a horse, it looked slightly different than one from Earth. The body was similar, but it had a horn and its mane and hooves were different. Horses on Forthorthe looked very similar to Earth's legendary unicorns.
Then the horse stirred and moved its body as if to escape Koutarou's glance. Its gestures were quite distinct.
“It couldn't be... right?”
“What is it, Blue Knight?”
“That horse...”
“What about the horse?”
That horse looks just like Yurika.
Swallowing the continuation of his sentence, Koutarou approached the horse with Charl still on his back.
“This horse is my sister’s. It's very smart, even though it got separated with my sister it came back on its own.”
“...If we got separated from Yurika, she'd get lost and wouldn't be able to come back.”
“Did you say something?”
“This horse has very nice looking hair.”
“Right, right?”
Charl strengthened her grip around Koutarou and cheerfully boasted. Since Charl and Alaia would often ride on the horse together, it was her favorite.
“*neigh*”
When Koutarou approached, the horse neighed and turned its face away. Seeing that, Koutarou's conviction was strengthened even further.
Yurika... as always you have no luck whatsoever...
To Koutarou, the horse turning its face away like that seemed just like when Yurika was acting as a horse's rear and had failed to do something.
“No matter how good your act is, a horse is just too much...”
Koutarou muttered while looking at the horse. The other girls all had something similar to them, but only Yurika was a horse. Koutarou couldn't help but pity Yurika's extremely bad luck.
However, on the contrary of Koutarou's feelings, something unexpected happened. Right after Koutarou's mumbling, the horse began running away at full speed as if trying to escape.
“What's going on? Nobody did anything.”
“Ah, look out!”
But night had already fallen and the darkness of night had settled. Shortly after running away at full speed, the horse tripped.
And then something even more unexpected happened. When the horse crashed into the ground, its body was wrapped in white smoke. After the smoke cleared, what was left wasn't a horse but a lone girl wearing a dark robe and holding a large cane.
“Yurika!?”
The costume was plain and the color was black. The cane was rough as if it had been carved from a tree branch. But her appearance was the same as Yurika's when she was cosplaying as a magical girl.
“A magician!? Your highness, get back!!”
“Yes.”
Koutarou was surprised that a girl like Yurika had appeared, but Flair's reaction was different. She quickly put herself between the girl and Alaia and warned the group.
“It's an enemy spy! Bertorion, I'll leave her highness and the others to you!”
“I got it!”
Having heard the words enemy spy, Koutarou realized the sense of urgency. He had remembered that only her appearance was similar and that they were in danger.
“Clan, keep an eye on our surroundings!”
“I already am!!”
Flair dashed past Koutarou. After Koutarou had retreated back to Alaia, he let down Charl who was still on his back.
“Kuh!”
“As if you're getting away!”
The girl in black stood up and tried to run away, but the damage she had taken from crashing into the ground was large, and she couldn't move right away. Because of that, by the time she stood up, Flair was already right in front of her.
“Come, the winds-”
“You're too slow!”
The girl quickly pointed her staff towards Flair, but Flair's sword was even faster. Flair effortlessly pulled the sword out of its sheath and with a firm step, she knocked the staff away from the girls hand.
“That's enough!”
Flair's sword stopped at the girl’s throat. She was telling the girl that if she moved any further or spoke she would be killed. The girl stopped moving and interrupted herself mid-sentence.
“An enemy spy... and a magician...?”
For Koutarou, that was his second meeting with a real magician.
The masterminds behind the coup d'etat were Forthorthe's minister of finance, Maxfern and the head of the court magicians, Grevanas.
Forthorthe was a complete warrior society, so even if one had the ability, if they weren't a knight, they wouldn't gain a reputation. Not even the minister or the head of the court magicians were exempt from this. No matter how competent an individual they were, those who didn't stand on the frontlines and fought wouldn't gain any reputation. Disliking that system, Maxfern and Grevanas conspired to usurp the imperial throne.
At first they carefully planned. They made up a case that the country's money was being used up by the emperor, that the emperor prioritized giving land and assets to royalty. Using his position as a minister, Maxfern played tricks to make it look like the case was real and planted seeds of revolt in the hearts of the holy knights, and in reality, the assets flowed into the hands of Maxfern and Grevanas.
Their next scheme was to move the assets they had embezzled using the alchemists’ techniques to foreign countries and earn enormous amounts of money. It wasn't just the people blinded by the money, but the holy knights that Maxfern's tricks had sent into poverty had no choice but to accept the bribes for the sake of the management of their territories.
They then set up a trap for the loyal holy knights that wouldn't accept the bribes. Using injustice, revolt, murder and the likes, they used any method to put the guilt on the holy knights and reduce their numbers.
Having repeated that for over ten years, there was now a large amount of the band of knights who obeyed the minister Maxfern, leaving only a handful of band of knights loyal to the royal family. After deciding that traps would no longer be needed, Maxfern and Grevanas finally took action.
They uncovered a case that never happened and denounced the emperor. They then murdered the emperor and empress. They then put the guilt of the case and murder on Alaia and tried to have her arrested as a criminal in an attempt to get rid of the princess.
When the murder of the emperor took place Alaia was being visited by Fauna, her old classmate, and Flair and Charl joined as well. That was when Mary who had witnessed the murder of the emperor and empress burst into the room, starting Alaia's and the others escape.
Since Maxfern had already seized the palace, escape was incredibly difficult. However through the guidance of Maxfern's niece, Lidith, and some of the alchemists, they somehow succeeded. At this moment most of the alchemists already followed Maxfern, but there were still a few people that were loyal to the royal family.
Having escaped the palace, Alaia and her group decided to flee north to Pardomshiha territory. Pardomshiha had thick ties to royal family, and it was also Flair's birthplace. Alaia's plan was to flee there to gather her allies before coming back.
However, pursuers were right on their tail, so the journey was perilous from the start. Flair was their only capable combatant; the other five girls were frail and had never even held a weapon before. Despite that, their pursuers were the elites from Forthorthe's army and the court magicians. Their goal was capturing Alaia, and if that deemed difficult, her murder. Having gotten so close to the Mastir checkpoint while avoiding their pursuers was proof Flair's loyalty and hard work.
However, when there were only two mountain passes between Alaia and her group and the Mastir checkpoint, the pursuers finally caught up. Although they somehow escaped, they were all scattered.
And it was just then that Koutarou had met Alaia.
Part 4
“That was when Reios-sama appeared.”
“I see, so it was during such circumstances...”
Alaia's story more or less followed Theia's manuscript. Although minor details were different, the event happened almost as was described in the manuscript.
Koutarou stopped eating to think. The meal that Mary had prepared was delicious, but there were lots of things he had to think about.
Which means that after we get attacked by mountain bandits, we'll get to the checkpoint, but...
The red flame lit up Koutarou's face.
“If we keep pressing forward like this, we'll almost certainly get ambushed by the army...”
Koutarou sighed slightly.
He was currently concerned about the difference in the current situation and the manuscript that Theia had written. Thinking about it, in their current situation, the Blue Knight would end up fighting the army. But according to the manuscript, they were attacked by bandits. In the play, Yurika had played a bandit during that scene. After that was the famous checkpoint scene, so having to fight both bandits and the army didn't seem right.
Did Theia omit the fight with the army? Or is this because the history's changed...?
For some reason, the Blue Knight wasn't fighting the army, but mountain bandits. Because that wasn't very clear, Koutarou wasn't sure on how he should act from now.
“...Clan, what actually happened after this?”
Troubled, Koutarou whispered to Clan who was sitting next to him. However Clan shook her head and dropped her shoulders.
“...I'm not very informed about what happens here. I only know what happens in plays or movies.”
The Blue Knight was a legendary tale in Forthorthe, but Clan wasn't a historian so she only knew what the public knew. Theia might have known, but she was 2,000 years away.
“However, Bertorion, it would be reckless to continue forward knowing there's an ambush. And since a spy slipped in, it’s obvious there will be one.”
Flair pointed out the problems while pointing behind her. There was a magical girl in black tied to a tree by rope. She was currently struggling to escape her bonds, but because the restraint was strong she couldn't slip out.
If I told Yurika, she'd definitely be happy...
Surprisingly, the girl was an actual magician. Before they managed to bind her up, she had used several minor spells in resistance. But since her cane which improved her spells powers had been taken away from her, there was hardly any damage, but just knowing that magic existed was surprising to Koutarou and Clan. In the play, magicians appeared as well, but the two of them had just assumed that was fiction.
“Well, that girl could hardly have had a lot of chances to turn into a horse.”
Having lost sight of Alaia, she tracked down Charl and the others to observe them. After tracking them down, she continued acting like a horse while waiting for a chance to capture Alaia and pass information on to her allies. That's what Koutarou had come up with, and he didn't believe he could be wrong. In the end, the magician had misunderstood Koutarou's mumbling and assumed she had been found out, and ended up being captured. If that hadn't happened, it wasn't hard to imagine that Alaia's and the others journey would be over shortly. And for the same reason, after capturing the girl, the group moved away from the waterfall to somewhere in the middle of the forest.
“If we keep going, it's almost certain that we'll fall into the enemy's trap.”
“That's rough...”
Koutarou began thinking again after hearing Flair. Alaia's party mostly consisted of normal girls that couldn't fight. Koutarou's fighting capabilities were high thanks to his armor, but he had almost no experience. Clan wasn't much different from Koutarou. Because of that, the only proper soldier was Flair alone. So walking into an ambush by the Forthorthe army like that, it would be next to impossible to protect the girls.
“Lord Pardomshiha, isn't the only option we have to take a detour?”
That was when Clan broke her silence. Heeding to her role as a servant, she had left the talking to Koutarou, but she suddenly muscled her way into the conversation.
“Clan?”
“...I'll let you in on the details later.”
Koutarou was left confused about Clan's actions, but rather than answering his doubts, she continued speaking to Flair.
“If we take a detour from the road and cross the mountain, we won't come into contact with the army. There's the problem of it being hard to walk, but it’s better than walking into a trap.”
“Hmm... If we do it before they increase their search area after noticing that contact with their spy has been lost... it might be worth trying.”
Flair agreed with Clan and made up her mind.
“At daybreak tomorrow, we'll take a detour from the road and cross the mountain towards the Mastir checkpoint. Everyone rest easy for the night.”
As such, their actions for tomorrow were decided, and Alaia and her party rested for the moment.
To keep the fire from going out, Koutarou threw pieces of wood into the flame. The pieces shone brightly and popped repeatedly, and the fire grew slightly larger.
Although there was a chance that they would be found by the enemy the fire was needed to keep them from being attacked by animals in the forest, and to keep warm. Since Flair had picked a good spot, the fire was being covered by the surroundings, so the chances of being found were minimal.
“So how does it look?”
“Just wait a moment... uhm...”
Clan was sitting next to Koutarou. It was now past midnight. The only ones awake where those two and the rest were sleeping on the other side of the fire, covered by blankets.
Having decided on what to do tomorrow, Alaia and her party went to sleep to rest up. But they would take turns to keep watch on their surroundings and keep the fire alive. And just after midnight was Koutarou and Clan's turn.
“...It looks okay. There are no large animals or people in the area.”
Using her observation device, Clan watched over the surroundings. Fortunately there were no signs of danger, and she let out a small sigh of relief. The camp site that Flair had picked was still safe.
“I see. Thank you.”
“You're welcome.”
While responding to Koutarou, Clan couldn't help but think what a strange turn of events things had taken.
Of course the Blue Knight act is one thing, but to think I would be cooperating with this man...
Just half a day ago, Clan had franticly been trying to kill Koutarou. Through some twist of fate, they had been put in a situation where they had to work together. And now they're talk to one another in a friendly manner. To Clan, that was just too bizarre.
“By the way Clan, why'd you say that before?”
“That?”
Clan stopped thinking as she heard Koutarou's question. Since she had been thinking about something else, she couldn't answer him right away.
“You know, when you suggested to Flair-san that we should take a detour from the road.”
Since it was just the two of them, Koutarou could speak like normal. And he didn't call Flair Lord Pardomshiha. To Koutarou, Clan was currently the only one he could be himself with.
“Ah, right, about that.”
“That's right. I was sure you'd stay quiet to not change history.”
“It's the opposite Bertorion.”
The same was true for Clan and she dropped any formalities with Koutarou. Oddly enough, the two enemies could only reveal their true selves to one another.
“The opposite?”
“Yes. I realized what the Blue Knight would have done.”
Clan continued talking while Koutarou was perplexed.
“If we continued walking down the road, the army would ambush us. Thinking about it, there's no way they would just walk into it. So they would need to take a detour, either through the mountain or the river.”
Since they were currently in the middle of a mountain, they would either need to cross the river with a boat or leave the road and cross the mountains.
“So remember that the Blue Knight was attacked by mountain bandits.”
“I see! You're smart, Clan!”
Noticing what Clan was trying to say, Koutarou's expression brightened up.
“In other words, the Blue Knight walked off the beaten path and was attacked by mountain bandits.”
“That's why there wasn't a scene about fighting the army, but bandits!”
There were three options they had right now, continuing along the road, crossing the mountain or crossing the river. The only option that let them avoid the army but fight mountain bandits was by crossing the mountain.
“There will probably be fewer bandits than soldiers, and we'll stand out less in the mountains. I believed that was what the Blue Knight chose.”
“I see... Clan, I thought you were just sly and vengeful, but that's not all there is to you.”
Koutarou cheerfully slapped Clan on the back.
“Ow, that hurts!”
“Sorry, I got excited and put a little too much force in it.”
“And what's sly and vengeful supposed to mean!?”
“That's what Theia said, and I felt the same after meeting you.”
“Quit messing around!!”
Excited, Clan stood up.
“Don't you forget! When we get back to our age I'll have you hanged for offending royalty!”
“Your laws don't apply to me, I'm not a citizen of your country.”
“Then I'll just beat you to death!”
“I got it, just calm down, Clan.”
“Mhhh Hhhm!”
“Everyone's gonna wake up.”
With his left hand, Koutarou forcibly dragged Clan towards him and with his right he closed her mouth. Displeased, she struggled for a while, but as time passed she calmed down. When Koutarou confirmed that he removed his hands.
“Once we return you'll regret it.”
“If we return.”
Koutarou then looked up into the sky. Earth was on the other side of the sea of stars, 2,000 years away.
“If we can't return it'll just be the two of us.”
“I'll pass on that.”
“That goes for both of us.”
However, on the contrary to their words, they were happy that they weren't alone, even if they were with their enemy.
“It'll be because you did something unnecessary.”
“It can't be helped can it, I didn't know anything. Besides―”
As Koutarou was object, he saw someone wake up on the other side of the bonfire.
“What's wrong?”
“Looks like we woke someone up.”
Clan was wondering why Koutarou had stopped mid-sentence when Koutarou pointed to the other side of the fire, just as the person that had woken up was turning towards them.
“Princess Alaia.”
When they confirmed that it was Alaia, Koutarou and Clan hurriedly stood up, corrected their lazy postures and faced her as a knight and his servant.
“May I speak with you, Reios-sama?”
“Ah, y-yes, of course.”
“Thank you. Oh and please relax you two.”
With a small smile, Alaia approached. She had heard Koutarou and Clan talking for a while now, so for them to suddenly stop was funny. Having gotten up next to the fire, Alaia sat down near Koutarou.
“...Bertorion.”
Clan poked Koutarou with her elbow.
“...What?”
“...I'll leave Alaia to you. Meanwhile I'll keep an eye on our surroundings.”
“...Ah, that's playing dirty!”
Clan was planning on leaving this to Koutarou while she feigned ignorance. This was most likely because she didn't want to deal with Alaia, but also because there were no scenes where the Blue Knight's servant stood out. It wasn't even certain if a servant existed to begin with. There were no recordings regarding a servant. So in order to not change history, Clan left all dealings with Alaia to Koutarou, the Blue Knight stand in.
“Well then, your highness, Lord Bertorion, I will keep look around the area.”
“I'm sorry for making you worry, Clan-sama.”
“No, this is nothing. Besides, keeping a lookout of the area is necessary. In return, please keep Lord Bertorion company, princess Alaia.”
“Very well.”
“H-Hey...”
Leaving behind a smiling Alaia and panicking Koutarou, Clan quickly left the bonfire.
That bastard, she definitely won't come back until we’re done talking...
Having been deserted, Koutarou decided that he would complain until Clan's ears bled when she came back.
“Reios-sama.”
While Koutarou was staring at Clan's back with complex feelings inside his chest, Alaia called out to him. When Koutarou turned to her, she tilted her head and giggled.
“Well...”
Dumbfounded, Koutarou sighed and sat back down.
“You seem to get along very well with Clan-sama.”
Alaia was smiling, but Koutarou lightly shook his head and denied it.
“We're just sort of forced together... you know, stuck in the same boat... not quite the same as getting along.”
They were originally enemies; if it wasn't for this situation, Koutarou and Clan would probably still be fighting.
“Fufu, is that, right?”
But that wasn't how Alaia saw it. In reality it might be just as Koutarou said, but others saw Koutarou and Clan as friendly to each other. Alaia had called it getting along because of what she had seen.
“So, what did you want to talk about?”
It was an embarrassing topic, and if she got too involved into it, it would become problematic, so Koutarou quickly changed topic.
“That's right..."
After revealing a lonely expression for an instant, she showed a serious expression. It was an expression that left a strong impression of her being a princess.
“Actually, I wanted say farewell to you and Clan-sama.”
Alaia quietly spoke those words. However, having heard that, Koutarou was unable to remain calm, unlike Alaia.
“Farewell!? What do you mean!?”
If they split up here, history would get completely rewritten. If that happened, Koutarou and Clan wouldn't be able to return home. That was a serious problem.
“It's just as I said. I can't involve you any further.”
“It's to keep me from getting involved!?”
In his surprise, Koutarou returned to his normal self.
Ah, this person really did only help with good intentions...
Seeing his reaction, Alaia reconfirmed that her judgment hadn't been wrong. And she quietly nodded.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“That's because, at this rate, the lord you serve will be blamed.”
“Lord!? My master will be blamed?”
“Yes.”
There was no master that Koutarou was serving. That calmed Koutarou down, and after a deep breath, he asked Alaia.
“Why do you think so?”
“That's because you are very strong. That much strength at your age must mean that you are part of a large band of knights.”
The quality of a squire was obviously higher in larger bands of knights. It influenced not just their skill with the sword, but also the quality of their sword and armor, and having magical tools was another indicator. So after seeing Koutarou fight, it was only natural to assume he was part of a large band of knights.
“And there are only two bands of knights that large that are my allies. Pardomshiha and Wenranka.”
There were only two large bands of knights that were still loyal to the royal family: Pardomshiha and Wenranka. Both had served the family for a long time, and because of their many assets, they didn't accept any of Maxfern's bribes.
“However, you are not part of either of them. If you were a squire from Pardomshiha we would have met before, and Wenranka don't use colors for their titles.”
Using aristocratic common knowledge, it was obvious that Reios Fatra Bertorion wasn't part of Pardomshiha or Wenranka. In other words―
“In other words, you serve a lord that follows Maxfern. If you continue allying with us, it is only obvious that blame will fall on your lord. Which means that lord will fall between the two sides into a very dangerous situation. I don't wish for that to happen.”
In reality, Alaia wasn't worried about the lord, but the people living in the land he resided over. And she was worried about Koutarou who had saved her out of good intentions. If he remained Alaia's ally, both the peoples and his own future would be in danger. So to prevent that, Alaia decided to say farewell to Koutarou.
“I asked Flair to arrange it so that you and Clan-sama would take watch at this time. Please leave while everyone is still sleeping.”
“Princess Alaia...”
Koutarou stumbled to answer. He had to come up with a way to keep travelling with Alaia and her party, but he had trouble arguing when she stared at him with her eyes filled with determination.
How should I answer? What can I say to satisfy her?
Koutarou wasn't the real Blue Knight. The real one most likely wouldn't have any problems answering her. But Koutarou couldn't do it. He couldn't rely on the manuscript either because this scene wasn't in it.
Tell me, Theia!! What would the Blue Knight say here!?
Koutarou thought of Theia who wasn't here. Lies or deception wouldn't work on Alaia and her deep and clear eyes. So some kind of truth was necessary. And he felt that Theia could give him that answer.
No, Theia, what would you do!? How would you answer!?
Koutarou only knew of the Blue Knight from the manuscript. But he knew Theia very well. She was selfish, but at the same time lonely and very gentle. And despite resistance, she wanted to become the ideal royalty worthy of standing above others. Thanks to the time they had spent together, Koutarou was able to imagine what Theia would do.
That's right Theia. That's probably what you would say...
Koutarou's hesitation cleared up. He had finally realized how he should answer Alaia.
“There's no need to worry, princess Alaia.”
Koutarou smiled. His desire to act as the replacement Blue Knight had been too strong and he had lost sight of his true self, Koutarou found that funny. He wasn't much different from Theia when she had first come to Earth. In that case, just like in Theia's case, there was something more important to Koutarou than replacing the Blue Knight.
Before being an emperor, one had to be a splendid noble.
In that case, before he was the Blue Knight, he had to be a splendid knight.
Having realized that, Koutarou no longer hesitated.
“Please let me continue following you, your highness.”
“But Reios-sama, in that case both you and the people of your land will suffer!”
Alaia still held onto her belief. She didn't want to see people suffer, nor did she want to see Koutarou suffer. So words alone weren't enough to satisfy her.
“It's alright, princess Alaia. I can't go into details but I don't serve any lord.”
Koutarou told her the truth. And he also honestly said that he couldn't go into the details that he couldn't tell her.
I just need to do this, right Theia...
In order to keep history from changing, he was acting as the Blue Knight, but he wouldn't be a splendid knight by lying his way through. If he did, he would eventually disappoint and lose the trust placed in him, and as a result, he wouldn't be able to return to his own world. So he followed the path of a knight, despite the risk it involved. He would borrow the Blue Knight's words, but put his own feelings in them. In other words, Koutarou had to be worthy of being a knight.
Giving both mind and body to the nobles, huh...
In the past during their practice, Theia would often say that. Back then he hadn't paid any attention to those words, but now he believed they were correct. Just trying to feign appearance wouldn't work.
“W-What are you―!?”
Alaia was surprised by Koutarou's answer and opened her eyes wide.
A knight roaming the lands without a lord wasn't all that rare. At this era, there were plenty of knights travelling to find a lord. But that was limited to knights where the house they had served had been destroyed or knights that had caused trouble and been banished. But knights generally had no reason to hide the fact that the house they had served had been destroyed and Koutarou didn't look like someone who would cause trouble and get banished.
“Please rest easy, princess Alaia. I may be a wandering knight far from his hometown, but I haven't lost even a fraction of my loyalty to the royal family.”
They were words taken straight from the manuscript. Since Koutarou wasn't sure how a knight spoke, he relied on the Blue Knight. But Koutarou himself wanted to help Alaia. That's why the feelings in the words belonged to him.
It didn't really matter if it was Koutarou's or the Blue Knight's, since Koutarou himself wanted to help Alaia. At first he had only saved her because she looked like Harumi, but having experienced the dangers first hand, he wanted to be of help to her.
And Theia's ideal knight would never lie. If he told her the truth right here, he might not be able to return to his own world, but Koutarou felt like Theia would praise him right now.
“But allying with us who are being pursued for my position is the same as making all of Forthorthe your enemy!”
Even then, Alaia wisely tried to persuade Koutarou. If he had no lord he served, then she definitely couldn't put Koutarou who was unrelated in harm's way. Alaia's sincere eyes were fixed on Koutarou, but he simply nodded at her.
“Certainly, it might be as you say, princess Alaia.”
“Then―”
“But even then, I won't have to make an enemy of my pride, my loyalty and most of all the hearts of the people of Forthorthe. The important thing isn't who my enemy, but who I don't betray.”
There were feelings that Koutarou didn't want to betray. The straight and earnest feeling of wanting to be of help to her mother in her time of need. The legend of the Blue Knight supported that feeling. So Koutarou couldn't ruin that. More important than protecting history or returning home was that Koutarou didn't want to betray that girl’s feelings.
Even if it's a legendary hero, in the end his feelings aren't that far from my own...
While speaking the Blue Knight’s lines, that was how Koutarou felt. The Blue Knight himself must have had something he didn't want to betray too. Thanks to that, the feeling of guilt from fooling Alaia and the others by acting began disappearing. Right now, Koutarou wasn't sure what was an act and what wasn't.
“Reios-sama...”
“And princess Alaia, I'm sure the person who gave me this sword and armor wouldn't forgive me if I abandoned you. So please, let me continue to help you.”
The girl that had given Koutarou the Blue Knight's armor and the treasured sword Saguratin was prideful, strong and gentle. If she learned that Koutarou had abandoned a girl being chased down by her enemies, she would most likely erupt like a volcano.
“Your sword and armor...”
Alaia's glance fell onto Koutarou's armor and sword.
Ah...
Up until now it had been too dark to clearly see, but thanks to it being lit up by the red flame, Alaia could clearly see the crest engraved on Koutarou's armor.
Theiamillis's Blue Knight...?
On it was a title engraved around the crest of a knight fighting a dragon. It was in ancient Forthorthe, though to Alaia it was modern Forthorthe, but engraved were the words Theiamillis's Blue Knight. When she saw that title, Alaia was more shocked than ever before.
Reios-sama isn't a squire, but a holy knight!?
Koutarou had named himself as Reios Fatra Bertorion. So normally, the only words carved around the crest should be Fatra and Blue Knight. But instead what was carved on the armor were the words Theiamillis's Blue Knight. That was different from just Blue Knight; it was a personal title, which meant that he was a holy knight that had been directly appointed by royalty.
That's why he doesn't have a lord! But he should have territory! But there's no land named Bertorion in Forthorthe!
Alaia grew confused. Having seen the title engraved on Koutarou's armor, she understood why Koutarou didn't have a lord he served. That was because Koutarou himself was a lord. But she couldn't understand the rest. Seeing the words Theiamillis's Blue Knight, she could only assume that a female royal called Theiamillis had appointed him. But she didn't know of any royalty with that name, and a city by the name of Bertorion didn't exist. Not even the intelligent Alaia could know that Theiamillis was a royalty 2,000 years in the future, or that Bertorion's territory was a small 6 tatami mat room.
That's right, the sword... if I look at the sword...
Alaia had no knowledge of a royal called Theiamillis, but her crest should decorate the sword. It was normal to carve the family's crest on a knight’s traditional sword in Forthorthe.
A golden flower...? But, this crest doesn't exist amongst the royal family... just what is...?
A golden flower was carved into the handle of Koutarou's sword. Alaia assumed it was a family crest, but in reality it wasn't a family crest, but rather Theia's personal crest.
Koutarou hadn't formally been bestowed the title of knight. Because of that, a knight's sword hadn't been prepared, and he had been given the sword given to Theia to celebrate her birth. As a result, Theia's personal crest took the place of what would normally be a family crest. And that confused Alaia even further.
Just who is this person...?
Alaia didn’t doubt Koutarou; although they had only met the other day, she trusted him. But at the same time, she had no idea who he was.
“I am not wishing to follow you for your own sake. I have things I don't want to betray. Please, allow me to accompany you.”
“Reios-sama.... t-then please, tell me something.”
So Alaia decided to directly confront the question. And she decided that she would trust and accept it, no matter how strange a response she was given.
“Anything you ask.”
Koutarou nodded. He was no longer planning on lying or deceiving Alaia any further. There were things he couldn't say, but he would tell her he couldn't in that case.
Seeing Koutarou nodding, Alaia spoke. She put the question in her mind into words and asked Koutarou for the truth.
“That royal crest engraved on your chestplate. Your appearance, your behavior, and that noble prideful heart. You are without a doubt a true knight of Forthorthe. But...”
At that moment, Koutarou felt a strong sense of deja vu.
Sakuraba-senpai...?
The words that had left Alaia's mouth were words that he heard from on top of the stage just a few months ago.
“But, I have no recollection of the crest on your sword. Just where have you come from?”
Alaia's words had been the same as the line from the play. And that was when Koutarou was caught by surprise once more.
“...From an endless time and a countless distance.”
Koutarou responded to Alaia using the Blue Knight's words. It was as if it corresponded to Koutarou's current state. The Blue Knight's answer was his answer. Koutarou had come from 2,000 years in the future and from the other side of the universe.
Just what is this...?
Koutarou was puzzled by the seemingly bizarre coincidence. Clan had used the term synchronicity, but he didn't want to believe it. That said, he was happy that he didn't need to lie to Alaia.
“From an endless time and... a countless... distance...”
Alaia slowly repeated Koutarou's words.
I wonder what that means... but, I'm sure it's not a lie...
She was puzzled by Koutarou's words as well. But she felt that they weren't a lie. And since she believed it was the truth, Alaia wished.
“Please, lend me your strength, Reios-sama...”
“As you wish, my princess.”
Koutarou gave her a energetic nod and looked to the sky. Above them was the night sky filled with stars.
I've come from quite far away...
Despite this many stars shining, he couldn't see Earth. Earth was far, far away, well beyond what the human eye could see.
“...Reios-sama...”
Looking at Koutarou like that, Alaia thought to herself.
That Koutarou might have come from the world of stars.
Alaia herself was well aware that it was just a childish imagination. But so many stars were shining above them that she wanted to believe it to be the truth.
