chapter 16
15 – 015. What Friends Are
“T-This… this is impossible! This can’t be happening!”
Martis wailed like a madman.
His jaw was trembling as he stood before the knights, growing colder. As if he hadn’t even considered defeat, his eyes were filled with shock and disbelief.
“You… Just what! Just what the hell are you!”
And then he shouted at Frey, who stood there blankly. His voice was full of fear, dread, and other negative emotions.
“……Shut up.”
Frey was too dizzy to answer.
He hadn’t felt it when he’d unleashed the sword aura. But as his consciousness gradually cleared, an unspeakable pain raced through his entire body. It felt like a violent bout of seasickness mixed with the flu and a full-body bruise all at once.
And more than anything, the biggest problem was.
“W-what the hell just happened?”
“Five knights are dead.”
“Damn it. Shouldn’t we call the guards?”
An overwhelming noise filled his head. The noise wasn’t just the voices of the onlookers.
Chirp chirp chirp!
The sound of insects crying in the grass.
Sssshhh!
The sound of raindrops soaking his shoulders.
Drip.
The sound of sweat falling from his cheek to the ground.
All those sounds were ringing loudly in his ears.
‘What… is this?’
His hearing had gotten better? No, it wasn’t just that. What Frey was experiencing was an expansion of his ‘sense of awareness.’ The moment he grasped mana and manifested sword aura, his body had begun to change in response.
“W-what is it? Perhaps, is your stamina exhausted and you can’t move?”
Martis, who had been trembling a moment ago, spoke with a shocked expression.
It was like a lie that this man had just displayed overwhelming divine power. He looked so vulnerable for a guy who had simultaneously grasped mana and released sword aura.
“Is that so? Are you really… so tired that you can’t move?”
Shling!
Martis drew the sword from his waist with a sinister expression. Soon, an emerald-colored sword adorned with expensive ornaments appeared.
Martis, holding the sword, moved slowly, cautiously. His face was filled with glee. After all, it seemed like he would be the final victor.
‘Move.’
Frey, still standing there like a frozen statue, scolded his legs.
‘Move, I said.’
Frey couldn’t understand what was happening to him. Mana and sword aura, that was fine. But his body was betraying his will. This sudden change was something he hadn’t anticipated.
Sssshh.
He immediately poured mana into his sword. And the blade, already so close, soared high. His bluish sword aimed for Frey’s neck.
‘Move…!’
* * *
*Swoosh!*
“Don’t move.”
*Thud!*
Someone’s deep voice cut through the rain.
“Lan, Lancelot…?!”
Martis, whose sword had just been at my throat, froze. He slowly lowered his arm and subtly turned his head.
There stood Lancelot, his face contorted. He, in turn, was pointing his sword at Martis’s neck. It wasn’t his usual expressionless face, but a visage like a grim reaper risen from hell.
“Damn it… you’re late.”
*Thump,* my exhausted body rolled onto the damp ground. I couldn’t summon any strength. On top of that, my expanded senses were still tormenting me. But for some reason, a smile bloomed on my face.
“Sorry. I had something to take care of.”
Lancelot’s cold gaze swept over Martis. He didn’t even seem to think about bringing his sword down; both his arms were trembling.
“La, Lancelot, won’t you please put down your sword? We’re family, aren’t we?”
“…Family?”
“Yeah! I- I’m ten years older than you, but technically I’m your nephew. Did you forget that my father is your half-brother?!”
“I have only one family.”
“Wait! Wait a minute! Are you trying to kill me right now? What is this guy that makes you throw away your own blood?!”
Lancelot’s merciless gaze shifted back to Martis at his outburst.
And then, after a moment of silence, Lancelot barely managed to open his lips.
“…He is my friend.”
*Shing!*
*Thud,* Martis’s head tumbled to the ground. Considering all the fuss he had made, it was a fitting end.
More than that, friend, he called me his friend.
I tried hard to deny it, but it was true, Lancelot and I were ‘friends’ of sorts.
We’re not fresh-faced teenagers anymore, and denying it now would be ridiculous.
“Frey. You’re in a sorry state.”
“I’m not in the mood for jokes. But Lancelot, is it okay to kill that guy? He’s from the same Almans family, isn’t he?”
“No, it’s not.”
Lancelot shook his head heavily.
“I’m no longer a person of the Almans count family. Lancelot du Armand. That’s the name I’ll be using from now on.”
“……”
“I sensed something was off during my earlier conversation with my mother. You seem to have forgotten it for a moment, but I’m quite sharp myself.”
“Well done.”
<Knightly Code> Swordmaster Lancelot.
Just now, what he’d cut down wasn’t simply the neck of a mere brute. It was the link to the Almans family, a bond close to a bad fate, severing that tenacious chain of blood.
“At this rate, you’re going to quit the knight order too.”
“That’s right. I’ve even finished submitting my discharge papers to the knight order. That’s why I was late.”
“What?”
Lancelot answered immediately. And the answer was unexpected. I never imagined that he, who had walked the path of a knight his entire life, would abandon the Golden Lion Knights.
“Alright. You’ll choose your path well. Before that, help me up first. I can’t move my body.”
“Hmm. Understood.”
Swish.
Lancelot propped me up without a grumble. Then, he cast a dry gaze at Martis and the five knights.
“…You’ve done well.”
“It wasn’t much?”
“Haha! That’s a transparent brag.”
…Laughing? I gave Lancelot a look mixed with absurdity.
This guy, Lancelot, he was always a dry, rigid human being. But now, he seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood.
“Oh right, your mother, she’ll be back soon. Have her stay at the hotel.”
“Hmm. Alright. I’ll take you to your lodging and then go get her.”
“Good. At least you answer well.”
After that, we walked in silence for a long time.
Thanks to the pouring rain from the sky, our clothes, even our undergarments, were soaked, but not a single complaint escaped from either Lancelot or me.
“…Thank you.”
It was Lancelot’s gruff voice that broke the long silence. He spoke with his head bowed deeply, as if he was grateful for something.
“It’s thanks to you, Frey. If it weren’t for you, I would surely be living the same life as before and end up with the same regrets.”
Was he talking about the Almans count family, or Mrs. Armand? Perhaps it meant both.
“I thought it was strange. That someone with your talent, would have absolutely no reason to help me.”
“No reason?”
“Isn’t that so? It’s a bit much to say I’d help you just because I escorted you from the orc camp….”
Tch, I cut off Lancelot with a low click of my tongue. Immediately, his questioning gaze landed on me.
Then, stopping in my tracks, I tilted my head back. Like paint spilled by a dark cloud, the darkness filled the sky.
“A person who’s realized the beauty of gold forgets the beauty of the stars.”
“……”
“I simply… like the stars, and just followed them.”
Lancelot let out a low moan at my indifferent tone. Drenched in the rain, his hair stuck to his forehead, his straight eyes filled with moisture.
That could be tears, or just rain trickling down.
“You think there’s not a single reason I’d help you?”
“……”
Even his stride halted, Lancelot waited quietly for my words.
“That’s what friends… are for, originally.”
Before long, the downpour ceased. The sky revealed a bright sunlight, as if it had never rained. A blinding, pure white light poured down upon us.
It was summer.
* * *
The Mercenary Guild, Loven Branch.
The bartender, the branch manager, started the day as usual, letting out a long, bored yawn.
“Haaam! Damn, there are so few people.”
Most of the mercenaries who had participated in the Great Empire’s Northern Expedition had died in battle. Naturally, the number of people had decreased, and the aftereffects of the war had reduced the amount of work, so the branch was desolate.
“Hmm….”
The branch manager made a low humming sound and moved his feet.
After all, there were no customers or work. In times like these, it was his nature to create work.
Click! Clack!
His skilled hands touched a magical artifact.
The very essence of modern magical engineering, it was an object with a mysterious power that allowed people to communicate quickly and easily, even when far apart.
“Signal good.”
He muttered to himself, and checked the magical mail that had arrived in the ‘communication window’. There were not many mails, and most of them were notification mails sent from headquarters.
“……Hmm?”
Then, one mail caught his eye.
[ To. Frey ]
Frey. The branch manager knew that face. It was the one who’d returned miraculously alive from the northern expedition a few days ago.
[ From. Helios Magetower, Ariel. ]
“……Huh, Helios Magetower?!”
The branch manager’s mouth dropped open without him realizing it. Helios, Helios Magetower! It seemed this guest was connected to that magetower teeming with big shots.
‘Ahem, the visit date is today.’
Either way, that guest had promised to visit the branch to receive their payment. The branch manager, confirming that today was that date, smiled contentedly and closed the magic tool’s lid.
He planned to greet the guest even more warmly when they arrived.