Chapter 125
"What? Why?"
An irritable voice.
A sharp voice of one who had just come of age pressed the bowing knight.
"That... that ruffian was stronger than expected. I heard he's a minion of a demon..."
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
"Ahem."
The knight couldn't bring himself to tell his master the soldiers' rumor about a demon of lust appearing.
How could he speak of what he himself dismissed as baseless rumor?
It was too shameful to even mention.
However.
"It seems true that he commands magical beasts."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I was able to confirm it after examining the soldiers' corpses."
Whatever had been done, everything was burned, but the beast's teeth marks were vivid.
Other than that, there were no clear wounds, so it was certain.
"It doesn't matter."
"But..."
"Catch him for sure. I've never seen such a beautiful man in my entire life!"
Recalling that memory once again.
The moment she was being kidnapped.
He stepped down handsomely from the white horse and instantly beat down the ruffians to save her.
The moment the hood of his fluttering robe came off, revealing his hair and prominent nose. His sharp jawline and deep eyes.
She could never forget even if she tried.
"My lady..."
The woman wearing a heated expression.
The knight watching her showed feelings different from a sense of mission to stop her.
'The look of someone in love. How beautiful!'
The knight was deeply moved.
She was someone who never even thought of love and was only interested in other things.
But she had finally come of age and awakened to love, that much was certain!
Even if it were merely a passing fancy.
"I will surely help my lady's love..."
"A morningstar made from him would be beautiful!"
"Pardon? Ah..."
Scratching his head, the knight thought, of course.
His master was the princess of the duchy.
The vicious Rebecca.
"Find him quickly. We can't delay any longer. We can't stay in the Empire for long, you know."
"Yes, that's certainly true."
They hadn't come to the Empire for pleasure.
"And..."
"Yes."
"If the Empire's princess finds out, she'll steal him. That bitch has taken everything I've ever wanted."
"Please watch your words..."
"I know, so just bring him quickly. Betan. Yes, you bring him instead."
Startled at the thought of someone hearing, Betan let out a deep sigh.
"I cannot leave the princess's side. As the honorable princess's guardian knight..."
"I'll protect my own body."
Betan was dumbfounded.
"You almost got kidnapped!"
"That was because I drank too much."
"Ahem."
"Quickly!!"
"Understood."
Betan had no choice but to set off with reluctant steps.
Shortly after Betan disappeared.
"...."
Rebecca straightened her back and put on a mask over her face.
The princess of the duchy with a faint smile.
The cheap expression and tone had vanished.
Because that was the role befitting her now.
"Princess Rebecca. It's been a while."
"I greet Princess Ravian of Laktusia."
The Empire's princess.
Ravian.
Armed in red armor, Ravian had an appearance closer to a knight than a princess.
A female knight with brilliant blonde hair tied in two braids and somewhat fierce eyes.
But her status was none other than a princess.
She was the princess of the Great Holy Empire.
"It's been a long time, Princess Rebecca."
Empire and duchy.
Even as allies, the difference in their power was clear, and thus there was a hierarchy between them.
The same applied to their status.
The princess got goosebumps at the princess's friendly tone, but responded with a smile without showing it.
"It has been a long time."
"Have you been well? How many years has it been?"
"Exactly four years."
"Hmm, I see. Did you drink a lot of milk for four years? Seems you've gotten bigger."
"It's genetics."
"...."
With a smile.
Princess Rebecca smiled.
Whenever the imperial princess came to meet her, she always wore the Empire's armor.
The princess was well aware that the reason lay in her slender figure.
'Though I'm hated because of it.'
The imperial princess narrowed her eyes and stared at the princess's chest.
"Looks cumbersome. Must be hard when you move."
"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. But it doesn't matter when I wear armor. It holds them tightly."
"...Really? Still, when you're not wearing armor, they must dangle and be annoying. Why don't you just cut them off? Want me to cut them for you?"
"I'm fine. By the way, may I ask the reason you summoned me?"
When the princess firmly refused, the imperial princess couldn't say anything more.
Princess Ravian, with a serious expression, signaled the waiting knight.
Then the Empire's knight brought a map and quietly spread it on the table.
"Among the magical beasts that gathered in the Empire's south, there are lizard bastards."
Lizard.
The princess's eyes narrowed.
"They are rebels that must be eliminated. Is that why you called me?"
"Their power was torn into tens and hundreds of strands in the past, but since they are those who revere the Spear alongside the Empire, they possess power that cannot be overlooked. That is why I called you."
Throughout the Empire's history, lizardmen had always been a headache.
From the Empire's stance of maintaining a policy of annihilating other races, lizardmen were those who served Laktus alongside them.
After much deliberation, they annihilated the lizardmen, but remnants still remained.
Remaining and dreaming of revenge.
The imperial princess's role was their annihilation.
It was a natural order.
The reason she called the princess for that was because the location where they were expected to be overlapped with the duchy.
'There's no need for the imperial princess to step forward herself. Is she conscious of the Saint?'
Or the Prince?
Perhaps.
She was a person with great ambitions.
"Hmm... certainly. In this location, lizardmen could be hiding."
The Empire's south.
The duchy's north.
The great forest located there had many wetlands that lizardmen favored.
And many places to hide.
Given the location, it wouldn't be easy to find them with ordinary forces. Requesting support from the duchy was only natural.
'The Empire has been stockpiling power since the last incident...'
As Princess Rebecca, she had neither justification nor reason to refuse.
She was in a position where she had to comply if ordered, and calculations about the benefits after subjugating the lizardmen were quickly made.
"The regrettable thing is that it might take a long time to find them."
"That's true, since they're damp creatures, they'll probably be hiding deep in the forest."
"Your Highness need not do the tracking yourself."
"Right, you have a knight, Princess. Betan, was it? I heard he has a morningstar skilled in tracking, so I was thinking of borrowing his power."
"...."
So that was it.
Rebecca realized with a start.
She had just sent Betan away.
She never dreamed the imperial princess would ask for Betan.
He was but a mere knight to the imperial princess.
"Your expression isn't good. Did you send him on another mission? Perhaps, to spy on the Empire?"
Looking at Princess Ravian's sneering face, she seemed to know something.
But the princess didn't panic and curved her lips into a smile.
"I met a man."
Here, making up useless lies would be pointless.
The story would have reached the imperial princess's ears.
But she probably wouldn't know the details.
If so, it was better to speak.
"A man?"
Paying no mind to Princess Ravian tilting her head as if asking "A man out of nowhere?", Rebecca slowly continued.
"He was handsome as if crafted by a god."
"...What?"
Uncharacteristically flustered, Ravian.
Her mouth moved a few times at the unexpected answer, then she soon nodded.
"A man... So the duchy's princess was interested in the Empire's men."
The moment useless pride swelled up.
The princess's words continued.
"Until recently, I had no interest no matter what men courted me. But that one was different."
"Oh... to that extent?"
The imperial princess and the princess had interacted for a long time since childhood.
Because the princess had received education together with the imperial princess for several years as a hostage of the Empire.
At the Empire's Academy.
Thus Princess Ravian was a bit surprised.
Princess Rebecca had never had a single scandal with a man.
That was why Princess Ravian had even suspected her sexual orientation might not be normal.
'I kept my distance thinking she liked me, but I guess that wasn't it.'
The imperial princess was inwardly relieved.
"But, they say that man commands magical beasts. Isn't that interesting?"
"Magical beasts?"
Ravian's lips curled up.
"Yes. Does anything come to mind?"
"I've read it in the Empire's old documents. The followers of Auste's god easily tamed beasts or whatever. Using a whip, for instance. What's his appearance?"
"Like a pilgrim."
A pilgrim of Auste.
Things are getting quite interesting.
Princess Ravian actually knew that the princess was looking for something.
Because the story of issuing a wanted order in the Empire couldn't have failed to reach the imperial princess's ears. So she intended to tease her a bit, but heard an unexpected story.
"Appeared in the south... He might be someone tied to the lizards."
"...."
"Where is he?"
"...By now, he's probably in Gabor."
"Perfect."
The Empire's Gabor.
That place was relatively close to the Great Wetland Glory, and was also a place where quite dangerous fellows gathered.
'This could work out well.'
Beside the satisfied imperial princess, the princess smiled secretly.
The imperial princess was thinking of that man as nothing more than someone tied to the lizard bastards anyway.
If so, it meant she might be able to catch the man without much effort by appropriately borrowing the Empire's power as well.
'It'll be easier than I thought.'
The princess fiddled with her mask and hid her rising smile.
* * *
Whooooo.
The mountain wind had already passed through the plains and forest, calling the night.
The night calls the moon and people light fires, so the moon and fire soften the darkness.
Trudge trudge.
The horse illuminated by the red torches was still white and the moonlight was pale, so the gazes looking at the man riding the horse were quite unfriendly.
However, looking at his attire.
"Are you a pilgrim?"
"That I am."
A pure white robe.
The man's gaze hidden within the hood was reflected by the torchlight.
Gabor's gatekeeper Walls.
He had seen many men passing through the gates of the barren land of Gabor.
His specialty was being able to tell what kind of life most had lived just by looking at their eyes, but seeing this man's murderous eyes.
'He's someone I shouldn't mess with.'
However, this was Gabor.
A place beyond the reach of the Imperial army.
Verification had to be thorough.
"Which side? Laktus? Or Radon?"
Laktus was the spear.
Radon was the morningstar.
He asks because no weapon is visible anywhere.
The pilgrim was silent for a moment, then took something out from the back of his horse.
"So you're of Radon."
A blood-stained morningstar.
Seeing the large morningstar with sharp spikes, it seemed there would be nothing good about getting on the pilgrim's nerves.
"The toll is 3 silver."
Originally it was 1 silver, but making others pay for one's own meals was the way of the world.
Gatekeeper Walls received 3 silver from the pilgrim and smiled with satisfaction.
"That way, to the 'Jaw-Dropping Tavern.' There should at least be a place to sleep."
Walls's eyes, reconfirming the passing pilgrim's horse and appearance, spotted an easy mark.
'I could make some money.'
Walls considered chasing after him to extort a bit more, but let it go.
These days, greed could easily cost one's head.
"Let's be satisfied with this."
Even if he scammed the son of a god, it would come back around someday.
'Even if left alone, he'll get robbed anyway.'
Because Gabor's vagrants wouldn't leave alone that rich-looking pilgrim.
"I am the smart gatekeeper Walls~ Guarding the gate today and just skimming a little~"
As he sang while guarding the gate, an explosive sound came from afar.
Boom!
"It's starting again~ The poor pilgrim will get robbed everywhere and end up looking like a beggar."
Tsk.
But he didn't have much interest.
That's just how the world is.
"Should have charged 5 silver. Ptooey."
Whooooosh!
Thud!
"Whoa!"
Something flew in a parabolic arc, then a spear embedded itself deeply near the gatekeeper.
A broken spear shaft.
"Well..."
It seemed he wasn't an ordinary fellow after all.
The gatekeeper locked the gate firmly and headed to the
Peeking from hiding and watching.
The tavern had already been cleaned up.
Around the pilgrim wearing a pure white robe among the broken boards.
Dozens were already fallen.
All of them had their skulls shattered, while the very one who made them so was cutting and eating meat with a fork and knife.
Bizarre madness could be glimpsed.
"Uh..."
The gatekeeper forced a smile on his face and approached him trembling, quietly placing 2 silver on the table.
The pilgrim watched the gatekeeper scurrying away. Question marks rose above Kallias's head but soon disappeared.
Because figures draped in robes had approached him.
One was unusually short.
One had a quite slender build.
'Iron smell.'
The small one had an iron smell.
The thin one had the smell of earth and grass.
Kallias looked at them with curiosity, then lifted one corner of his mouth.
Because he seemed to know quite well who they were.