Chapter 36 - <2>
“Still, it’s pretty boring, isn’t it? Traveling by carriage.”
Ritz Alster muttered, his nearly two-meter-tall frame sprawled carelessly across the seat of the not-so-spacious carriage.
For the past few days, a calm time had been flowing by gently, with no occasion for his prized greatsword to make an appearance.
He didn’t dislike lazing around, but boredom was another matter entirely. He wasn’t good at killing time without a purpose.
As he let out yet another sigh, a section of his long back hair, which had been pulled taut, suddenly felt light. Anna Myers, who had been amusing herself by making it into a small braid, must have finally finished her work and let go. Anna, looking bored herself, agreed with Ritz’s opinion.
“Yeah, once you get used to it, it’s a little boring, isn’t it~”
Anna, who plopped down next to Ritz, had her long red hair intricately braided in a strange way out of boredom. When he had asked her earlier, ‘What kind of hairstyle is that?’, she had said it was a four-strand braid.
Like Ritz’s greatsword, her spirit magic mediums, her bow and arrows, had been out of action for quite some time and hung idly on the carriage wall.
When he casually glanced over, his eyes fell on the sullen face of Franz Lucina, who had initially been happy to be taking it easy. Franz, who had been staring out the window with unfocused blue eyes, his chin resting on his hand, noticed his gaze, turned, and sighed.
“…It certainly is boring.”
His blond hair was slightly mussed. Having grown tired of examining the spear he had acquired in the previous town, there was nothing for him to do but doze off. As such, he had spent most of the day sleeping, leaving no time for his bedhead to settle.
Early November, Year 1572 of the Yuresla Kingdom Calendar. Outside the carriage, a cold wind was already blowing. Five days had passed since they left Faldina. The three of them, who had been traveling on foot all this time, were growing tired of the elegant carriage journey.
The carriage they were riding in was at the very front of a long train of carriages, heading toward the Royal Capital at a leisurely pace.
Naturally, it was not the kind of public carriage that would make your back hurt after a long ride. It was a relatively large, four-person carriage with seats comparable to cloth-upholstered sofas, lavishly appointed.
The two horses pulling it were purebred Glein horses, with thick legs and sturdy bodies. Glein horses were the finest in the kingdom. Although the carriage’s exterior was plain, the interior, perhaps for the sake of its occupants, was luxuriously spacious, more so than it appeared from the outside.
While the comfort was certainly not bad, it was just so slow. Excruciatingly slow. But Ritz and the others had more than enough reason not to complain. After all, this carriage was transporting the valuable artworks of the late royal court painter, which had been taken into royal custody due to a commotion they had been at the center of.
There was no way Ritz, of all people, could tell them to hurry up knowing that. He would probably just sigh, pull off to the side of the road, and let other carriages pass.
The inspectors surrounded the convoy, protecting the cargo, so they couldn’t let their guard down, but Ritz and his companions, who were just being rocked along in the carriage, truly had nothing to do. It was relaxing, but boring.
After all, the only things they could do on this carriage journey were eat, be rocked, and sleep.
“Now, now. The slowness can’t be helped.”
While placating the three, the one who stifled a yawn, looking equally bored, was the current king of Yuresla, Edward Baldia. Though he was over sixty, he looked young enough to be in his fifties, and his personality was even younger.
His long, blond hair, streaked with a bit of gray, had been tightly braided into a four-strand braid by Anna. It seemed she had experimented on Edward before braiding her own hair.
The Edward of the past would have politely refused with a gentle smile, but he had remained smiling and let her do as she pleased without resistance.
Was it because he had gotten older, or did he just not feel like saying anything to Anna’s innocence? Ritz, though his best friend, couldn’t quite tell after not having seen him for thirty-five long years.
In the first place, was it even okay for the king to be here? According to Edward, he’d done it several times before, but Ritz, who had never sat on a throne, wondered if it was really that easy to leave it empty.
The king could be off doing as he pleased, and things would somehow work out. This country truly was peaceful.
No, it had become peaceful. The presence of the king is vital in times of ruin, but becomes lighter in times of happiness—those were the words of the man before him, Edward, in his youth.
His prime minister, Shasta, was probably swamped. Even if the king was away, things could manage, but if the prime minister in charge of practical affairs was absent, things would fall apart. The extremely meticulous and serious Shasta was no doubt running around like a headless chicken right now.
When he had abandoned his position as minister and fled, he had left without a word, so he probably still hadn’t forgiven him.
“Ed-sa~n, I’m bored~”
Finally unable to bear the boredom, Anna sidled up to Edward.
“Aren’t we going to get somewhere soon~?”
“Even if you ask me, I’m not the driver, you know.”
“You’re right~”
Anna’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.
“I’m so booored, Sara-chan~”
Anna began to mutter to the swaying lamp. Inside the brightly burning lamp was Sara, the Salamander. To Ritz, it looked like nothing more than a flame, but he could hear the strange squeaking sounds of their conversation. For Ritz, who had something of a complex about not being able to see spirits, this made him a little happy, but that was a secret he kept to himself.
“Alright, Sara-chan, let’s learn some words! Try saying Anna. A-n-na, go!”
“An-kii~”
Lately, Anna had been trying to teach Sara words and get her to say ‘Anna,’ but she had yet to succeed even once.
“She sure tries hard.”
When he muttered softly, Franz nodded with a sigh.
“She certainly does.”
Oblivious to the fact that they were exasperated, after trying over and over with all her might, Anna let out a sigh as if giving up.
“Aww, I lose again today.”
It seemed she had her own rule where it was her loss if the lesson failed. But Ritz couldn’t quite grasp the fun in it.
With nothing to do once more, Anna stared blankly into the air. For Anna, who was originally a farmer used to constant physical activity and a caretaker at an orphanage, sitting still was torture.
“Why don’t you just sleep?”
Franz, who had said it casually, fell silent as Anna stared back at him. For Franz, who was bored of doing just that, it held no persuasive power whatsoever.
As everyone stared blankly off into the distance, Anna, after gazing at the carriage ceiling for a while, suddenly turned around and made a proposal.
“Ritz! Want to play shiritori?”
“No.”
He answered instantly and without mercy. No matter how bored he was, he didn’t want to indulge in such a children’s game at the age of one hundred and fifty.
“Why not~? You’re bored, right?”
“I’m bored, but…”
“Then let’s play!”
“…But still…”
Unable to find a good excuse to escape, he sighed.
“Come on, let’s play, let’s play~”
Urged on by Anna, who had settled in beside him, he reluctantly nudged Franz in the side. As Franz jumped and his eyes widened, he gave a small notice.
“Alright, then you’re joining too, Franz.”
“Why me…?”
“Just because.”
He wasn’t about to babysit Anna all by himself. Misery loves company, as they say. As Franz was about to complain, Anna cut him off decisively.
“You said you were bored too, Franz.”
“Ugh…”
Franz faltered. Like Ritz, he couldn’t seem to find an excuse. After a long moment of silent contemplation, Franz sat up straight as if in resignation.
He breathed an inward sigh of relief. The more victims, the better. Especially in a situation like this.
“Ed-san?”
Edward, met with Anna’s beaming smile, gave a momentarily strained smile, but then shrugged his shoulders with a small chuckle. He, like Ritz and Franz, had no means of escape.
“Then I shall join you.”
Edward’s reluctance was evident, but perhaps for Anna’s sake, his faint smile was masterfully done. It seemed he was being considerate of Anna and Franz, who were, for all intents and purposes, Ritz’s companions.
Even so, though he hadn’t noticed it until now, Anna was invincible. To so easily draw Edward into a game of shiritori was no small feat.
Oblivious to Ritz’s thoughts, the game of shiritori began with Anna’s cheerful declaration.
“Okay, I’ll start! Ummm, Vishnu.”
Having said that, Anna turned toward him.
“Me?”
“Yep!”
It seemed the turn order was already decided in Anna’s head.
“Nu, nu, nurigusuri (ointment), ri.”
As soon as he finished, he looked at Edward, who was sitting opposite him. According to Anna’s order, this should be the correct rotation.
“Will ringo (apple) do?”
Edward answered immediately, then looked at Franz to his left. After letting out a thoroughly annoyed sigh, Franz answered.
“…Gomi (trash)…”
With that, one round was finally complete. Anna, having found a way to kill time, looked happy, but Ritz sighed. He wondered why on earth he was playing a children’s game, but well, he was bored, so things like this were bound to happen. There are times when adults must learn to accept their fate.
“Michishirube (signpost), be!”
“Benchi (bench), tto.”
“…Chinjou (petition)…”
“Usagi (rabbit).”
“Umm, gi, gitto…”
Despite their complaints, the game of shiritori continued endlessly. In truth, they were all too competitive to lose on purpose. In reality, they all desperately wanted someone to end it, which was the real problem.
The eyes of the three men, excluding Anna, met in a complex dance in mid-air, carrying on a silent conversation.
If put into words, it would probably sound like: ‘You lose, Franz.’ ‘Ritz, you should lose.’ ‘Then Ed, you lose.’ ‘Don’t be ridiculous. As the guardian here, it’s only right for you to lose.’
Just as everyone was getting thoroughly fed up with their stubborn standoff, the sound of a horse neighing came from ahead, and the carriage shook violently.
Unable to withstand the sudden movement, Anna tumbled from the sofa.
“What?”
Before he could answer Anna’s question, he had reflexively grabbed his greatsword and jumped from the carriage. The one who followed his action was none other than Edward.
No matter how peaceful the world was, there were always thieves and robbers. This carriage was clearly transporting expensive goods, so it wouldn’t be strange if it were targeted at any time. That’s what the inspectors were for.
“What is it!”
When he yelled at the driver, the driver pointed at something, speechless. There was a man holding a dagger with a blade curved like a bow. The man was staring at them with sharp eyes.
“Bandits?”
He asked Edward behind him in a low voice.
“Who knows… Ritz, go ask.”
“No way. You go ask, Ed.”
“I refuse.”
During their brief exchange, the man took out a small whistle and blew it. The horses pulling the carriages all began to panic at once. It was a whistle only horses could hear. At the same time, a large number of men jumped out from the forest on both sides of the road.
“Leave all the treasure you’re holding so dear and all your money! We won’t take your lives!”
The leader seemed to be the man who had been at the front, ambushing them. At his voice, the men who had appeared after him raised their various weapons haphazardly.
“He says. What do you wanna do, Ed?”
Contrary to his words, Ritz, holding his sword, looked back at Edward. Edward also drew his sword and grinned at Ritz.
“To be honest, I was getting out of shape.”
That settled it. As he readied his greatsword, he saw Anna jump out of the carriage from the corner of his eye. After confirming that Franz was there too, he gave them their orders.
“Anna, use the Wind Bow and Arrow! Protect the cargo!”
“Got it!”
“Franz, don’t burn the cargo.”
He warned Franz, who had extended his spear and was forming a flame in his hand.
“I know.”
Anna nocked a crystal arrow to her bow and aimed it toward the sky with a prayer.
“O Spirit of Wind, become a shield that protects all!”
With a satisfying thwip, the arrow was released, and an invisible wall of protection was created. It was a given that this wall would only last for a moment. Just showing the enemy that there was a spirit user among them had strategic meaning.
Sensing their will to fight, the bandits were somewhat surprised but came forward nonetheless. It was probably the first time they had attempted a robbery and been met with such perfect battle readiness. After all, this was supposed to be the safest road in the kingdom.
By the time the enemy had composed themselves, the Royal Army Inspectorate had already dismounted from their horses and drawn their swords to protect the other carriages.
He had no intention of losing, but if he let his guard down, the two novices would be in danger. The enemy wouldn’t necessarily go easy on them just because they were children. In any case, it was best to settle this quickly.
The convoy, which had shifted from a leisurely pace to a tense atmosphere in an instant, was swiftly engulfed in a vortex of chaos.
“Might be good exercise to kill some time.”
Edward laughed at Ritz’s bold words.
“Exactly. Far better than shiritori.”
It seemed he had been thoroughly fed up with shiritori after all.
“Anna, if anyone gets injured, tend to them. Franz, you protect Anna. Don’t push yourselves to fight.”
“Got it.”
Hearing their short replies, Ritz broke into a run. His target, of course, was the enemy leader. A group crumbles when you take out the head. It was a fundamental tactic. Looking over, he saw several men around the leader.
“Leave the leader to me. You take care of the small fry, Ritz.”
Edward, running behind him, made a selfish demand. He replied reflexively.
“No damn way! Don’t overdo it, old man!”
“Not at all! I’m far younger than you!”
Shouting at each other, the two of them leaped in front of several enemies.
“Your Maj—Edward-sama, please don’t be reckless!”
By the time Kenny Fort noticed and yelled, both of them had already charged into the enemy.
Somehow, it felt incredibly nostalgic. In the past, they had always been together on the battlefield. Even though there had been a long separation, it was as if that time had never existed.
“Ritz, why is your sword still in its scabbard!”
Edward yelled after knocking aside the first man.
“Anna gets noisy if I kill anyone!”
He forcefully thrust his sword sideways at his opponent. The man flew sideways with great force and stopped moving. He must have broken a few bones. Even if he didn’t cut his opponents, with Ritz’s strength, they wouldn’t get away unscathed.
“First one!”
He immediately thrust his sword at an enemy coming up from behind. The man, taking the blow to his stomach, coughed violently and spat up blood. It seemed a rib had broken. He groaned in pain and rolled on the ground.
“Isn’t this worse than killing them?”
Edward, having cut down his second man, chuckled as he crossed blades with a third and called out to Ritz.
“No way, he’s not dead! Hah!”
After knocking aside the sword thrust before him, Ritz kicked the flustered man and sent him tumbling.
“Next one who comes will end up like them.”
At Ritz’s words, the man sat down as if his legs had given out.
A strange sense of unease welled up from the pit of his stomach at the man’s behavior. This bandit’s attitude was strange for someone targeting a cargo protected by soldiers.
Could there be some other motive?
Meanwhile, Anna, who had been left behind, stood frozen with Franz next to her, unable to do anything.
Anna was seeing a real battle for the first time. All she had seen until now was the fight between the slightly dim-witted Scott brothers and Ritz, and the mock duel between Franz and Ritz.
She was frozen, unable to do anything in the face of the gruesome sight of actual bloodshed.
“…It’s scary, isn’t it.”
She murmured, but her words didn’t seem to reach Franz’s ears. Franz just stared wide-eyed at their surroundings. He didn’t look scared, but rather shocked.
In truth, Anna was in the same state of mind as Franz. Her worldview was changing before her eyes. She felt fear and revulsion at the flowing blood, and it made her sick.
Of course, she was a girl from a church. She was used to seeing dead bodies. The church handled funerals, and preparing the deceased was the job of the family or Anna herself.
But this was different. People were taking other people’s lives on the spot. There was a merciless reality to it.
Until now, Anna might not have understood what it meant to travel. Seeing this battle, she realized for the first time that traveling meant there was a danger that they too could face this kind of situation.
She had felt that she could travel without encountering such dangers. That’s why she had slept soundly in the forest at night and played without carrying a weapon.
If a group of bandits had attacked while the three of them were traveling, what would they have done? Would she have insisted that Ritz not kill, and ended up in a dangerous situation?
Thinking that, she suddenly remembered Ritz.
“I wonder how Ritz is doing?”
When she looked toward where Ritz and Edward had gone, she saw Ritz stubbornly swinging his sheathed sword.
“…He’s keeping his promise not to draw his sword.”
Ritz had remembered her wish that he not draw his sword. While she was happy, she also felt a little guilty. The enemy was coming at Ritz with full force, after all.
She was a little worried that something might happen, but watching him, she was relieved to see that Ritz was overwhelmingly stronger.
In that moment when her guard was down, something moved in front of her. Turning her eyes to the presence radiating killing intent, she saw a grimy man standing there with a sword at the ready.
She had been so focused on the others that she hadn’t noticed.
“<”
The man’s cold smile told her that he would not go easy on them just because they were children. The man was serious about killing her and Franz.
There was no hesitation about it.
“Anna, get back!”
Franz’s back blocked her view. Franz had instantly raised his spear and stood between the bandit and Anna.
“Franz!”
Anna panicked. She knew better than anyone that Franz was not the kind of person who could fight an enemy. Indeed, the arm holding the spear was trembling, and she could feel his tension even from a distance.
Even though she was being protected, she couldn’t help but think that she had to do something about Franz.
“Stay back…!”
Franz desperately thrust his spear, but his opponent was no amateur. However, the length of the spear made a difference. The spear caught the man’s body squarely.
Forcing her eyes open when she wanted to look away, she saw that the tip of the spear had only grazed the man’s side. The man clutched his side for a moment, but then immediately glared back at them with a face full of anger.
“Damn you, you little brat!”
Driven by anger, the man slowly advanced on Franz, but Franz’s hands trembled even more, and he couldn’t seem to move as he wanted.
The man’s sword swung down in a wide arc, approaching her like a slow-motion film. She grabbed the back of Franz, who was frozen in fear, and yelled.
“Franz, pull yourself together!”
As if snapping back to his senses, Franz somehow managed to block the enemy’s sword with his spear. But even a novice like Anna could tell that he couldn’t withstand its weight for long. Seeing Franz’s desperate expression, he was on the verge of his limit.
What should I do, what can I do…
In her blurring vision, the rapier at Franz’s hip came into view. Colonel Hellebore’s rapier. It was the only weapon Anna could get her hands on.
She reflexively drew it from Franz’s hip.
“I’m your opponent!”
If she could just give the cornered Franz some time to calm down. That was her thinking.
“Anna!”
She heard Franz’s voice. But now, in her narrowed vision, only the enemy was visible. The rapier was trembling slightly. The shaking in Anna’s hands, which she held with both hands, was transmitted to the tip.
The rapier, which should have been light, felt incredibly heavy. She realized for the first time that this was a weapon that could kill people.
Her ears felt clogged, and the only sound she could hear was the loud thumping of her own heart. Had her heart always beaten this fast?
Calm down, calm down… She told herself, but her body wouldn’t listen at all.
It was a man with golden hair who shattered her fear and tension. From behind the man who had raised his sword, he cut down the enemy’s back with a brilliant, almost dazzlingly elegant display of swordsmanship.
A spray of blood danced high in the air beyond Anna.
“Guh…”
The enemy who had been standing before her collapsed to the ground with a thud. His eyes rolled back in their sockets, and for a moment she felt as if he had looked at her, and she froze.
To protect… someone dies… For Anna, it was a shocking experience.
“Are you two alright?”
Behind the collapsed man was Edward. Edward casually sheathed his sword and spoke to them.
“It seems you’re uninjured.”
In the midst of battle, Edward’s smile was as calm and composed as ever. The strength left her, and she crumpled to the ground.
More than fear, the relief of being alive had won out.
Franz also collapsed behind Anna, slumping to the ground.
“Edward-san…”
“Ed-sa~n.”
The rapier, which Anna had been gripping tightly, fell from her hand with a clatter.
She was deeply relieved that she hadn't been killed, and that she hadn't had to harm her opponent.
She learned for the first time that gripping a sword required this much resolve.
As she sat there, dazed, Edward asked her.
“What’s wrong?”
“My legs… they’ve given out…”
She was so drained that she couldn't stand. She had never experienced anything like this before.
Then someone gently helped her to her feet. When she turned around, she saw Ritz’s troubled smile.
“My bad. I should have stayed with you.”
The moment she saw Ritz’s face, she couldn’t help but throw herself at him.
“Whoa!?”
Ignoring Ritz’s surprised cry, she squeezed her arms tightly.
She had realized when she first hugged him at the Rusan mansion in Faldina that it was incredibly reassuring. So she buried her face in his broad chest and finally felt a sense of relief.
“…Anna?”
“I’m sorry. Just for a little bit…”
Only now did her whole body begin to shake.
She had drawn the rapier, but she realized now that she wouldn’t have been able to do anything. If things had continued as they were, she would have undoubtedly been cut down by the man’s sword.
If it were just her, that would be one thing, but she couldn’t let the much younger Franz be killed. Franz was more than ten years younger than her, after all.
When it was just her and Franz, she had a strange sense of responsibility that she had to do something, but with Ritz here, she didn’t have to carry that burden.
In a situation like this, she understood just how much she had been relying on Ritz.
Feeling malice from another person for the first time was a real shock. Nothing like that had ever happened in her life.
But if you tried your hardest to survive, there would be times when you had to hurt someone. That kind of thing would probably happen again, and there was no guarantee that she could handle it without hurting the other person.
She was scared, having learned such a common-sense thing for the first time. It would still be okay if she was the only one who got hurt in a situation like just now. But she absolutely didn't want her companions to get hurt or die because of it.
As Anna clung to him, lost in thought, Ritz didn’t push her away, but gently stroked her head. Not trying to offer strange encouragement, just staying silent, was very much like Ritz.
“Franz, looks like you did your best. Good work.”
“Yeah.”
After staying still for a while, she finally calmed down, let go of Ritz, and looked around. Except for the enemy who had been cut down, the others had fled. It seemed there were some injured among the inspectors as well.
In a situation like this, there was something Anna could do. That was to heal people. If the battle was over, she could save them with her power, whether they were friend or foe.
By doing so, perhaps she could even come to an understanding with the enemy.
“Hey Ritz, is it okay if I heal the robbers too, after you make sure they can’t escape?”
When she asked timidly, Ritz smiled.
“Of course. I told you to tend to the injured, didn’t I?”
Urged on by Ritz, Anna took a deep breath. She could get shocked later, when she was alone. For now, she would do everything she could.
Her eyes happened to fall on the inspectors busily gathering the bandits. There were bound to be injured people there.
“Go on, get to it.”
“Okay!”
Reassured by Ritz’s light wink, Anna ran off toward the inspectors.
Ritz, after seeing Anna run off, let out a huge sigh.
“What a handful.”
It seemed Anna had a way of controlling her own confusion. After sighing deeply once more, Franz, who had been sitting on the ground, spoke to him.
“Ritz, I couldn’t protect Anna.”
“…I see.”
He couldn’t bring himself to say that he hadn’t expected much from the start. Franz continued to mutter.
“I was protected instead.”
He had expected that too. Throughout their journey so far, it was clear that Anna was more capable than Franz.
Besides, Franz probably didn’t know, but Anna had a firm sense of guardianship, believing that she had to help Franz because she was older than him.
He’d probably be hurt if he knew, so he would keep quiet.
“It can’t be helped. Just try again next time.”
“Yeah…”
Franz also staggered to his feet and followed after Anna. He was probably going to try to help in some way. Just by being there, as a fellow spirit user, he should be of some assistance to Anna.
After the two had left, Ritz suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder from Edward.
“You’re doing a good job. Guardian.”
He shrugged off the teasing, and Edward casually started to head back to his carriage. Something about his attitude seemed off, and he stopped him with a serious face.
“You noticed, didn’t you?”
“What?”
As Edward tried to feign ignorance, he took a step closer. There was no way a man as sharp as him wouldn’t have noticed that strange situation.
“They weren’t really after this cargo.”
With a slightly awkward expression, Edward averted his gaze. It was clear now—he knew something.
“What was their goal?”
“Who knows.”
“Why would a group of amateurs like that think of attacking an inspector’s carriage?”
One look should have been enough to tell that this carriage belonged to the Royal Army Inspectorate. A much stronger enemy might try to defeat the inspectors to seize the cargo. But they were too weak to take on a convoy of the Inspectorate, the famously strongest elite unit of the Royal Army.
The sense of unease Ritz felt was precisely that. Moreover, their retreat was far too pathetic. He had the impression that everyone except the leader had fled desperately. This was not a well-organized group.
“Ed, if you know something…”
“First, we have no choice but to interrogate the prisoners. Speculating about this and that comes after.”
Reluctantly, he nodded at Edward’s words, which seemed like a strained attempt to deflect his question.
He wasn’t convinced, but it was logical. That was all they could do here. As Edward returned to the carriage, Ritz felt unsettled by his retreating figure.
It wasn’t like Edward to keep secrets from him, but after thirty-five years, he couldn’t find the right words to confront him.
“Stupid Ed…”
Muttering softly, Ritz reflected on the passage of time.
In this commotion, there were no deaths or serious injuries on their side. On the bandit side, there were several deaths and numerous injuries, but thanks to Anna’s efforts, a few of them survived. Would this ease Anna’s psychological burden a little?
The interrogation of the survivors was conducted by the inspectors, Edward, and Ritz’s party, but they yielded no favorable results.
The bandits, having resigned themselves after learning that the carriage belonged to the Inspectorate, answered the questions honestly.
The men were nothing more than bandits who had originally been raiding this area on their own. Of course, none of them knew that this carriage belonged to the Inspectorate. The reason they had engaged in such a reckless act was singular: an unusually high reward.
Recently, a rumor had begun to be whispered around the Royal Capital: ‘Anyone who wants money should head straight north on the Traveler's Highway. There’s a huge money-making opportunity there.’
Without knowing the source of the information, the rumor quickly spread among the gamblers and vagrants who made their homes in the towns and villages around Sears.
One man said this:
“At first I thought it was a hoax, but all my buddies knew about it too. I figured it might be true.”
The men who believed the rumor headed north on the highway. And, a little before this place, they met a man who was waiting. The man who had seemed to be the leader earlier was apparently the mastermind of this plan.
The money-making story he heard from the man was even better than the rumors.
“He said he’d give us ten Giltz each just for attacking this convoy of carriages. On top of that, we could do whatever we wanted with the carriage’s cargo, money, and women. We jumped at a deal that good, and look where it got us.”
In the end, no matter which prisoner they asked, they got the same kind of answer. They really didn’t know anything.
After the interrogation was over and the prisoners were led away, the squad leader in charge of the inspectors, Kenny, looked at the three and Edward. It was not he who would make the decision, but Edward.
Kenny Fort’s rank was Major. He was young for his position, still in his mid-thirties. His mission, entrusted to him by the Prime Minister, was to safely transport Sabatieri’s posthumous works to the Royal Capital, along with a secret task.
He had heard just before the carriage journey began that it was to keep an eye on the aging king so he wouldn’t do anything reckless. For Kenny, this was more stressful than any of his usual duties.
To Ritz, Edward might be a friend, but to Kenny, he was the king. The worries must be endless.
“What are your orders?”
Kenny asked Edward, who remained silent, lost in thought.
“If they don’t know, it can’t be helped. Let them go.”
“Isn’t that letting them off too lightly?”
Edward turned a sincere gaze to the surprised Kenny.
“Thoroughly teach them that the Inspectorate will show no mercy next time they are caught for anything, and then let them go. If there’s no mastermind, there’s no point in catching small fry, is there?”
“Yes, sir…”
Bowing deeply to Edward, Kenny left. He didn’t know what methods he would use to ‘thoroughly teach’ the bandits, but they were surely in for a very rough time. It was their own fault.
“I’m going to go to work now, too.”
Right after Kenny left, Anna looked back at Ritz and Edward and said.
“Work?”
“Yeah. You’re letting the prisoners go, right? That means they have to walk from here to some nearby town, right? They can’t do that if they’re injured.”
It seemed Anna was concerned even about the prisoners’ future.
“You don’t have to be that kind…”
Pulling along a complaining Franz, Anna left the place to heal the remaining injured. Their work seemed like it would continue for a while longer.
Left behind were Ritz and Edward, with nothing to do. Ritz, who had been waiting for this opportunity, spoke with a heavy heart.
“They didn’t know anything.”
“No. It means only the mastermind knew the reason for attacking this carriage.”
The mastermind had left without even fighting them, merely observing. He had vanished silently while Ritz and the others were fighting the surrounding enemies, which was unsettling.
Who on earth was that man, and why did he need to attack this carriage? He couldn’t even guess.
No, Edward probably had an idea. Ritz called out to his silent friend.
“What was their target?”
“…Who knows.”
From Edward’s expression as he deliberately averted his gaze, Ritz sensed something. Thinking about it carefully, everything was strange.
In the first place, why had Edward come to Faldina to meet Ritz directly after learning he was there? If there was some intention behind it, the answer could only be this.
“Were you the target?”
At Ritz’s question, Edward maintained a deep silence, his expression unchanging.
To Ritz, Edward’s silence usually meant affirmation. That alone was enough for Ritz to understand that there had been some reason for Edward’s coming to Faldina from the start.
The people who knew he was in this convoy were surely limited. Yet he was targeted, which meant there was definitely something going on behind the scenes.
Besides, Edward had been strangely conspicuous in Faldina. If someone were to target Edward, now, while he was in this convoy, would be the best chance.
And for Edward, now, while Ritz was here, was also the safest. Ritz was aware that his skills were considerable. It was because he was aware that he didn’t draw his sword, just as Anna and Franz wished.
“Ed, you can’t tell me either?”
Even to Ritz, whose tone had become harsh, Edward just shrugged his shoulders and smiled. At the completely unfazed Edward, he let out a sigh of resignation and stretched languidly.
When he was like this, there was nothing to do but wait for him to feel like talking. Edward’s stubbornness hadn’t just started now. He had understood that long ago.
“Well, whatever the case, it looks like we have no choice but to camp around here for today.”
With a small sigh, Ritz’s words, tinged with surrender, were met with a smiling nod from Edward.
“It would be nice if there was a place around here where a large group could stay.”
The two of them stood there for a while, silently watching the setting sun.
“Well, I guess I’ll go check on them. I’m their guardian, after all.”
As Ritz turned to head toward Anna and the others with a playful tone, Edward’s words were quietly thrown at his back.
“…Ritz, can you cut a man down?”
“What?”
He turned back at the unexpected words and stared at Edward’s face for a moment. His eyes were serious.
“If you absolutely had to, could you cut a man down in front of those wards of yours?”
Unable to understand the meaning of the repeated question, he knitted his brows in suspicion and looked back at Edward.
“I can. Who do you think I am?”
“…You’re right. You are who you are.”
“Why are you asking something like that now?”
When he tilted his head at the sentimental-sounding Edward, he was met with a quiet smile.
“It’s nothing.”
It seemed he had no intention of saying anything. At the stubborn Edward, who hadn’t changed at all from the old days, Ritz sighed and turned his back.
And he started walking toward his current wards.
The bandits from earlier, who had attacked them without knowing the reason. The leader, who had probably had some reason for making them attack, yet had done nothing and vanished without them noticing.
Something was up. He knew that, but he couldn’t figure out what it was, or what Edward’s true intentions were. He glanced back quietly. Edward was still standing there silently, watching the fading sunlight. Looking at his back, the words from earlier came back to him.
‘Ritz, can you cut a man down? If you absolutely had to, could you cut a man down in front of those wards of yours?’
Of course Ritz could cut a man down. For him, who had killed many people as a mercenary, it was easier than swatting a fly.
But he didn’t want to show that side of himself to Anna or Franz. As long as he was with the two young ones, he wanted to remain their cheerful, carefree guardian. He didn’t want to show them his past or his dark, true self.
He just wanted the limited time they spent together to be fun. That was the wish of Ritz, who had wandered this world, fumbling his way through.
Though he had only known them for a month and a half, his wards seemed to trust him. Betraying that trust was not a very pleasant feeling.
The pain of killing a person, the weight of a life when he first experienced it—even Ritz, a mercenary who had killed many, knew it well.
He didn't want them to experience that.
Anna and Franz were a little different from other children. Ritz had taken a bit of a liking to that about them, and since he had a long lifespan, he thought it would be interesting to go along with their wishes.
But as he had told Edward, when it came down to it, he could cut a man down. If he were to swing his sword to protect, he wouldn’t do something as foolish as hesitating and losing.
That was what it meant to be a swordsman, even one who had fallen to become a mercenary.
Edward definitely knew something. It seemed he also understood that a situation could arise where Ritz would have no choice but to cut someone down.
For Ritz, who had once stood by his side as a hero, being with Edward was nothing less than protecting him.
Was Edward expecting that?
But if so, why had he asked about his young companions? That was what he didn't understand.
Ritz sighed.