kscans

CHAPTER 8 PATARAPOZA – Episode 5 Godon’s Love (Part 2)

3

“You know that Godon’s mother is my younger sister. When Godon turned twelve, he was to begin his knight training. However, at that time, the Mageia domain was in a bit of turmoil. There were a fair number of knights, though. Including Godon’s father and his brothers, there must have been six or seven knights. But perhaps not wanting Godon to train in such a tense family atmosphere, they asked me to take him in. They suddenly sent him to me with a letter attached. Well, it was my sister’s request, so I accepted.

That said, Linz wasn’t as big a city then as it is now. I would often take my men out to fight off river bears and long-eared wolves. I included Godon in these expeditions. He carried luggage, led horses, maintained weapons and horses, and inevitably gained combat experience. At first, Godon was shy and quiet. However, he was large and solidly built, strong, and had seemingly endless stamina. He quickly distinguished himself, and within three years, he was fighting alongside me. Even the senior knights were no match for him. Yet, he never became arrogant, and continued to carry everyone’s luggage and maintain weapons and horses. Ah, but he was hopeless at cooking. Letting him cook was a waste of ingredients. Everyone grew fond of him and spoke to him casually. He gradually opened up to everyone and began to smile brightly.

About half a year after Godon came to my house, I adopted a girl named Trisha. She was a distant relative whose parents and siblings had died from an epidemic. Moreover, a fire had broken out, burning down everything, including their house. Trisha was a fair-skinned girl with straight chestnut hair. The two quickly became close like siblings. I believe Trisha was four years younger than him.

One year, a troupe of Eina people came to Linz. Among them was a woman who skillfully played the zarbatta and sang. Trisha was completely taken with it and begged to learn. I was persuaded by Trisha to keep the troupe for twenty days.

Soon after that, Godon unusually asked for some time off. When I granted it, he went into the mountains and brought back ten long-eared wolf pelts. I was surprised to see a large scar on his face. He asked me to order a zarbatta from Parzam in exchange for those pelts. I did as he asked. I secretly covered the small shortfall myself. Back then, it was very expensive to order and purchase items specially from Parzam.

I had never seen Trisha look so happy. From then on, she would play the zarbatta and sing every day between cooking and laundry. When Godon returned from long trips, the two would go to the banks of the Ova, and she would sing for him for hours.

The year Godon turned twenty, a letter came from his father. It asked me to knight Godon and send him back to Mageia. Some gifts were included with the letter. At that time, I had just launched my first large ship and was busy juggling people, goods, and money. Godon would complete any task I asked without complaint, his martial prowess was certain, and he was popular among my subordinates. It would be a lie to say I didn’t have thoughts of keeping him here.

However, I decided this might be a good opportunity. Godon and Trisha were still close, and everyone thought they would eventually marry. As a knight, he could proudly propose marriage. Though adopted, she was still the daughter of Simon Epivares, so there were no issues with family status. I thought his parents would gladly approve.

Though it’s not so common these days, in the past it was customary to undertake a graduation trial before becoming a knight. I assigned Godon the mission of subjugating a bandit group in the south. There was a bandit group lurking a little south of Linz, severely impacting our supplies from southern cities. Travelers also avoided that route, negatively affecting this city’s development. I had been thinking of eradicating them all at once someday.

I couldn’t assign a knight under a knight-in-training, so I assigned twelve strong attendants to him. We estimated the bandits numbered around thirty, so I thought that would be sufficient. But three months passed, and Godon didn’t return. Just as I was about to send out a search party out of worry, he came back. He had captured ten bandits including their leader, and brought back the right ears of eighty-five bandits.

The bandit group had swelled to over a hundred members. Upon learning the enemy’s scale through reconnaissance, Godon abandoned the idea of a frontal assault and adopted tactics to lure out and weaken small groups at a time. The enemy soon realized they were being attacked and conducted an intense search. Godon and his men hid underground and underwater, patiently whittling down the enemy’s forces. Finally, they launched an all-out attack and annihilated them. About ten bandits escaped, but the leader and executives were either captured or killed, so Godon reported that they should no longer pose a threat. There were no casualties on our side. According to those who fought under Godon, he always fought at the forefront. There were several dangerous moments, but each time, Godon was saved by strange coincidences.

It was an extraordinary military achievement. He should have been able to proudly propose to Trisha. But that was not to be. Trisha had died. Shortly after Godon left for his graduation trial, she fell ill, took to her bed, and passed away in her sleep. She had been praying earnestly in her bed every day. I wonder if she was praying to meet Godon again alive. It was pitiful. Unable to wait for his return, we held the funeral and buried Trisha in the field. Godon wept before her gravestone. He wept loudly. It was the first time I had seen a full-fledged knight cry so openly. But I didn’t think it is shameful. Godon didn’t move from Trisha’s grave for three days and nights. On the fourth day, it rained, and he returned soaking wet.

After that, he changed. He became bright and cheerful. He started laughing loudly and joyfully. It seemed he had made some promise with Trisha, but he never told me the details.

I performed his knighting ceremony, and he returned to Mageia. Three years later, a letter came from Godon saying he had found a promising man to make his brother-in-law and knight. Reading that, I realized that Godon had no intention of marrying anyone. This is the story of Godon Zarkos’ youthful love.”

4

After hearing the story, Bard silently raised his cup. Simon, Karz, and Seto did the same. The four of them toasted to the soul of Godon Zarkos. Listening to the tale, many thoughts came to mind. It was an anecdote that made them feel anew that Godon was indeed Godon.

“I see. Lord Bard, you didn’t know about Godon’s death until this year. You must have heard about Kainen and Eureka’s deaths at the same time. Oh dear. As if His Majesty King Julelan’s passing wasn’t enough to dampen your spirits, I’m truly sorry about this.”

What… What did Lord Simon just say? What happened to Jule? Bard’s expression froze, and seeing Karz and Seto’s surprised faces, Simon realized. This was new information to Bard and the others.

“Oh. Could it be you didn’t know? His Majesty King Julelan Seagulls of Parzam passed away last year.”

Bard dropped his cup. He was dumbfounded, his thoughts racing.

Jules? Jules?

His left chest suddenly hurt, and he lifted his hips, pressing both hands against his chest. He knew he should sit down, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Cold sweat burst from his forehead.

“Th-This is bad! Lord Bard’s face has turned ashen! A doctor! Call a doctor! Quickly. Quickly!!”

As Simon’s shouting voice echoed from afar, Bard let go of his consciousness.