Young Man, Blacksmith, And Shadow

After arriving in a town near the border, Rudel and the others met with the merchant who had hired them. They arrived in the evening, and since it would be dangerous to go out at night, the subjugation was scheduled for the following day. Bargas and Unias made only cursory preparations for tomorrow before heading out to enjoy the town at night, while Luecke stayed at the inn and spent his time reading.

Basil went out as well, saying there were various things she needed to investigate. …Apparently something about their client bothered her, so she had decided to gather information about him around town.

Meanwhile, Rudel decided to look around the weapon shops in this border town. Bargas already had his own equipment, while Unias possessed a fine greatsword. Even Luecke’s one-handed sword for self-defense was a high-quality weapon. Rudel’s sword, however, was cheap.

Since he had only ever needed it for training swings, the sword his family had given him was a hand-me-down from one of their soldiers. He had continued using it, but its poor quality had recently begun to show, and it was starting to fall apart. He treated it carefully… but there was no denying that relying on it in a life-or-death fight made him uneasy.

“I wonder if the shops are still open? …The innkeeper said they should be somewhere around here.”

Rudel walked alone through the unfamiliar town. Following the note the innkeeper had given him, he eventually managed to find several weapon shops. Their storefronts displayed all kinds of weapons—sturdy ones, elaborately decorated ones, and everything in between. Rudel browsed the weapons outside before entering the shops and asking to see their wares.

“This would be good for a kid like you.”

“A rapier? I’d prefer something sturdier…”

“How about this one, young nobleman! Every weapon in our shop looks amazing, doesn’t it?”

“Well, they certainly look impressive. (Though all those decorations make them look heavy…)”

“Buy two, and I’ll throw in this knife for free.”

“I don’t need two.”

In almost every shop he entered, Rudel was treated like a child, and because he was a noble, the shopkeepers assumed he had plenty of money and tried to push expensive merchandise on him. There certainly were a few good weapons among them, but none suited Rudel himself, so he gave up on buying anything.

That was when Rudel noticed a man sitting cross-legged on a mat spread out beside the road. A single katana rested on the mat before him. Rudel knew what it was because Izumi had told him about them, and he stared at it with curiosity. He had once thought of it as nothing more than an Eastern saber, but Izumi’s explanation had taught him otherwise.

“That’s rare… But why does he only have one?”

Rudel stopped in front of the man and looked down at the katana. Indeed, katanas were almost never seen in Courtois. Yet the man selling such a rare weapon looked dreadful, dressed in tattered clothing with his hair and beard completely unkempt.

“It’s the last blade I forged with my companions. These days, we don’t even have a forge where we can make them anymore…”

Rudel looked at the man as he explained in a somewhat awkward speech. Rudel doubted he would ever use it himself, but he thought Izumi might be pleased to receive it, so he paid the full amount written on the price tag.

The man stared at Rudel in surprise as he accepted the money, then asked him a question. The price he had named was by no means cheap. Seeing Rudel hand over that much money without hesitation had piqued his interest.

“You plan on using the katana? I know I’m the one selling it, but if you don’t know how to handle or maintain it, it’ll be nothing more than a lump of iron.”

Rudel accepted the katana, cradling it carefully as he answered.

“I know someone from the East, so I’m going to give it to her. I’m not the one who’ll be using it, so you don’t have to worry. I was actually looking for a weapon for myself, but I couldn’t find one.”

The money Rudel had spent was the reward he had earned from his recent subjugation jobs. But while living at the academy, he had few opportunities to spend money, so it had simply continued piling up. He had intended to finally use some of it to buy himself a new weapon… but in the end, it had become a present for Izumi instead.

“…I see. So you know someone from my homeland.”

Rudel thanked the man, who wore a nostalgic expression, and started walking away. The man called out to Rudel’s back.

“My name’s Zouken. I live in this town with my companions and family, so give my regards to your friend from back home.”

“I’ll tell her.”

And with that new encounter, Rudel’s day came to an end.

Around the time Rudel’s day came to an end, the two Dragoons who had fought one another were being held in separate cells beneath the royal palace. The two who had gone on a rampage were among the nation’s strongest warriors, and the damage they had caused was considerable. Because of that, they had quickly been subdued, but instead of merely receiving a stern warning, they had been thrown into solitary confinement.

Both of them wore shackles on their wrists, and the special restraints made it difficult for them to use magic. It was proof of just how wary their captors were of them.

In only a few minutes, the two had thoroughly wrecked the area around them. Cattleya and Lilim were being held in distant cells. Since it was already night, Cattleya had fallen asleep. Lilim, however…

“Why does everyone always hate me?”

‘Because you’re ugly.’

“I wanted to get married too. I loved him…”

‘How can you say that with eyes like those? No man could ever love you.’

“Everyone’s the same… They see these eyes and leave me… If only I didn’t have eyes like this!”

‘Then why not crush them? Would that make you happy? You’re not the one at fault… The one at fault is…’

The guard found Lilim’s muttering to herself unsettling and avoided getting too close. And so he neither heard nor saw it. Lilim was speaking toward the wall… but upon that wall was the shadow of a person—and that shadow was speaking back to her!

“The one at fault… That’s right, Rudel is at fault! And I hate him!”

‘That’s right, hate him! Hate Rudel, who despises you… and the fiancé who betrayed you!’

Before her prospective engagement to Rudel, Lilim had been engaged to an elven man. But after seeing Lilim’s pitch-black eyes, the man had broken off their engagement. Lilim had believed that because he was so kind, it would be safe to reveal her secret to him, only to be betrayed.

Lilim began overlapping that former fiancé with Rudel, who was still technically one of her prospective fiancés. The shadow that had guided her thoughts in that direction possessed a silhouette and voice resembling Cattleya’s. When that shadow merged with Lilim’s own, Lilim rose to her feet and tore apart her shackles.

“That’s right, I’ll kill him! I’ll kill Rudel for betraying me!”

Little by little, Lilim’s golden hair turned silver, while her pale skin became black… and white patterns emerged across that dark skin. They closely resembled the markings on the monsters that had attacked them in the forest.

‘That’s right, hate him… Hate Rudel and kill him! It’s far too late to allow him to live! The reason I exist is to “restore Rudel to how he was.” If that’s impossible… then kill him!!!’

The ‘thing’ that had been born from Cattleya and continued to grow declared that it would erase the character known as Rudel now that restoring him to his original state had become impossible. For that being, it was its first rebellion against the world itself. Even as those around Rudel increasingly accepted him, it remained determined to fulfill the purpose of its existence until the very end.

‘I don’t care about the will of the world… This is my will!’

Lilim used magic to escape from her cell. That day… a single Dragoon fled the royal palace together with her dragon.