Chapter 75

Serpens blankly looked beyond the field.
Far away, the red mist that had seeped like blood was slowly fading.

“Tch. Who’s worried about someone like him?”

Lucas would have handled it well.
He wasn’t worried.
The thought that they should help had not come from worry.
Their side had finished its work, but that side wasn’t done yet, was it?
Then he had thought it was only right to help.
It was not worry, and it was even less that he did not trust Lucas.

Around the time the red mist was swept away by the wind and disappeared.
Two people returned from the end of the battlefield.

Sea-green hair tied back.
Silver armor and a spear stained with blood.
Berisa still walked back with an easygoing smile,
and in front of her, Lucas stood silently.

“……See. He looks completely fine.”

Lucas’s gray hair swayed in the blowing wind.
Serpens caught his breath and ran toward them.

“Lucas! Did you deal with all the vampires?”
“Seeing that you still have the strength to run over, it seems you had it easy.”
“Easy, my foot. Do you know how dangerous it was!”
“As if.”

Those remaining on the battlefield looked at the two of them.
Both were rare sights.
Lucas Liberator, said to be the pinnacle of humanity.
And…… a kid.

Most of the gazes were colored with curiosity.
The Sword Saint and a kid.
They were remarkable to see separately, and remarkable to see standing side by side.

Lucas left the chattering Serpens behind and shifted his gaze.

“Lionel.”

Lionel, having been called, nodded.

When Lucas walked across the battlefield,
Serpens, Berisa, and Lionel followed behind him in order.

“Take care of the cleanup, Lucius.”
“Do not worry, Lord Lucas.”

When Lucius took one step back and opened his book, countless pages fluttered as if turned by the wind and emitted light.
Rays of light stretching from the book flew to every part of the battlefield,
swallowed the monsters’ corpses, and pulled them into the book.

Thump-

After not much time had passed, Lucius closed the book.
A brighter vitality began to return to the contaminated land.

Only Serpens blinked blankly.

“Lucas, how strong is that person?”

The boy asked.

“If it is against monsters, he would be counted on one hand among humans.”

At Lucas’s answer, Serpens glanced back at the two people behind them.
When it came to strong humans, a few names came to mind.

Lucas Liberator.
Lars Musica.

He thought these two were strong people no one in the empire could deny.

‘I wonder if Lars is doing well?’

The boy set aside the thought that had briefly crossed his mind and raised his head again.
Let him think of someone else.

Lucas and Lars were respectively a Sword Master and a 9th-class magician.
And Serpens knew one more person said to be in the same realm as them.
Muto Mariposa.
He had never seen her strength, but as far as the boy had heard, she was also a Sword Master.
That should mean it was guaranteed that she was stronger than the Experts here.

‘Of course, not stronger than Lucas.’

If he thought further…… perhaps the principal he had met at the Academy.
Was it Frost?
He knew that person was also strong.
But she was, in the end, the Academy principal who did not stand on battlefields.
Even if she was strong, she did not seem stronger than the Knight Commanders.

Even putting it together like this, three fingers on one hand were already taken.
Only two places remained.
The world was wide and there were many strong people, but in most cases, a Knight Commander would be stronger…….

There might be some kind of quiet rivalry over the remaining two spots.

Lionel.
Berisa.
The white-haired knight and Lucius.

If Lucius was highly likely to be counted on one hand when it came to monsters,
who would take the other place?

‘……I’m curious.’

It was pure curiosity.
Wasn’t the question ‘Who is stronger?’ an extremely interesting topic of conversation for a boy?

That said, it was a little awkward to ask outright.
Questions of this sort often caused needless conflict.
No matter how dignified the Knight Commanders were,
they might have confidence they did not reveal.

‘I’ll ask Lucas later when it’s just the two of us.’

“Lucas. Where are we going now?”
“We return to the fortress.”
“Oh, nice. Are we eating?”
“We are.”

Serpens lay on the inn floor, looking up at the ceiling.
In his heart, he wanted to dive onto the bed,
but with his body a mess of sweat and blood, it felt a little wrong to lie on the bed.

He wasn’t the sort of person to care about such things,
but he couldn’t disobey Lucas telling him to restrain himself at the innkeeper’s request.

However, there was a more important problem than that.

“……Damn it.”

His plan had gone wrong.
Originally, he had planned to return to the fortress, eat delicious meat, and celebrate their victory.
But now he couldn’t eat.
What kind of disaster was this?

“Lucas. Do we have to attend that banquet or whatever?”

It had only been a few minutes since he heard there would be a banquet for the knights.
After entering the fortress amid the citizens’ cheers,
and after meeting the emperor and bowing his head.

“It doesn’t matter if you do not attend.”
“Really?”
“As long as you have a reason and the courage to refuse the emperor’s request.”
“Ugh.”

What Lucas said was the problem.
When they had gone to meet the emperor to report their victory.
Serpens had stood beside Lucas timidly with his head lowered.

Of all things, Lucas had his audience with the emperor at the very front,
and because of that, Serpens also had to face the emperor from the very front.

It was a place more uncomfortable than the sloped stone floor of a back alley.
In that place, the emperor ‘recommended’ that the knights attend the banquet.

The knights’ banquet held every year.
A banquet for those who had newly become knights, those who had reached a new realm,
and knights who had achieved outstanding deeds.

“Seriously……. a banquet? In the middle of a war?”
“…….”
“Another dangerous monster will appear in a month. We shouldn’t be having a banquet, we should be training!”
“The emperor must have his own thoughts.”
“Thoughts? What thoughts?”
“A monster appeared, but victory was achieved without a single casualty. So he likely intends to tell the knights, ‘Do not be afraid. We can achieve an easy victory.’”

Serpens lowered his head.

“There is nothing bad about raising our allies’ morale for the battles to come. Now is also the only time to hold a banquet.”

With Lucas saying that, the boy lost the words to argue.

In truth, food was one thing, but the banquet itself was the problem.
What was a banquet?
Wasn’t it the height of luxury?
The food used there…… no, even just the food left after the banquet would be enough to feed dozens of people until their stomachs burst.

To participate in such a place.

“Hmm…….”

A stifling breath blocked his throat.

The boy was uncomfortable with luxury.
Some people died from having too little, while others lived in ease.
He hated that…….
And now it looked like he would become one of the central figures of such a place.

An uncomfortable place.
The emperor’s ‘recommendation.’

“This is really driving me crazy…….”

On top of that, even Lucas seemed to intend to attend the banquet.
If only this man were not going, Serpens might have been able to skip it too.

‘He doesn’t seem like the type to like banquets, though…….’

Serpens quietly looked up at Lucas.

“Lucas, do we really have to go? From what I saw last time, you seem more than capable of refusing the emperor’s request.”
“……?”
“I mean, I’m not saying you’re reckless……. It’s more like you’re not afraid? You know what I mean.”
“…….”

A momentary silence.
Serpens smiled.

“Understood. I’ll shut up and get ready to go.”

Serpens hurriedly washed up and came out, then put on the clothes Lucas had prepared.
They were simple everyday clothes, but perhaps because his previous clothes had been so uncomfortable, they felt extraordinarily comfortable.

“Lucas, by the way…….”

There was one question that had come to mind while he was washing.
The banquet?
Well, let that be.
Because it seemed he had to go regardless of his will.

“Why can’t I eat?”

He understood that they were going to the banquet.
But it should be fine to eat before going, shouldn’t it?

Was it that he had to keep his stomach empty because he had to eat at the banquet?
Lucas was not the kind of person to say that, though……?

Lucas quietly looked at the boy while wiping his sword.

“I heard about the nonsense you pulled when I was not present. I hear you charged at the Death Knight without knowing your place.”
“Uh, no, that was-”
“Did I teach you that? To act out without knowing your place or your limits?”
“No…….”
“…….”

Serpens clasped his hands behind his back without realizing it.
The boy lowered his head and swallowed dryly.

Lucas’s lengthening silence made the boy anxious.

“Phew…….”

Lucas’s sigh.
Serpens timidly watched his reaction.

“You asked why you cannot eat.”
“……Yes.”
“Filling your stomach right before training is a foolish thing to do. Your body becomes heavier, and it is obvious you will throw it up.”
“Right……?”

Lucas rose from his seat and slowly moved toward the inn door.
The boy’s gaze was fixed on him,
and it wavered nervously until the next words came.

“Follow me.”

Lucas slung his sword onto his back and left through the door.
Serpens quickly shook out his wet hair and hurried after him.

“Why did you thrust your sword at the Death Knight?”

Lucas asked as they went down the stairs.

“I had drawn out my full strength in my own way. I didn’t think I could land an effective hit, but I thought I could make at least one small opening.”
“You were conceited.”
“Well……. I can’t deny that.”

Serpens smiled sheepishly.
A faint bitterness clung to the end of his smile.

“Since I realized my skill is lacking, I just have to practice harder!”

But the bitterness lasted only a moment.
Small stars sparkled in the boy’s eyes.

“…….”

Lucas simply walked forward.
How could that child be like that?
He only found it strange.

Situations that could have made him despair or complain had repeated again and again.
Even now was like that.
It hadn’t been long since they returned from the battlefield,
but they had left through the door to begin training immediately.

Even so, the child followed behind without a single complaint.

No matter when, where, or what order was given,
that child, Serpens, followed first.

“From now on, you will train while wearing sandbags.”
“Ugh……. Well, I was lacking stamina and strength. Near the end of the battle, even cutting down undead in one strike was too much…….”

When his shortcomings were pointed out, rather than becoming upset, he looked for ways to make up for them.
A young boy was doing something even adults were not good at.

“Serpens.”
“Yes, Lucas.”
“Next time, I will make it so you can create an opening.”
“What?”

That was why Lucas could be with the boy.

“I am saying that before the next battle, we will try to get over the wall you ran into this time.”
“……Is that possible?”
“There is no reason it cannot be.”
“Woooh!”
“You are loud.”
“Yes, sir!”

Color returned to Serpens’s face.

Tadat-

Serpens, who had been following behind Lucas, quickly darted forward.

“……?”

Lucas looked down beside him.
The boy who had only followed behind began walking beside him.
Seeing his bright smile made Lucas feel puzzled.

To get over that wall, he would have to shave down bone and flesh.
Serpens had experienced that process before, so he should know it well.
He was not someone who would fail to understand what Lucas had said.

‘Strange kid.’

Well, was it not better than seeing him on the verge of tears?

Serpens began walking beside Lucas with a bright smile.
He seemed to have briefly forgotten both the fatigue of the battlefield and the discomfort of the banquet.
Even after realizing his own shortcomings, he didn’t sit down, but made his eyes shine with the resolve to overcome the wall.

Lucas let out a small sigh as he looked at the boy,
but his expression had softened somewhat.