Chapter 236. Childhood Friend – Fate
“I aimed to become a knight of the Simon County. Posing as a wandering swordsman of native origin, I took the trial. Luckily, the trial…”
– Clatter.
“Here’s your dessert.”
The woman from earlier brought out the dessert, causing Bryan to fall silent. Lev pointed to the steaming stack of pancakes and asked,
“Did I order dessert? I don’t remember doing so.”
“It’s included in the course menu.”
Pancakes included in a course menu? That’s an odd combination.
Still, with room left in his stomach, Lev nodded. The lightly fried pancakes, mixed with breadcrumbs and milk, were savory even without syrup.
However, just as Lev rolled and chewed the flat pancakes, a voice from the kitchen was heard.
“Did you get paid?”
“Of course I did. I told you, making cakes with leftover breadcrumbs is a good idea.”
“Are you a mother? And what restaurant serves pancakes as a dessert after a full-course meal? Eating too much makes people feel bad, so don’t make desserts on your own again.”
…This might give me indigestion.
But having heard this, Lev couldn’t leave the food unfinished. He forced down the pancakes, and Bryan spoke again.
“The trial wasn’t difficult. Several knights had died during the land battle with the Agnac Barony, and they were looking to fill vacancies. I intended to approach the count after being knighted.”
“*Hic*… But things didn’t go well.”
Lev swallowed the pancake with the remaining aperitif and spoke. Bryan nodded.
“Yes… It was the day I met Count Grünbaum Simon. Unfortunately, someone who knew me was there. A friend from the capital church.”
+ + +
“Oh?! Aren’t you Bryan? Haha! Yes, it’s you. Long time no see, friend. Looks like you didn’t make it either.”
“Ah… L-Long time no see.”
“Hmm? Do you two know each other?”
To Count Grünbaum Simon’s question, the young knight responded with a broad smile.
“Yes. We trained as paladins together at the capital church. I dropped out in the first round, but he stayed on… Congratulations, my lord. You’ve acquired a skilled knight.”
“…”
Count Simon stared intently at Bryan. Bryan tried to remain calm but couldn’t evade the sharp gaze of the high noble.
“You claimed to be a native. Seems you’ve been cunning.”
A few days later, Bryan, battered and bruised, was on his knees. Realizing the plan had gone awry, he attempted to flee but was captured and brought back.
Count Grünbaum Simon tore up the letter he had received from the church and said,
“Since you don’t resemble the Agnac Baron, it seems you aren’t ‘that one’… What’s your story? A guy who entered the capital church on Agnac Baron’s recommendation is here for what?”
“…”
“Well, if you don’t want to answer, that’s fine. The Agnac townspeople can be interrogated. Umberto, you go.”
“…Yes, father.”
The square-jawed young man reluctantly replied. He glanced at Bryan with pity before turning away, and Count Grünbaum Simon clicked his tongue.
Bryan thought he was as good as dead. However, due to some mix-up during the investigation, his identity wasn’t revealed.
Bryan didn’t know this, but it was because Umberto Simon had concealed the truth. In his youth, Umberto had been a kind-hearted young man who often visited and kept company with Agnes, who was confined in the Simon County.
Now, though, he had become a cold-hearted noble, much like his father…
Anyway, when Bryan’s true identity was not uncovered, Count Grünbaum Simon decided not to kill him.
In fact, he had initially intended to kill him. However, Umberto intervened, asking if it was really necessary to kill Bryan.
Count Grünbaum Simon, instead of killing Bryan, severed the tendons in both his index fingers and thumbs, ensuring he could never wield a sword again, and then he advised his compassionate son:
“Fine. I spared him as you asked. But watch and learn how your cheap sympathy will turn out.”
A knight who couldn’t hold a sword was powerless. Count Simon believed Bryan would serve as a good lesson.
However, being a noble, he couldn’t fully grasp how hopeless it was for a knight to lose the ability to wield a sword. Bryan disappeared.
And now, twenty years later, the long-harbored desire for revenge was returning, sharper than ever.
+ + +
Having finished his story, Bryan pleaded with the Sword Master.
“The Simon County has teamed up with the Cross Church and is up to something strange. The officials managing the Agnac territory have been replaced en masse by inquisitors from the Cross Church. Though it seems like Simon County governs the land, in reality… this is illegal. Moreover, the true owner of Agnac territory is Baroness Agnes Agata… Please help us. If things continue as they are, the Agnac Barony will be erased forever.”
Lev silently pondered, his index finger tapping on the table.
It seemed that the Cross Church, which enjoyed influence across the continent but lacked actual land, was trying to secure territory for themselves.
But this was blatantly illegal.
Beyond that, it was an act that undermined the foundation of the Frederick Royal Family, which ruled the Jerome Holy Kingdom.
Lev thought he knew who was behind this.
‘…Cardinal Mihaer is royalty. He was the foremost heir but was not chosen.’
That unfairly displaced royal must be using the Cross Church’s divine power to challenge the Frederick Royal Family’s royal authority.
For Lev, this was a fortunate turn of events! — But soon, he felt a tightening sensation around his entire body. Whether it was a shiver or something else, it bound him.
Bryan, waiting with clasped hands for the Sword Master’s decision, suddenly realized how he had ended up in this state, feeling a cold shroud wrapping around him.
The God killed Enen.
That naïve child was lured and torn apart by Oantahu, and it was shown to us.
That was the beginning.
To save Enen, I had no choice but to come here, but you, the God, made this Sir Bryan expose the misdeeds of the Cross Church to me. You trampled on this man’s life for that purpose.
Lev felt he too was just a toy, a puppet of the God. All the experiences so far had been part of the God’s plan, even our struggles, led by the God.
Like water flowing in a deeply carved-out land.
Lev rushed out of the restaurant.
“W-What?” Bryan, surprised, pointed with his dangling index finger as Lev shouted, “I’ll help! See you tomorrow!” He threw some coins from his pocket at the restaurant worker, the woman who had shown interest in him. He suspected even her approach might be the God’s scheme, making him feel nauseated.
He ran towards the setting evening sun.
Pushing aside pedestrians, Lev emerged onto the vast plains and vomited the pancakes he had forced down.
“Haha… Hahahaha!”
Lev, bent over and retching, began to laugh. He couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous his situation was.
Did Saint Azra feel such despair too?
If an absolute god governs everything in this world, and every event is part of the divine plan, then what do humans live for? What remains for humans?
Even my feelings for Leah…
[Achievement: First Meeting with Lena – Lena holds a high affection for Leo.]
…was that created too?
Lev slumped down.
The vast plain, the relentless wind, the green underbrush, and the insects surrounded him as he sat, face in hands, looking despondent. It was the month of Azure Lotus. The blue moon rising from the north was vying for color with the setting red sun in the west.
Removing his hands and facing the sky, now painted with complex hues, Lev took a deep breath. After a while, instead of fighting against fate, he chose to accept it.
Challenging a god is impossible. Even the vast sky changes its color under the god’s moon and sun.
Yes, it’s better to be grateful. Grateful for being able to love Leah, and hoping that the past cycles held some meaning.
Lev realized what Prince Leanne Yeriel had come to understand.
It’s a game for Minseo, but it’s life for us. For Minseo, these are {events}, but for us, they are destiny.
Lev got up, brushing off his clothes.
He caught his breath under the now-blue prairie and let out a long whistle. The sharp whistle turned into the rhythmic sound of galloping hooves.
[Achievement: Mount – Leo can summon a mount.]
A horse ran across the plains towards him.
It wasn’t a Daohkfo horse. It was an ordinary-sized, brown horse, much smaller than that beast.
Although it wasn’t a thoroughbred, it was a fast steed, and Lev couldn’t help but smile. Looking into its eyes, Lev spoke.
“Bante. Long time no see.”
– Snort.
The brown horse, Bante, rolled its eyes. Sensing Lev’s troubled mood, the perceptive horse licked his cheek.
With a fine saddle already on its back, Lev mounted Bante, feeling his spirits lift with each pleasant, swaying step. He turned the horse’s head.
The blue Azure Lotus moon illuminated the path ahead for him and Bante.
* * *
“Captain! Something terrible has happened. The Daohkfo horse in the stable has disappeared…”
“Don’t worry about it. Prepare everyone. We leave this place now.”
As soon as Lev returned to the count’s mansion, he ordered his disciples to depart. Knowing the full story, there was no reason to stay, and he had plans for dealing with Count Simon and Cardinal Mihaer.
The Cross Church, gradually consuming the Jerome Holy Kingdom. There was no need for a foreigner to directly intervene in this covert plot.
Lev and his disciples had the marks of sanctity on their foreheads, but Lev set their destination for Rutetia.
“Are you leaving already?” the steward asked, rushing out in the middle of the night.
“Yes, it’s time,” Lev replied, leaving Count Simon’s mansion. He then went to find Bryan, who was anxiously pacing near their previous lodging.
“I am going to see the king of this country. I will lend you my strength. You must be a witness and expose the Cross Church’s nefarious actions.”
There was no reason to refuse. Bryan, tearful with joy, joined him. The horse Lev had ridden now became Bryan’s.
Setting out for Rutetia, they stopped by a small village near the Agnac barony. Bryan’s home was there.
Due to the difficulties of maintaining a livelihood with his impaired hands, Bryan’s home was modest. Nonetheless, he married a good spouse and found good marriages for his two daughters. Only after fulfilling his role as the head of the family did Bryan come to seek out Count Simon.
Lev promised Bryan’s wife, who pleaded for help so her husband could achieve his revenge, that he would do so. He then broke a gold bar received from Count Simon into pieces and handed them to her.
Though she initially refused, once she learned that the gold had been taken from Count Simon, she accepted it. She mentioned that she hadn’t been able to provide ample dowries for her daughters, and now she could use these pieces for that purpose.
After receiving a humble yet warm breakfast, the group of twelve men and women headed east.
By the time they arrived in Rutetia, it was autumn, with half the leaves fallen. Lev sensed that Leo Dexter and Lena Einarr were very close by.
They were inside that city.
However, Lev did not enter Rutetia. Instead, he waited for the weekend and then led his disciples and Bryan into a small mountain south of Rutetia.
Prince Cleo de Frederick of this country goes hunting in that mountain every weekend. Lev planned to seek an audience with the king through him.
As those bearing the marks of sanctity on their foreheads approached, the paladins and guards escorting Prince Cleo de Frederick drew their swords. In the moment of confrontation, Bryan ran forward, shouting.
“Lord Lloyd!”
“…Who are you?”
“It’s me! Don’t you remember? I’m Bryan. I was an apprentice knight at Baron Agnac’s estate before I left to become a paladin at the capital church…”
A large scar ran across the right side of the guard’s face and lip, but he lowered his sword.
His blue-eyed name was Lloyd.
Having abandoned the surname ‘Agnac,’ Lloyd had become a guard serving the Frederick royal family, sharpening his blade for revenge as the last heir of Baron Agnac.
“Shh!”
Lloyd covered his mouth, chiding Bryan for his rashness. However, Prince Cleo de Frederick inquired in a low voice.
“Sir Lloyd? What is going on here?”
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