Madan no Ou to Seisen no Carnwenhan – Chapter 3

Go back in time to more than twenty days ago.

That is, the morning after the self-proclaimed king’s archer was wounded in the right eye by Tigre and the others.

In the southeastern part of Asvarre Island, the palace in the king’s capital, Colchester, was almost devoid of people. Ever since the usurper who called himself the founder Artorius started a war to usurp the throne and killed all the former princes and princess’, almost no one used the palace.

The only people currently in the palace were the self-proclaimed figure of Artorius and a few of his cronies.

The main army was dispatched everywhere, with hardly any generals left in the royal capital.

The cities and towns were no longer vibrant as they had been. The armies that attacked the land did not plunder it, and the only people eaten by the dragons were rebellious soldiers and nobles. However, one corner of the wall of the royal capital was broken down by the dragon and was not repaired. The heads of the princes were hung at the gates of the capital and left to rot in a miserable state. Those who had managed to escape had long since fled, leaving only those who had nowhere else to go and living quietly in the capital.

The port was the same. Three months ago there were ships going in and out every day, but now it was deserted. After the group of ships carrying many soldiers had sailed out to the Eastern Sea, part of the usurper’s army had been occupying the port, sometimes loading and unloading ships. The inhabitants of the town knew nothing as to where the ships came from or what kind of goods were traded.

The man who became the new king never gave any instructions to the inhabitants, and they never approached the palace.

For the atrium of the palace had become the habitat of several dragons.

Someone had been eaten by accidentally approaching it. After the same thing happened several times, no one dared to approach the palace again. The lavish and magnificent halls were gradually deserted, and only a handful of people who were even afraid of dragons moved about in the palace.

No, it was hard to say if one could call them human yet. Was a person who had once died and returned to life really still human?

That day. After that figure returned to the palace, the dragons seemed to poke their heads over to look with some interest, but immediately lost interest in him and dropped their heads to the ground.

They seemed to be taking a nap. Meanwhile keeping their ears up at all times, eagerly waiting for the intruder to come in and make them fruitful.

The figure, who could not be identified as a man or a woman, took a deliberate detour and strolled around the corridor before entering the audience hall.

“How dare you wake me up!” (King Archer)

There was no one else in the vast hall, except for a short young man dressed in luxurious silk who sat on a throne at the other end of the room and raised his head. He was one-armed, and his right hand was empty below the elbow. The young man’s voice was completely at odds with his appearance, and was extremely hoarse.

The young man who called himself “Old Man” raised his left hand casually.

“Hey, look at you, you’re really badly fixed, King of the Ancient Archer.” (Artorius)

He was right on the money. This flying returning figure had lost his right eye. The original imposing leather armor was charred black and tattered.

“Why? You’ve lost your right eye, but you look happy.”

“I am happy. ”

The one-eyed man said smiling at him. His smile did seem like it came from the heart. The young man on the throne thought to himself, “It’s interesting that you’re so happy even though you were almost killed by your enemy.”

Their conversation sounded intimate and unbroken at first glance, but there was a strange atmosphere between them. There was always a sense of tension, even if it wasn’t surprising that they were fighting each other in the next instant. The youth thought to himself, that’s right, otherwise it’s not at all interesting.

“By the way, weren’t you on the boat group? Why are you back? Wasn’t it menacingly threatening to take on the demons occupying Zhcted? What happened to that country’s army?”

“That dragon-gear user called what’s-her-name, is a bit disappointing. However, I found something else more interesting. That is the contemporary archer. ”

The young man on the throne frowned at the news. The one-eyed man shook his head.

“Is it your scion?”

“No, the bearer of the bow is not necessarily a scion. Unlike your side, our lord’s blessing is extremely shifty.”

“Blessing, is it? Not a curse?

The one-eyed archer laughed heatedly.

“Whether gaining power beyond one’s own instincts is a blessing or a curse is ultimately up to one’s own making. Artorius, is the power you received a blessing? Or is it a curse?”

The young man on the throne known as Artorius sighed and raised his lips at him. That attitude could be seen as either an affirmation or a denial. The one-eyed archer shrugged his shoulders.

“Never mind, it doesn’t matter. Artorius, I must rest for a time. This eye must be healed.”

“Lord of the Ancient Archer, what about the fleet of ships I sent you?”

“Let them keep an eye on Zhcted for a while. It’ll be troublesome if the dragon gear users team up with those demons. Just send any knight you like. How about Percival?”

“That guy can’t.” The young man on the throne said.”

“He’s not cut out for war. He’s been a hot potato since the old days, giving away money to the people and then coming back to me for more. I couldn’t do anything about him, so I kept sending him to search for artifacts and demons. But that was long before we were called king and knights of the round table.”

The young man raised the corners of his mouth and said nostalgically.

“Nowadays, I only let him search for demons on this island with a few troops. Our knights are all too individualistic, and what they are good at is quite extreme compared to what they are not. What’s more, after returning to the present world like this . . . . . . Oh, I almost forgot, you’re also one of our knights now.”

“Yes, now I’m a Knight of the Round Table.”

It’s unknown what amused him, but the one-eyed archer laughed once again.

“It’s fun to serve people – even heroes.”

“I’m a hero, is this the attitude you should have to serve a hero?”

Artorius sounded like he was teasing him. There was a connection between the two that went beyond those words, a certain commonality.

“I can’t help it, I’m a hero too. Well, I’ll be off then.”

The one-eyed archer said and turned his back on Artorius.

“I will see you again when my eyes are healed.”

“I’m looking forward to that day. For I will need your strength.”

“I know. It is for this reason that we were born again, right?”

Then about a month went by.

†

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