Chapter Sixty-Seven
After thanking Zenoah Almerida for drilling ‘Shroud’ into me, I was about to head back to the Knights’ headquarters to ask Ryuuzas about the ‘Magician Hunter’s’ location, but—
“…Did something happen?”
The atmosphere had completely changed from when I arrived. It was unusually hectic. As I looked around, wondering what was going on, someone called out to me.
“Oh, you’re just in time. Looks like you learned ‘Shroud’ properly.”
It was Ryuuzas. He was grinning, a joyful look on his face. However, there was a hint of anxiety in his expression, indicating that something serious had happened.
“…Did something happen?”
“Yeah, well. It’s a completely unforeseen situation. Since I sent him to a remote location, I thought we’d have some time, but that ‘Magician Hunter’ started rampaging. I apologize for breaking my promise to tell you his location, but even though you just learned ‘Shroud,’ we have to head to Alstead’s place now.”
“…Alstead?”
He must be really short on time.
Ryuuzas rattled off his words rapidly. However, I reflexively asked about the unfamiliar name I had picked up in his speech.
“Alstead is the mastermind behind this ‘Magician Hunter’ incident. And don’t worry about the ‘Magician Hunter.’ The Knight Commander, who just returned, went to intercept him.”
He must have absolute trust in the Knight Commander. He said with genuine sincerity that there was no need to worry about the ‘Magician Hunter.’
“…I see.”
“Why the long face?”
“Well, I wanted to fight the ‘Magician Hunter.’”
Partly because I wanted payback.
But more than that, I wanted to defeat a strong opponent. Someone like the ‘Magician Hunter.’
“…Then all you have to do is finish this quickly. We’ll take care of Alstead quickly and then go after the ‘Magician Hunter.’ That said, Alstead seems to be quite formidable.”
He was the one manipulating the ‘Magician Hunter.’ Needless to say, he was no ordinary person. He might even be more troublesome than the ‘Magician Hunter.’ Ryuuzas’s words made me grin.
“Ah, and about that. We have to find Alstead, but do you have any clues, kid? He seems to be going by the name Amses now—”
“…I have a letter from Amses. He said you would probably come looking for him sometime today, and asked me to give it to you.”
After Ryuuzas asked me about Amses’s whereabouts, I immediately headed to the Adventurer’s Guild where he had been. However, I couldn’t find him anywhere, and when I asked the guild staff, I received a letter addressed to me.
“Haan. He’s completely foreseen my actions. I don’t like this one bit.”
Listening to Ryuuzas’s disgruntled muttering, I opened the letter. Inside was a single sheet of paper.
“So, what does it say?”
As Ryuuzas peered at the contents of the letter, I showed it to him.
“He’s waiting for me at the western lighthouse.”
“The western lighthouse. Ah, that place. It’s not that far from here. We can get there in about thirty minutes if we hurry.”
The reason Ryuuzas didn’t suggest using his teleportation magic was probably because he didn’t want to waste his energy unnecessarily.
“Wait. There’s another letter.”
Ryuuzas was about to leave the Adventurer’s Guild, but I noticed another letter and hurriedly stopped him.
However.
“…”
“Hmm? What does it say?”
The contents were so unexpected that I forgot to immediately tell Ryuuzas.
“…‘I’ll tell you about the connection between this country and the Star Slayer,’ huh?”
Ryuuzas read the contents aloud as I stood frozen.
“What is the Star Slayer in the first place…? Oh, the Star Slayer is what you’re aiming for, right, kid?”
I hadn’t hidden the fact that I was aiming to become a Star Slayer. There was no disadvantage in anyone knowing, and by declaring it, I cut off my own escape route and cornered myself. I made it a habit to say it.
“…Well, yeah.”
“Did he have some kind of connection with our country?”
“Who knows?”
I tried to recall the memories I had seen.
However, a connection…
I didn’t recall anything like that.
“Well, I guess we’ll find out if we go.”
However, one question remained.
It was a fundamental one.
“Why would Amses go out of his way to tell me this?”
From the time I arrived in the royal capital, Amses had generally been kind to us.
By “us,” I meant Sofia and Lilea.
That’s why, even when Ryuuzas told me he was manipulating the ‘Magician Hunter’ from behind the scenes, it lacked a sense of reality.
And now, he was apparently going to tell me about the Star Slayer.
It almost felt like he was being too kind.
“…”
A casual question.
However, Ryuuzas picked up on my mumbled words and answered with a chuckle.
“That’s probably because you’re not a noble, kid.”
“Because I’m not a noble?”
We didn’t have time to waste.
Perhaps that’s why Ryuuzas spoke as we walked.
“Yeah. Alstead… no, Amses hates nobles. But on the other hand, he’s apparently quite kind to those who aren’t nobles. Especially to magicians who have no connection to them.”
His words reminded me of something.
Come to think of it, when I first met the ‘Magician Hunter,’ he warned me to leave the royal capital. As if he didn’t want to involve me.
And Amses had invited me to join the subjugation several times. Perhaps that was because he didn’t want to involve unrelated people as much as possible. If so, then Amses was indeed a kind person.
“That being said, though I shouldn’t be the one to say this, I think Amses’s underlying thought process is correct. There are plenty of good-for-nothing nobles. I can understand wanting to kill them. That’s how rampant and widespread the corruption is.”
He was a former Knight who had served the country.
That’s why I thought he would completely deny it, but his words were almost entirely in agreement with Amses’s actions.
…Come to think of it, he was someone who had become disillusioned with the country and left the Knights Order.
However, I was a little surprised that he would so readily agree with him, despite currently trying to stop Amses. But he wasn’t finished speaking.
“But the method he chose is the worst.”
The method Amses chose was to eliminate all the nobles indiscriminately, the cause of the rotten world he envisioned.
That’s why Ryuuzas called it “the worst.”
“And he’s using other people’s desire for revenge to do it. You could say he had no choice, but I still don’t think his method is right. That’s why I’m trying to stop him.”
His words were filled with conviction. It was hard to believe he was one of the people who had once accepted being killed by the ‘Magician Hunter’ out of guilt.
“…Well, there are good nobles too, and I think the idea of killing them all is a bit much.”
I agreed with Ryuuzas’s words.
I recalled the incident in Minaura.
Viera Ihlberg, who had come to the village seeking soldiers under the pretext of subjugating monsters. I knew that she was trying to help many villages in her own way. I also knew her older sister, Fiole Ihlberg, who was a worrier and a busybody. Zenoah Almerida was the same.
That’s why I didn’t agree with the idea that all nobles were bad.
However,
“But if he has a reason to hold such extreme views, it would be impossible to stop him.”
Just like the swordsman who vowed to slay the stars for his childhood friend. If someone had a firm reason that wouldn’t waver no matter what happened, there would be no way to stop them.
Unless their heart stopped beating.
“Like how Zenoah couldn’t stop you, huh?”
“That’s right.”
Ryuuzas said with amusement. I thought he was right, and I laughed along with him.
If she had been serious about stopping me, the lacerations on my body wouldn’t have been this light. But in reality, my injuries were minor. They were light enough that Ryuuzas didn’t try to stop me from going to Amses.
“But the secret of the Star Slayer is intriguing. I’m also interested in what you’re aiming for, kid. It’s called a secret. There must have been someone who was called that in the past, right? What kind of person were they?”
The western lighthouse was still some distance away.
So he was probably asking to pass the time. Or perhaps he wanted to predict how I would react to Amses’s secret about the Star Slayer.
However, I had no hesitation in speaking. Rather, I wanted to talk. I wanted to tell him everything. About how amazing that man was.
“The most selfish, loyal, foolish, reckless person in the world, with no decent friends, and—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!? That’s nothing but insults. You’re really admiring someone like that—?”
It couldn’t be helped. Because he really was that kind of person.
…But.
“—And yet, he was a great swordsman of the century who seriously tried to achieve a feat no one else could, for a single promise. That’s the Star Slayer.”
“…”
At first glance, he might seem like a fool. No, most people would probably call him a fool.
But I was different. That’s all.
“That last part… looked incredibly cool to me.”
“…Well, let me correct myself. Ku, haha, hahahaha!!! Alright, alright. I don’t hate people like that either.”
Setting aside the initial insults.
Ryuuzas concluded his words.
“I hate reckless fools, but I like those who strive for something with all their might. Alright, I understand. When the time comes, I’ll make sure you escape, no matter what. So fight without worry.”
“No thanks. If I die, I die. I’ll just quietly accept that I wasn’t trained enough.”
“…Hmph, you’re a hopeless case.”
He was probably planning to steer the conversation in that direction anyway. For some reason, I had that feeling.
It was probably because of the protective gaze Ryuuzas was giving me. Both Zenoah and Ryuuzas.
It seemed there were quite a few kind people in the Knights Order.
[Translator – Vine]
[Proofreader – Lust]
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