novelraw Chapter 145: Krafte War - Converging Paths (1)
Chapter 145: Krafte War - Converging Paths (1)
The outskirts of the Magic Kingdom of Holland.
The night's darkness was illuminated by a campfire.
As Louis stared blankly at the crackling, blazing campfire, the man skillfully pulled out a fully cooked skewer.
“Here you go.”
“Ah, th-thank you.”
Louis accepted the skewer from the man and looked down with a troubled expression at the rabbit, which had been skinned, skewered, and roasted.
It had been quite cute and plump before, but now that its skin was removed and it was roasted, it looked much smaller and shriveled, a rather unsightly sight…
Louis turned his gaze to the man nonchalantly munching on his own skewered rabbit.
The mercenary, who had introduced himself as Leon Durand, grinned as if sensing Louis's gaze.
“Is this a bit much for a rich young master? Still, you should eat. We have to walk to the next town to get a new carriage to Francia.”“R-right.”
Louis squeezed his eyes shut and took a bite of the meat.
The taste of the meat, somewhat lean yet firm, captivated Louis, who was tense and had expended much mana. He devoured it greedily before speaking sheepishly.
“It does taste good, though…”
“Rabbit meat is one of the more edible things to catch in these plains. We were lucky to catch two.”
“I see…”
“Well, it’s not a mercenary’s concern, but you don't seem to have much travel experience. Isn't it dangerous to travel alone?”
“Y-yes, I suppose so…”
Louis's shoulders slumped.
After becoming a student at the Magic Tower at age 11, Louis had nearly shed the timidity and tension he felt at the Aquitaine estate.
His sister, perhaps knowing that any protection she sent would feel like surveillance, hadn't assigned anyone to him, instead limiting her involvement to making donations to the Magic Tower to ensure they looked after him.
“I made a mistake,” Louis said bitterly.
He had thought he had become a respectable mage, yet he almost died the moment he left the Magic Tower.
What would his sister say if she knew he was attacked while traveling alone by land, just because he didn't want to run into the Aquitaine Merchant Guild?
…That would be a relief, by comparison. What if his sister had known about this attack and condoned it? What on earth had he done, leaving the Magic Tower so recklessly?
Louis stopped chewing the rabbit meat, his spirits sinking.
Even for a talented early graduate of the Magic Tower’s preliminary course, it was a harsh situation for a mere 16-year-old.
Watching Louis, Leon scratched his head and opened his mouth.
“Well, it seems you have a story, as is common for those ambushed.”
As Louis turned his gaze toward him, Leon continued.
“This is just mercenary talk, so take it with a grain of salt. Life is unpredictable. It’s a personal story, but I'm from the Francian nobility.”
“Ah, were you.”
Somehow, his Francian accent and subtly noble atmosphere now made sense.
As Louis was digesting this, Leon spoke again.
“Well, being a noble wasn't much. I was the second son of a small family. My damn older brother, once he got a little older, started openly challenging me, acting like everything was his to inherit. Damn it.”
Leon's tone was so vivid that Louis couldn't help but let out a small laugh.
“In the end, I couldn’t stand it and left home with some travel money. To be honest, I was reckless too. When I first left home, I knew as little as you do, my employer. Thanks to that, I went through hell. At first, I tried to act all prim and proper, as a noble, but damn it, what's the point of a noble’s dignity when you're about to starve to death.”
“Hahaha…”
As Louis’s expression softened, Leon gave a slight smile and said.
“But this damn life is a strange thing. A revolution broke out in Francia. My brother, who was so intent on monopolizing that measly title and fief, got caught up in it and died, and the family was ruined. And me, the one who seemed destined for the hardest, most rock-bottom life, I’m the only one who’s living reasonably well, can you believe it?”
Louis paused for a moment at that, then asked.
“...Then do you resent the Revolutionary Army?”
Leon paused for a moment, then scratched his bristly chin and answered.
“When I first heard the news, I felt a bit mixed up, but now, I don't know. Frankly, I don’t know if I have the right to resent them for destroying a family I'd already left.”
“I see.”
As Louis replied with some relief, Leon grinned.
“Well, it’s just the experience of a bottom-of-the-barrel mercenary. A common story of a seemingly ruined life turning out a little better. My employer, you seem to be in a better position than me, even as a second son, having received a fine education at the Magic Tower. I just told you that so you wouldn’t worry so much.”
“I see…”
Louis had to agree.
Indeed, his education at the Magic Tower was thanks to his sister's consideration.
No. In the first place, when his mother murdered his father, no one would have dared object if his sister had him tied up for treason and executed along with her.
He had survived thanks to his sister and even become a mage. To now fret that his sister might have had a change of heart after a single attack, what kind of foolish worry was that?
Leon Durand was probably just telling a common mercenary's tale to reassure his employer, but Louis felt a deep sense of gratitude.
Leon might be offended if Louis, who was in a much better situation, said this, but he wondered if it was fate to meet someone in a surprisingly similar situation in such a land and feel a sense of kinship.
Louis opened his mouth with a gentle smile.
“Thank y-”
“By the way, my employer.”
“Yes?”
“I received the down payment for sure, but I’m asking just in case. After I escort you all the way to Francia, it’s not going to be that Aquitaine tried to kill you, leaving no money to give me, is it?”
“…What would you do if that were the case?”
Leon stroked his chin and answered.
“Then I’d have to decide whether to grab you now and look for the attackers, or just take the down payment and let you go on your way, wouldn't I?”
The smile on Louis’s lips vanished.
Kinship with a bottom-of-the-barrel mercenary? What nonsense!
“…Even if the Aquitaine family doesn't pay, my allowance savings haven't gone anywhere, so you don't have to worry about the fee.”
At Louis’s cold words, Leon grinned and replied.
“My, it seems the great merchant family's allowance is on a different scale. That’s very reassuring to hear! Hah, I’ll escort you safely to Francia!”
Louis let out a dry laugh and turned away sharply.
“Since you are in my employ, you will stand night watch, won’t you?”
“Hah, of course. I was actually worried my employer would insist on standing watch himself.”
At the last annoying remark, Louis wrapped himself in a blanket and lay down.
Perhaps because the tension had eased and he was exhausted, Louis fell sound asleep before long.
Leon Durand smirked, glanced at the naive young master, and pulled out a dagger from his belt.
Even after all that intense training, he had still missed a rabbit with one throw.
To think that Marquis Lafayette had made his name by throwing these things better than an assassin, despite being from a line of knights. Just how long had he trained?
That marquis, who was his own age, what experiences had he had, and since when, to so easily reject the values their families had upheld for generations and lead that Revolutionary Army?
Leon tossed the dagger in his hand into the air, caught it as it fell, and thrust it back into his belt.
A path once completely diverged now converges again.
Francia.
…What does my motherland, to which I will be returning after so long, look like now?
*
Lumiere, the capital of Revolutionary Francia.
The very beginning of early summer.
The warm sunlight of the city, named 'Light', shone down on the peaceful and magnificent streets, which were prosperous enough to be called the most flourishing city on the Central Continent, even after passing through the carnage of revolution.
However, in such a city, and indeed precisely because it was such a city, there existed an equally massive slum.
“Wow, the Queen!”
“Silly, it’s Her Majesty the Queen!”
“H-Her Majesty the Queen!”
In front of a young girl scolding a snot-nosed child, Eris answered with great kindness.
“Whether it’s the Queen, Her Majesty the Queen, or the Saintess, anything is fine, so please get along. Here, have some bread.”
“Wow, four today! Thank you, Queen-ni… Her Majesty the Queen!”
Eris patted the heads of the delighted children one by one.
Each time she did, her white-gloved hand glowed, indicating she was placing a faint blessing upon them.
I quietly watched as Eris and those helping her distributed bread to the residents of the slum.
The slum-dwellers, who had gathered like a swarm of clouds, returned home only as the sun, which had been high in the sky, began to set.
“You’ve worked hard, Your Majesty.”
“Uuugh—!”
As I approached and spoke, Eris stood up, stretched, and answered a beat later.
“Thank you too, Marquis. This time, thanks to support from the central party, we were able to distribute plenty, and everyone seemed to like it.”
“Is that so.”
I glanced over at the slum children watching us from afar with curious eyes, and at the slum itself.
Its structure was not much different from the dirty, web-like place I had seen in Port Harbor.
Still, unlike the faces of those barely clinging to life there, the faces of the poor here appeared to be living a more human life.
“…Is it not difficult for you?”
“No? Thanks to the ve~~~ry expensive artifact you bought me, not at all. They say luxury is bad, but without this, I might never be able to survive another summer.”
Even though her face was covered by a veil, I could imagine Eris smiling gleefully, and I let out a chuckle without realizing it.
Instead, Eris seemed to study my face, then raised her hand to cover what was probably her mouth and said.
“Hmm~ I wonder what change of heart our ruthless Commander-in-Chief had to support relief activities and even come along to watch~?”
“…I have simply come to realize that there is a vast difference between knowing something in theory and seeing it firsthand.”
Eris chuckled and opened her mouth.
“And that’s why you changed your stance on the bill to introduce schools for the poor? You were against it before. Saying there was no budget for a policy with such dubious immediate effectiveness during wartime.”
“Ah, well…”
As I answered vaguely, Eris stared at me intently with her violet eyes from behind the veil and asked.
“What did you see in Iberica?”
“…I saw people who, born into a miserable lot they did not choose, struggled to escape and change their fate, and ultimately succeeded.”
Even that wretched slum in Porto will change, however little, under Kroxx's rule.
Even if it does not achieve complete success, it can at least be reduced to a lesser evil.
“It must have been impressive.”
At Eris's words, I smirked and replied.
“I was simply reminded that I chose the revolution over the old regime, like them, to avoid the worst and walk a slightly better path. And that if so, I should try to change what can be changed with a small investment.”
I had successfully thrown my lot in with the Republic, been called the guardian of the revolution, crowned Eris as Queen, and led numerous wars to victory, and in the process, forgotten something.
Hearing my words, Eris was quiet for a moment, then lifted her veil.
“Do your eyes not hurt?”
Eris squinted slightly in the strong light of the setting sun, then blinked a few times, and, as if accustomed to it, slowly replied.
“I wanted to say this while facing you properly.”
Then, her eyes, which reflected the red light of the sunset and shone a mysterious violet, looked at me as she spoke.
“The fact that you were my supporter, Marquis, and that you are the one leading the Revolutionary Army and holding one pillar of the assembly. I believe that all of that is a great fortune for me and the people of this country.”
I let out a small laugh and pressed down on Eris's hood, shielding her eyes from the sunlight as I replied.
“I, too, think it was fortunate that the Fourth Princess I was searching for was you.”
Then, after a slight pause, I said.
“And for this country to follow the path Your Majesty wishes, there is still a gate we must overcome.”
“…Krafte.”
At her quiet voice, I asked again what I had asked her before.
“Her Majesty, Queen Erisliste Lilianne De Francia, the enemy is called the strongest of this era, a nation born for war itself. Have you steeled your resolve to again lead the people to a battlefield against them?”
Eris answered slowly.
“Always. …That is why I am the Queen. And you, Marquis?”
I replied.
“I as well.”
Only one step remains until I can grasp the future I promised Christine.
From the very beginning, that is why I have come this far.
For that purpose, I overlapped the path of Eris, who would have originally lived as a Saintess and been betrayed and killed, with the path I intended to walk.
“No matter how strong the enemy, I will unfailingly deliver victory to Your Majesty and this country.”