novelraw Chapter 128*: Childhood Friend - Conclusion*
Chapter 128*: Childhood Friend - Conclusion*
*Chapter 128. Childhood Friend - Conclusion*
Bad guy!
Bad guy! Bad guy!
While staying at Bidorinin Castle and sparring with the knights, Lena Ainar had a serious fight with Leo Dexter. One morning, Leo, who had been acting distant, suddenly disappeared without a word.
When Lena woke up and found Leo gone from their shared room, she searched frantically around the castle, asking everyone she met if they knew where he had gone.
No one knew of his whereabouts.
Left alone, Lena was overwhelmed with thoughts. Had Leo returned to his hometown? Even though he had been cold to her lately, surely he wouldn’t have done that... surely not.
Fear gripped her, and she spent her days in anxiety, unable to decide what to do, until a week later, Leo returned.
He came back late at night as if nothing had happened, giving the worried Baron Agata and his wife the absurd excuse that he had been hunting monsters.
Naturally, Lena was furious.“How could you disappear without a word! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!”
But Leo said nothing. He simply flopped onto the bed and turned his back to her, looking exhausted.
Ha!
Feeling a mix of disbelief and anger, Lena shouted at him. She cursed loudly, not caring who heard, but Leo didn’t budge.
Finally, in her rage, Lena stormed out of the room. Stomping through the cold corridors, calling him a bad guy repeatedly, her temper eventually cooled down.
Why was Leo acting this way?
She felt hurt and resentful. She thought herself a fool for being engaged to such a man, but she couldn’t bring herself to give up on him.
Leo had to be her first and last love.
After calming down, Lena wandered the corridors all night, trying to understand him.
Thinking back, Leo had changed his attitude after his swordsmanship skills suddenly improved.
He avoided her with a distant look and spoke curtly, especially after she made a significant mistake while hunting the monster known as the 'Snowhorn Deer.'
“Right... He’s keeping his distance because of my lack of skill.”
Leo must have been disappointed in her poor performance. How else could a person's attitude change so drastically overnight?
“He said he doesn’t hate me. Leo... wants me to catch up with him again. Yes. Why else would he suggest we go on a training journey? My skills are honestly not enough to compete in the Maunin Tournament...”
Though his changed attitude hurt her, Lena resolved to improve.
Leo’s skills were incredible, but she didn’t think they were unattainable. With hard work, she felt she could catch up to him.
Lena returned to the room.
She glared at Leo, still turned away, and lay down on the floor with a blanket.
After that, Lena threw herself into sword training. Ignoring Leo’s suggestion to leave, she focused on mastering Brian’s sword techniques. Then, Baron Berger Agata brought some good news.
“We have good news. The royal family has requested a large number of knights and squires to be dispatched. They said anyone with adequate skills would be granted the position of squire immediately. This is a great opportunity for those aspiring to become knights. We’ve selected a few to leave, and Sir Brian will lead them. Wouldn’t it be good to join him?”
It was excellent news. With joy, Lena accepted on behalf of the hesitant and confused Leo, saying, “We’ll go!”
Leo and Lena traveled to Lutetia with the squires of Baron Agata’s household.
The schedule set by the royal family was tight, so they had to push hard even on horseback. Leo’s behavior was odd during this journey.
His cold attitude towards her was no longer surprising, but he seemed anxious. He often looked around with a bewildered expression, muttering to himself as if lost.
“What’s wrong with him?”
Lena wondered, but still angry, she snorted and ignored him.
They arrived in Lutetia just in time. After a brief evaluation by the knights, they were granted the title of squire. Though becoming a squire was easier than becoming a knight, it was still unusual to be granted so simply.
The reason soon became clear.
An apostle of the evil god had appeared in the Kingdom of Orun. The Frederick royal family was forming a hunting party to eliminate this threat.
“Please, we ask for your cooperation. The apostle of the evil god is an enemy of all humanity. Success in this mission will bring great rewards. Knights will receive horses and fine swords, and squires will be granted knighthood.”
There was no reason to refuse.
As warriors with swords, it was their duty to join the mission. Lena, along with the squires of Baron Agata’s household and Sir Brian, decided to participate.
Surprisingly, Leo also agreed to join without hesitation, though the reason was unclear.
However, once they joined the prince’s hunting party, Leo seemed visibly more at ease. He roamed around the camp as they marched south towards the Kingdom of Orun.
What was he up to...
Lena followed the hunting party, sparring with Uncle Brian (they had grown close enough that she called him that) whenever there was time. They joined the Cross Church’s hunting party in the scorching summer, setting up a camp.
“Wow... How many people are here? Look at all those paladins.”
It was Lena’s first time seeing so many priests and paladins, with hundreds of them bustling about, which made her realize the Church's strength.
‘With this many, even if it’s not just the apostle but the evil god himself, there would be nothing for me to do.’ ─ She thought, but the expressions of the priests and paladins were serious.
They frequently looked south with tense faces, making even the initially lighthearted Lena and the squires wait anxiously for the decisive day.
Then, something amusing happened.
As usual, Lena was sparring with Brian when he suddenly ran off in terror after seeing a knight escorting the prince.
“Lord Lloyd! You’re alive!”
“...Who are you?”
“It’s me! Don’t you remember? Brian, the squire from Baron Agnak’s household who left to become a paladin...”
“Shh!”
The blue-eyed guard knight with a large scar running across his right cheek and lips hastily covered Brian’s mouth and led him away somewhere.
When Brian returned much later, his eyes were swollen. Lena asked what had happened, but he merely said, “I met someone I used to know,” and evaded the topic.
However, it must have been a very close person, as they met frequently. Consequently, Lena and Leo also got to converse with the guard knight often and eventually got introduced to the prince, even being invited to dine with him several times.
Lena enjoyed these meals with the prince.
Leo dropped his curt mannerisms and spoke cheerfully, perhaps out of respect for the prince. The prince seemed to think well of Leo, engaging in light-hearted conversations, which made Lena happy.
Even though Leo returned to his curt self after the meals...
‘You bad guy. Just wait. If I can blend Brian’s swordsmanship with Noel’s...’
Brian’s swordsmanship, which utilized ‘Porte’ as a base to develop his unique style, was truly captivating.
There was much room to incorporate Noel’s technique of ‘hiding a beat,’ and the more she studied, the more usable sword techniques she discovered.
While Lena was gradually establishing her own swordsmanship, the decisive moment arrived.
A young man on a black horse, the evil god’s apostle, was approaching, turning the vast plains red with blood.
The apostle, exuding a vile aura as he arrogantly surveyed the land, made the knights of the hunting party tense and swallow hard.
Lena felt something odd. He was definitely a bad guy, yet... he didn’t seem all that bad.
[Achievement: First Meeting with Lena – Lena holds a high favorability towards Leo.]
-Slap!
Lena slapped her own cheeks to shake off these useless thoughts.
He is a bad guy. But somehow, he looks a bit like Leo... No, how could such a skinny guy resemble Leo?
While Lena was lost in her thoughts, the battle was rapidly unfolding. The dispatched cavalry returned with losses, and the squires, in tight formation, were unable to move.
Not knowing the intricacies of military strategy, Lena couldn’t understand why they were just standing around.
Shouldn’t a battle involve charging and attacking whatever is visible? Why advance and then stop pointlessly, moving left and right as if performing dog drills when the enemy is right in front?
Lena’s questions were those of warriors unfamiliar with the subtleties of group combat.
In a battle of ten against a hundred, strategy might not matter muChapter But in a clash of a thousand against ten thousand, the outcome could hinge on whether the ten thousand fought with or without formation.
Regardless, she couldn’t disobey the commander’s orders, so she grumbled and held her position until the evil god’s apostle fell from his horse.
She didn’t see why he fell, but the hunting party cheered. However, their cheers soon turned to horror.
“What’s going on here?!”
Thorny trees began to sprout wildly.
Those thorns looked like they could tear flesh apart.
The horn sound, which had been bearable thanks to yesterday’s blessing, now became unbearably loud, and the red horn symbol in the sky seemed larger or closer.
The view turned red and dark.
The hunting party’s tight formation had long since broken due to the densely growing thorny trees. The squires began retreating towards the white giant figure visible through the thorny gaps. It wouldn’t be easy, but...
“Leo! Over here. Are you okay?”
Lena first looked for Leo. Unlucky, he was caught in the sprouting thorny trees, cautiously trying to free himself.
“I’ll help you. You’re not hurt, right?”
“Leave it. I can get down myself.”
Regardless of Leo’s curt words, Lena raised her hands to provide a foothold for him to step down.
“You! You bastard!”
Suddenly, Leo cursed.
Has he finally gone mad?
When she looked up, Leo’s face softened, and he tearfully began apologizing profusely.
“Lena, I’m sorry. What should I apologize for first? For not helping you when you fell from your horse, for sneaking off to hunt, for turning my back on you... I didn’t mean any of it. I was awake then. I wasn’t asleep. I heard everything...”
“What nonsense are you spouting, you fool.”
Though puzzled by his sudden change in attitude, a smile crept onto Lena’s lips. All her pent-up resentment melted away. Ah, I shouldn’t soften up like this. I need to give him a good scolding...
“If you have time to talk, hurry and get down. We need to retreat...”
“What are you doing! Stop!”
Lena looked down at her chest in confusion, feeling a sharp pain. There, something incomprehensible was protruding.
This glowing, crimson thing... what is it?
“You...you...you...bastard! Ah, Lena! Lena! Noooooo!”
Lena’s vision darkened. Barely able to look up at the screaming Leo, she collapsed, her face hitting the thorny ground.
[Forced Termination: Lena Killed 1/3]
A message appeared before Rev.