Episode 74: The Knight Converses with the Butler (1)

Honestly, it wasn't worth a real fury.

People who played at politics had a favorite trick, and it was common as dirt: taking an achievement they hadn't earned and dressing it up as their own. Even in his past life, when a fellow NCO on leave saved a civilian from a heart attack, the man who did the saving wasn't the one who got praised. The battalion commander was. Boiled down, the speech went like this—This was only possible because I raised him well!—and the spotlight swung neatly his way. After milking his subordinate, the commander patted the man's shoulder as if to congratulate himself on a clean theft, and gave him nothing else.

And that was a man who had turned in the rest of his leave because of the commander.

"You all right?"

"Hah. It's not like I saved him expecting something back, but... it sits wrong."

He hadn't wanted anything. And still, having the good he'd done stolen from him, watching the honor slide onto someone else—that feeling was truly—

"Filthy."

That was what the man said, and then he went on. That no matter how kind the deed, no matter how good the intent, it was worthless if nobody acknowledged it. That if you didn't boast of it yourself first, nobody would ever know. From that day on, a fellow who had been decent enough turned cynical. The one who used to pick trash up off the street was gone. He walked right past it, pretending not to see. Why should he pick up what other people threw away?

I'd thrown it out myself. It left too bad a taste...

Anyway. The point was this: having your own merit packaged as if someone else had done it was a deeply ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠unpleasant, bitter thing. Being used for politics, especially, was enough to draw a sigh even from a bystander.

And so—

"It should be quite sufficient if you present yourself at the Royal Castle by tomorrow morning. This is the invitation, and the script. When you arrive tomorrow, you need only act according to this. I must insist you master it perfectly by then. If you do not..."

"Hey."

That he was angry was not particularly strange. Not when they came at him like that.

"W-what did you say?"

At the sudden drop into rough speech, the attendant from the palace stammered, as if such rudeness were a first. He did not seem to understand that his manner was oil poured on a house already burning.

"Never heard the rumors about me?"

"R-rumors...?"

"New, then. Otherwise there's no way you wouldn't have heard about my temper."

Lee Han set a hand, light as a tap, on the attendant's head. The man was called an attendant, but he belonged to the royal household and held a noble title of his own—and he had no time to rage at the insult. With a crunch, gripped by the skull, he rose into empty air.

"Gyaaaah...!"

"Who the hell are you, showing up and giving orders? You think I'm your pet? Come when I'm called, bite when I'm told? I was already in a filthy mood. Why's a bastard like you poking me too?"

The pressure ground harder. The attendant's scream died. The pain had simply passed the point where a scream could get out.

There were soldiers there to attend him and guard him. They did not step forward. They couldn't.

"You lot know my face, don't you? Pretty sure I've seen you once or twice."

"Ah, p-probably more than once or twice, sir..."

"Then you should've warned this bastard, shouldn't you? You know my temper. You know the rumors. Hell, before that—is this how you invite a man?"

"T-that is..."

The soldiers poured cold sweat and did not dare meet his eyes. Inwardly, though, they were of one mind.

That crazy noble bastard!?

We warned him! Why'd he go and stir the man up on purpose!?

Idiot's got less brains than a beast!

A whole chorus of curses, every one of them aimed at the attendant.

Yes. One could understand it. They had lived as nobles their whole lives, and a royal noble was a breed that even ordinary nobles could not afford to slight. But insolence had to choose its target. Of all people, Sir Lee Han? That Lee Han Turtle? It looked like nothing but a wish to die.

Moron. If you're going to die, die alone!!

There wasn't a soldier among them who hadn't heard the rumors of Lee Han Turtle that passed from mouth to mouth—rumors you couldn't tell apart from ghost stories. That he had put every knight of the Silver Lion Knight Order in the hospital. That he had slaughtered every assassin sent by knights nursing a grudge. That every house which had sent those assassins had fallen, one and all. More recently he had smashed a castle wall, and that was only making the earlier rumors sound truer.

So the soldiers knew how strong the knight called Lee Han Turtle was, and they knew he was not a man who went easy on you for being noble. He would sooner beat you bloody. And yet this arrogant fool, who did not know his place, had spun out a bizarre logic.

"Ha! At the end of the day, isn't he nothing but a common knight? Three years—no, this year already makes four! Four years in a knight order and his station is still that low? Proof that however strong he may be, he is only a fool with muscle. A mercenary sort of man. And would a mere mercenary dare ignore the authority of the royal house, even with it before his eyes? Never! A lowborn is bound to mind himself before royal authority! I guarantee it—the moment he so much as sees me, he will be on his knees!"

So he had declared. And the result, as anyone could see—

"Ghhk......"

—was that he himself was on his knees. No. Something uglier than that.

A thin trickle. Lee Han tossed the attendant roughly to the ground—trousers soaked through where he had pissed himself, already unconscious—and bared his teeth.

"Tell your superiors. Tell this bastard's. Send another one like him and I'll rip his head off and throw it at the Royal Castle."

Someone swallowed.

"And if anyone wants to test whether I'm joking, they're welcome to. Pass that along too."

"Y-yes, sir! As you command!"

They snapped salutes and showed deference before they even knew they were doing it, then dragged the unconscious attendant off in a scramble. They vanished as if they had seen a ghost, running so hard they might have left their tails behind. As Lee Han felt their presence fade, his expression slowly eased.

"...Did I go too far?"

Part of him wondered if he had overreacted. The man had only been an ass. It hadn't called for anger like this. No—he ought to have spent that anger on the attendant alone, and instead he had been rotten to soldiers who had done nothing wrong. Seeing himself like this, he had to wonder if he was too emotional after all—

"Heh heh. You worry over trifles, Sir Lee Han. You did well. If anything, the patience to hear insults like that and still not tear his head off is remarkable. A knight of a great house would never have endured such words."

Lee Han said nothing.

"Hm. Quite a bit more here than the last time I came. Oh ho! This table—did you make it yourself? Splendid craft, Sir Lee Han."

"Uh...... Th-thank you?"

"Not at all. Merely an honest impression."

A gentle face, and praise. Lee Han did feel grateful. Unfortunately, another feeling came first.

"...Butler."

"Yes? What is it?"

"...Next time, could you make a little noise before you appear? I think my heart's going to stop."

Fear, that is.

Lee Han broke into a cold sweat, staring at the old butler who had appeared out of nowhere. No presence. No scent. Not even a ripple of energy. Albert, standing there, was more frightening than any ghost in a horror film.

And Albert—

"Who can say? I cannot promise I will refrain next time. Teasing the young is one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the small pleasures left to an old man with little life remaining. Ahaha."

Lee Han had no answer.

...Why were the adults around him, every last one of them, terrifying and mean?

Did I commit some sin in my past life? ...No, I didn't.

The only crime(?) Lee Han could claim was having been polite to his elders.

For the moment, Lee Han offered tea to the man who had come after so long.

"Oh ho. Honey tea?"

"A gift from the ones living on the hill out back. The taste ought to be pretty good."

"Hardly at the level of 'pretty good.' Even the honey presented to the royal house would not reach this. It is nearly an elixir."

"This is?"

Lee Han blinked, wondering if the honey the bees had given him was really that impressive, then accepted it. He forgot, from time to time—but they were spirit-bees, weren't they? Honey from bees like that carrying a spiritual charge was hardly strange.

"I didn't feel any of the medicine's kick, though..."

"For a knight of your caliber, Sir Lee Han, that is only natural. You are past the stage of growing stronger through elixirs. Well, something on the order of the Ghost King's heart would be another matter, but such things are hardly common."

Lee Han went quiet.

"Is something the matter?"

"Ah, no..."

So it really was that great a thing. He'd had the impression it was fairly impressive. Should I have eaten it with a little more care? He was about to feel awkward over having swallowed it so casually, but he chose to focus on the burdensome gentleman in front of him rather than cling to what was already done.

"So, Butler. Why did you come? I doubt you walked all this way just to scrounge a cup of tea off me."

"Does my coming burden you?"

"...No."

"Hm. You would make a poor liar anywhere you went, Sir Lee Han. It shows far too clearly."

"Ahem..."

"It is not a bad thing. There are times when an honest face works to one's advantage."

Albert was gentle from start to finish. Polite, kind, and generous.

And yet—

...Can a person be like this?

Lee Han could not relax in the slightest. His hands shook. A fear worse than any before crashed over him, and he trembled under it. He could tell, precisely because he had the pride to say he had grown at least a little.

John Ray Albert.

This gentle-looking man. Stronger than the Sword Duke. Stronger than that nine-tailed fox of a woman. Clearly above her, and perhaps a match for Baltar.

Sword Duke Felicia was, of course, an extraordinary person. Lee Han still had no path to victory against her. But if you asked whether she was frightening, she wasn't. At heart she was closer to a seeker, someone who lived to see the far end of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sword, and in a sense she belonged with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the clergy. Strong, yes. Dangerous, no. There was something half-formed about her; it would not be too much to call her a failure as a warrior. Which meant she had not been lying when she said her own talent was the worst in the kingdom's history.

In that sense—

This man is not like that. Literally...

He was a something that had taken a killing intent vast enough to reduce the Heaven-Slaying Star borne by the spearman to a petty trifle, and compressed it, and compressed it again. If Lee Han had to put a name to that something, it would be—

The deep sea....

An unfathomable abyss lay there. Merely looking at it left you dizzy—an unknown terror no human being could understand. Step in once and you would be sucked under as you were. The moment that thing grew angry, someone like him would vanish from the world without a trace.

...So that's why I was afraid.

He had wondered since their first meeting. Why did he always feel fear when he looked at this gentle butler? There was no reason at all to be afraid. But now he understood. Because he had set a foot into the world of Intent, and because he had lived through things like great demons.

Is this the kind of Intent a person can hold?

You must not trust this man's kindness. You must not treat him easily just because he showed no fighting spirit, no pressure. This was a man who could twist your neck with a smile on his face at any moment.

Truly....

These Aura Users. Not a normal one among them.

Enough to make a man shit himself....

"Good. Good. You have improved a great deal."

Albert already knew that Lee Han had taken his measure, and the pleasure on his face was genuine. It was proof of growth, and the growth of a young man he favored was an elder's proper joy. Albert was content.

And so—

"You asked, did you not, why I came here."

Lee Han said nothing.

"For the record, I did not come to tell you to accept the king's invitation, nor did I come to make any request. I simply wished to meet you, Sir Lee Han. To meet you, and speak, and deliver certain words. ...And yet, now that I am here, I find there is no particular need to deliver them."

Albert decided that the meeting itself was enough, and that he would say nothing more. As the young man was now, it was already sufficient.

"...Butler?"

Lee Han felt strange, and it wasn't because the man had left his words unsaid. Somehow, from this day forward, this meeting with him—

Why is he acting like we'll never see each other again?

...felt like a last meeting.

"Then I shall take my leave. Today's meeting was a great pleasure. We will see each other again."

Albert set the teacup down without a sound and rose, and the motion seemed terribly slow. He turned his back, about to vanish as he always did.

In that instant—

"Butler!"

Lee Han called after him, loud. Albert looked back as if puzzled, and even Lee Han did not know why he had raised his voice so much. But somehow, parting like this felt like something he must not allow. A little more talk.... He needed a definite conversation.

And then, from some courage he couldn't name, his mouth moved without stopping at his brain.

"Butler...... Would you fight me? Just once?"

Albert was silent.

"I know I'm saying something insane. It just feels like if it isn't now, there won't be another chance."

He knew it himself. Impulsive, and strange. Nothing but a creative way to commit suicide.

...And yet, wasn't it odd?

"Hm. You will not regret it?"

"Yes. I think I will. Rather—"

"—I think this'll actually clear my chest."

Better something that burns than a talk grabbing at clouds!

"How can you leave with things sitting this wrong? If you go like this I won't sleep properly. For the sake of my rest, I think you'll have to indulge me."

"Hoh..."

Lee Han turned a provocative smile on the monster of the abyss.

And at that face, full of challenge—

Albert's mouth curved brighter still.

Delighted by a gift he had never thought to receive.