Ragnis Lien da Levien
Ragnis Lien da Levien
The most dramatic change that had occurred in Ogwen over the past three years was, without a doubt, the wall.
The palisade had vanished, and what began as a rising stone rampart had grown more solid and taller until a proper gate had been built. Anyone who wasn't an idiot could see how the Kingdom of Itisel regarded Ogwen. Even though not a single attack had come near Ogwen since the raid six years prior, they had no intention of leaving it neglected. Ogwen was steadily taking on the function of a fortress city.
"Halt. I'll be checking your identity."
"Come on, Alec. You've really got to stop me every time you see me?"
"Heh heh heh. That's a pretty lousy attitude. I only stopped you because I wanted to see your face, kid. What's the harm?"
I didn't bother pulling out my pass to show Alec, the grinning gate guard, as I stroked my horse. It was just a joke anyway. But Alec, who had stopped me even while petting the horse, cleared his throat awkwardly and broached the subject.
"Hmph. Hey, if it's such a hassle, just introduce me to a girl."
"You've got to be kidding me. You've lived in this town for twenty years, and you're asking a backwoods kid like me to introduce you to a girl?"
"Ah, you know. The one staying at Alisha's..."
"There's more than one or two, isn't there?"
The war kept grinding on, and unlike three years ago, orphans had begun to outnumber runaways in the city. I had no idea what kind of policies they were pursuing, but huge numbers of refugees were flowing into Ogwen, and no matter how hard I tried, it was far more than one person could handle. I'd given the kids who came and went a chance too, but only around twenty had stayed.
By now, Alisha's inn was an inn in name only. It functioned more like an orphanage for children like them. With help from the neighborhood, the inn, originally built for seven guests, had been expanded to house up to twenty-five, and together with the Holy Light Cross Order—the town's only religious institution, devoted to Ete, God of Light—they were actively providing relief for the poor. And our foul-mouthed landlady seemed more passionate and happier than ever, as though proving what kind of person she really was. I thought it every time: she was practically a Saintess already. This was what a Saintess should be. What else could the word mean?
Anyway, the fact that this man was saying this to me clearly meant he had developed a crush on one of the six girls among those twenty.
"Argh. That brown-haired young lady! The one who's a little plump!"
"Ah. Remiri?"
I couldn't help but snicker.
"You've gotta handle that yourself. Why ask me? I'm off."
"Ah, fuck, seriously. Hey! Hey!! Ah, seriously, come on!"
Remiri, the girl with the braided hair, was already popular with the nearby shops thanks to how capable she was and her friendly demeanor. She now worked so often at Tex's clothing store, which had grown quite a bit, that she could practically be called the face of the shop. Going in and out, she'd evidently set the heart of Alec Miller, eldest son of the Miller family, pounding.
But fuck, why should I help with someone else's love life? I had no intention of spoon-feeding a guy who couldn't even figure out why Remiri was working at Tex's clothing store when she had better job offers.
Pissing me off first thing in the morning. Fuck.
"Big Bro! What brings you here today?"
"Why do you keep calling me Big Bro? Please, stop embarrassing me. You're four years older than me—have some dignity. I'm telling you."
A tall young man, who would have been about my height if I dismounted, called out to me as he was hauling goods in front of Milena's grocery shop. This guy, with his copper skin and striking reddish-brown hair who had introduced himself as Jin when we first met, had entered Ogwen about a year ago. From what I'd heard, he wasn't from the kingdom but from a foreign land called Radan across the sea.
I had no idea how someone his age had ended up all the way in Ogwen, a town at the inland frontier rather than a port. On top of that, although he'd gone around earnestly looking for work, he'd been having a rough time back then: he looked worn down, his expression was grim, and merchants were intimidated enough to avoid him.
Eldmia Ega, a man who didn't judge people by appearances, couldn't ignore him, so I threw myself into finding him work. And this was what I got for it.
"What does age matter? You know more than I do, you're more mature, and you even found me a home! That makes you my Big Bro!"
"I'm going crazy, seriously."
The problem was, he stood out like hell. He was already overflowing with energy, and because he worked so much he earned unusually well and ate well too. Add his booming voice and there was no missing him. It might have been different if only townsfolk came through, but these days the people passing through Ogwen were about half locals and half outsiders. Even this early in the morning, that meant plenty of people were around. We were about the same size, so we probably didn't look strange together... I was just embarrassed.
In the end, I decided it'd be quicker to explain than try to persuade him.
"I'm going to check if the kids are working properly and stop by the guild."
"Hm? You mean the Adventurers' Guild? Why there?"
"What do you mean, why? How many times do I have to tell you? In two years I'm becoming an adventurer and heading out into the world."
"What?! That wasn't a joke?!"
"No, why would you take that as a joke?"
When I shot the question back at him, dumbfounded, Jin stared at me as though I were the ridiculous one and answered as if the reason were obvious.
"No, what could you possibly be lacking that you'd choose to live like a mayfly? Why not become a knight?"
A mayfly's life. He wasn't exactly wrong. Adventuring wasn't a profession made up of nothing but adventure and romance, after all.
I didn't know what Jin's past was like, but he'd been able to tell at a glance that I'd trained quite a bit. The first time we met, he'd even asked whether I was an apprentice knight, which had caught me off guard. He must have assumed I was training to become a knight. At least he had some tact; unlike before, he lowered his voice when he spoke.
"I've told you, I have to take the head of the commander in the Demon King's Army who destroyed my village."
"So shouldn't you be aiming to become a knight?"
"How long would it take me to become a knight, and then how long before I happened to meet him on some battlefield?"
The war with the Demon King's Army had entered its sixth year, but there had been little progress worth speaking of.
Naturally, if anything worth publicizing to raise morale had happened, they'd have circulated a proclamation. But I hadn't heard any triumphant announcement that the bastard who raided that village outside Ogwen had been beheaded. The discovery of the Hero was still the last piece of good news.
Which meant the enemy I couldn't identify was still alive, after all.
"Thinking differently from the start—that's just like you, Big Bro. A commander's naturally going to have an army around him, so it's not something just anyone would think of. How did you come up with it?"
"Isn't it smarter to become an assassin and go after the bastard leading the army than to join the army and hope I happen to catch him?"
"That's exactly why I said it's like you, Big Bro."
I had no idea what he saw in me, but this guy never brushed off the things I said. He genuinely believed I'd try them and succeed. That reaction was exactly why he made me uncomfortable.
"Anyway, I'm off. Work hard."
"Yes! If you're still around by lunch, let's share a meal together!"
"Sure. We'll see."
I gave him a casual wave, mounted my horse again, and headed for Yans's smithy. While the apprentices stoked the forge, I spotted Yans easily by his gleaming head as he leisurely puffed on his pipe.
"I have Asilie's permission! I'm here!"
"Already? Isn't Asilie spoiling you a little too much?"
This was the most significant business of today's visit. After several bouts with Asilie, she had finally permitted me to carry a real sword.
'Well, it's not like I use a sword recklessly anyway... and he's not the type who can't kill a man without one.'
Though it was closer to a verification of character than a certification of skill.
"My diligence simply shone through."
I handed over the longsword I'd been carrying on my back, scabbard and all.
"Now I've got no reason to carry it on my back! For me! A belt!"
"Huh. I'd thought you only cared about looking cool, but you actually put some thought into this, didn't you?"
"What? You've thought that about me for years, old man?"
"Heh heh heh. Honestly, I did. But still, it's a relief you're a kid with his head on straight after all. It'll take about an hour, so go amuse yourself and come back."
Yans tapped out his pipe and went straight into the smithy. I steadied my pounding heart and took my time heading back to Alisha's inn, only to find the place in absolute chaos despite the early hour.
Between the priests in Holy Light Cross Order uniforms, all the little street urchins, and the kids who no longer looked like street urchins at all, the place was so hectic I could hardly believe it was still early morning.
I'd heard they regularly received supplies from the Holy Light Cross Order, but this was my first time seeing it for myself, and it was more surprising than I'd expected. Apparently, though, that wasn't all that was going on.
"Anyone on sewer-cleaning duty, gather over here! Grab the bread the priests are handing out!"
"Lunches are ready for the boys assigned to the wall repairs!"
"Couriers, come inside the inn. You've still got time, so rest inside!"
I hadn't had any reason to come by this early lately, and otherwise I only dropped in when the thought occurred to me. Somewhere along the way, without my noticing, Alisha's inn had turned into an employment office for street kids.
Seriously? You mean someone this capable had been hiding among the kids?