The Hero and the Guillotine
The Hero and the Guillotine
"Seriously, he said he was going straight to the restaurant, so where the hell did he go again?"
The moment she finished her formal meeting with the headmaster of Itisel Royal Academy, Eselua Bistim Tel Nua, the Fourth Princess of the Empire, had gone looking for Siegfried first thing. As she scanned the restaurant, which had turned into a complete madhouse after Siegfried and Eldmia had left, she muttered to herself.
Even a quick look made it obvious Siegfried wasn't there. But for her, trying to figure out where he'd headed in the middle of a chaotic frenzy she couldn't understand the cause of was no easy task.
"Rua. I found out. They said he went to the training grounds with Eldmia."
The first to gather the intel was Entiere Hayaloi. It was still fascinating to see this proud elf, who generally never attached honorifics to anyone, consistently using them for Eldmia alone. But for the moment, she was more concerned about where Siegfried had gone.
"The training grounds? He was told to refrain from showing off his skills in such a formal setting, and yet again..."
"He doesn't listen to a word Princess Esmue says."
Honestly, she didn't think it was quite that bad, but she couldn't outright deny Entiere's words either. Perhaps it was that he enjoyed seeing Esmue get angry in a weird way. Eselua didn't want to burden her sister, who was already drowning in work, but Siegfried, who only knew about outward relations, had a strong tendency to not give a damn whether Esmue struggled or got angry.
She wondered if creating an established fact quickly to share the imperial secrets might ease Esmue's sighs. But for now, Eselua gathered up Teneasi, who was bumbling among the students, and decided to head toward the training grounds with her party.
She wasn't particularly angry at Siegfried's freewheeling attitude. Even though this battle had never been easy, he'd done his best and produced results, as a Hero should. At the very least, she wanted to make sure he rested properly when it was time to rest. However, his occasionally displayed free-spiritedness, to the point where one might suspect he came from another world entirely, made her uneasy if he was out of sight.
Even if he caused trouble, it was manageable only if it happened where she could see it. She couldn't let Siegfried get into trouble because she missed the chance to step in. Of course, it would be trouble he'd brought on himself, but people naturally favored those close to them, so there was no helping it. She had only her feelings to blame.
Thus, the moment they arrived at the training grounds, asking for directions along the way, what greeted them was Siegfried's shout.
"What're you grinning about! Fuck, the Holy Sword broke and turned into a damn rune sword!!"
There was no need to examine the buzzing training ground.
The moment Eselua spotted Siegfried's greatsword, which he'd named Dragon Slayer, split in half, a deep sigh burst from her lips.
◈
This time, Siegfried's tantrum, which had an actual reason, died down when Princess Eselua, standing at the head of his belatedly appearing lovers, politely offered a greeting.
"It's been a while, Eldmia. It doesn't feel like much time has passed since I last saw you, but your fame has only grown, I see."
Unlike the elf Entiere, who still stiffened up whenever she saw me, and the saintess who was going 'hawawawa' at the sight of Siegfried's Holy Sword, Eselua displayed a noble's composure. To return her greeting, I sheathed my sword and offered a respectful bow.
"Have you been well, Eselua Bistim..."
"What? Why are you sheathing your sword? Little brother? It isn’t over yet. Little brother?"
"...Tel Nua, Fourth Princess. If it's all right with you, may I finish up my conversation with Hero Siegfried for a moment?"
"Hoo, please do."
"Thank you."
Perhaps because she hadn't wanted a spar in such a public setting from the start, a strange resignation flickered across Eselua's face. I resolutely ignored it and spoke to Siegfried, who stood dismayed holding his broken blade and hilt.
"Don't whine like a child and just accept it. It's not your first loss, is it?"
As brazenly and confidently as possible. Naturally, Siegfried wore a dumbfounded expression and thrust out the things that had been a greatsword in both hands, as if asking how I could say that after seeing this. But my attitude wasn't about to change.
"There are many eyes watching, so cut the miserable act and get up. Seeing that Her Highness the Princess has arrived, it looks like the formal meetings are finished too. Shouldn't you be going with her?"
"Fuuuuck. I was crazy. Why the hell did I clash with that black-hearted bastard agaaaain."
Even so, the way he grudgingly shuffled to his feet and went over to Eselua was comical. While the students stared in disbelief at him making such a shameless scene without caring in the slightest about the eyes around him, I received my cape from Sheryl, draped it over my shoulders, clapped Siegfried on the shoulder, and said,
"What more do you get from casting consecration on a cheap sword than a cheap Holy Sword? In the first place, it doesn't even look right for the Hero of the Imperial Divine Council to be carrying around a consecration from the Holy Light Cross Order. Think of it as time to change your sword."
"Wow, if you look at just the content, it's not even wrong and sounds plausible, but hearing it from the guy who just bisected my sword makes it absolutely infuriating."
Seeing as he admitted the content was right, that greatsword must not have been a very good blade. Even so, the Empire wouldn't have neglected Siegfried's equipment. Had he custom-ordered that thing himself before he was chosen as the Hero? It was quite a curious matter, but it wasn't important right now, so I decided to ask another time if the opportunity arose. For now, I opted to spout some sweet talk to soothe his mood.
"I don't know what 'bisected' means, but from the nuance alone, I get the gist. You're staying for a while anyway, since you were invited, aren't you? I know a dwarf master smith. I'll introduce you."
"...A dwarf master smith?"
"Yes. The master smith Balkun. Even a blacksmith in a remote country village would know his name, all the way out here in Itisel."
Ogwen was originally a country village, and the blacksmith there was Yans, so it wasn't exactly a lie. Rather, it was a fact I'd actually witnessed. At my words, Siegfried's sulky face brightened, and soon his expression was full of anticipation as he threw a question at me.
"Uh, does he happen to know how to make magic swords too?"
"I didn't ask because I wasn't interested. But he has a collaborating mage, so wouldn't it be possible?"
"Is that mage famous too?"
"Famous. They call her the Golden Mage. I got my sword and my needles through her as well."
What goes around comes around. Balkun! I'm bringing a customer along to see you!
At my explanation, Siegfried stowed the former greatsword into his spatial magic as if not a single shred of regret remained and attempted a shoulder-hug on me. The students who'd been watching murmured Balkun's name in admiration, as if they'd just heard the name of someone who could craft legendary arms. Seeing that most of their reactions were 'As expected, it's Balkun,' rather than having just heard a new name, it seemed the connection I'd gained thanks to Mr. Gin was indeed as tremendous as I thought.
"Hahaha! That’s my little brother! Shall we go right now?"
"Hmm, I have research I need to do, though..."
"This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t sliced up my sword. Let’s go right now."
Hm. He wasn't wrong. It looked like I'd have to allocate a bit more time to Siegfried today.
"Can't be helped. Then let's just stop by my professor's office briefly and go. I left the heat on. Sheryl? If you don't have any classes left, want to come along?"
"Wait at the main gate. I'll get an outing permit."
Sheryl moved so fast the moment the words left her mouth that it was a blur. Griwills, who had been glancing between her and me with a wry smile, gave a light nod of greeting and naturally melted back into the crowd of students. Hm. They say he's a merchant's son, so he'd have some ambition for personal connections, yet he knew how to read the room and tactfully bow out. A friend destined for great things.
"...Little brother? You got pretty close to that Sheryl girl, huh?"
Just as my evaluation of Griwills was rising, Siegfried suddenly asked with a serious attitude.
"Well, I did work as her personal butler for a while. I looked after her like a little sister in various ways."
"Looked after her?"
"Only her attitude is rigid. The way she acts is a total tomboy. It's just that she distinguishes places well so it doesn't show, but she was infamous for being a handful within the family."
At my answer, Siegfried let out a 'hmmm' and tilted his head. His reaction, stirring up old memories, needlessly provoked my anxiety. What now, big bro.
"Hmmmm. No?"
"...Big Bro? It's a no, right?"
"I can’t tell this time. Her reactions are as stiff as yours, so it’s hard to distinguish. You’re not siblings, right?"
"I told you, she's the young lady of House Ogatorf. What crazy nonsense are you talking?"
"Her attitude and actions are oddly similar, you bastard. Is it because you've spent a few years together?"
No, there wasn't a single similar trait, so why did everyone who saw them make that assessment?
It was vexing.
"Zeke? Shall we talk for a bit while we wait for Eldmia to finish his business?"
I didn't even have a chance to retort to Siegfried before Eselua approached with a smiling face. Siegfried, who had been embroiled in a world-shatteringly useless worry, smoothly removed the hand he'd draped over my shoulder and followed after her like a dog with its tail down.
Feeling an inexplicable sense of kinship at the sight of how he, who didn't give a single damn whatever bullshit the Empire pulled, became infinitely humble before his woman, I headed for the professor's office.