Ending Maker Chapter 20
Ending Maker Chapter 20
Chapter 5 - Devil's Hand
The schedule was proceeding smoothly.
Three days had passed since the fairies' night revel.
Inside the carriage racing toward Langesthei, Yuder slightly opened his closed eyes and looked straight ahead.
Cordelia and Dahlia were sitting pressed close together, chatting in low voices.
'They really are like sisters.'
He already knew from Hero Legend 2 that their relationship went beyond that of a simple escort knight and her charge, but seeing it in person still gave him a fresh feeling.
'What a relief.'
Ever since the last daytime escape, Cordelia had been worried sick about having repeatedly caused trouble for Dahlia.
She had even gone so far as to say this with a blatant teary face.
"What if Dahlia ends up hating me?"
Because before she was Yellow Storm, she was Cordelia.
To Cordelia, Dahlia was not just an escort knight but someone no different from a real older sister.
The thought of being hated by someone like that...
'It really is a relief.'
Dahlia had forgiven Cordelia this time as well. Of course, Dahlia was not endlessly good-natured, so this time she had properly scolded Cordelia.
Recalling how Cordelia had grinned even after being thoroughly scolded, Yuder unknowingly let out a chuckle, then flinched and turned his gaze to the side.
"Ufufu."
Maia, the personal maid who was like an older sister to Yuder.
She was watching Yuder watching Cordelia, wearing an odd—precisely, an elegant smile reminiscent of the Fairy Queen.
She looked like she was holding back a whole lot of things she wanted to say.
'Don't talk to her, don't talk to her.'
Because it was obvious what she would say if he did.
Yuder averted his eyes from Maia's gaze and closed them. Then another twenty minutes or so passed.
It was around the time Yuder was dozing off.
"Young lady, we've arrived. It's Langesthei!"
Startled awake by Dahlia's bright voice, Yuder opened his eyes and looked around. Cordelia was sticking her head out the carriage window.
"Wow, it's real!"
It was Cordelia's first time seeing Langesthei too.
Of course, as Yellow Storm she had passed through this city dozens—perhaps hundreds—of times, but just as Yuder had felt when looking at Cordelia and Dahlia, there was still an unbridgeable gap between game and reality.
"Young master, you should look too."
When Maia urged him, Yuder pretended he couldn't help it, stood up from his seat, and stuck his head out the opposite window.
"Wow."
Exactly as he had seen in the game.
But in a far more magnificent and vivid form.
The massive gate that could be called the symbol of Langesthei, and the knight statues standing on either side, easily ten meters tall.
People filling the wide road, which looked like two or three carriages could pass through side by side.
Amid the scattering, breaking sunlight, Yuder drew a deep breath.
'Langesthei.'
Langesthei—the city where Yuder and Cordelia's main scenario began.
It was the same this time.
The form and timing were a little different, but the journey to create a new ending would begin in this city as well.
'Ah, I feel like I can hear the BGM.'
Because when you arrived at Langesthei, the lively Langesthei theme song played, fitting for a commercial city.
When he absentmindedly hummed and returned to his seat, he saw Cordelia humming a tune as well.
'Hey, you too?'
'Hey, me too.'
What more needed to be said?
The two exchanged glances and grinned at the same time, and Maia and Dahlia, who had been watching them, tilted their heads but soon wore pleased smiles.
* * *
"First, we have to sell my father."
It was not a story about human trafficking.
It was a plan to stop the Devil's Hand.
Yuder had prepared an operation divided into three parts—precisely, three stages.
As soon as they arrived in Langesthei and secured lodging, Yuder skipped both rest and shopping and led everyone except Maia to the knight-order headquarters in the city center.
'Blue Lion Knights.'
The north was effectively self-governed by the twelve families centered on the frontier count, Count Hraesvelgr, but that did not mean it was a region independent from the kingdom.
In cities like Langesthei that did not belong to any of the twelve families, a knight order dispatched from the royal palace was responsible for security.
"I am Yuder Bayel, second son of Count Bayel. I would like to see the commander."
"Excuse me?"
Perhaps because it stood in the city center, the building's lobby looked more like a large merchant company's branch office than a knight-order headquarters.
Everyone was flustered by the words he suddenly blurted out in front of a squire who clearly seemed to handle various reception duties.
"Young master?"
When Jun quietly asked, as if standing in for Maia who had remained at the lodging, Yuder raised a hand slightly and then continued explaining to the squire.
"My father, Count Bayel, sent a letter to the commander. He instructed me to deliver it in person."
When Yuder lowered his voice, the squire, who looked to be around the same age, flinched.
The name of Count Bayel, one of the Ten Great Swordsmen of the Saelun Kingdom, was a magical word that made the hearts of swordsmen race regardless of nationality.
And if such a Count Bayel had sent a letter through his own son, then even without an appointment, they had to let him meet the commander.
"J-just a moment, please."
The squire scrambled to his feet and hurried inside, and Jun asked again.
"Young master, was there a secret order from the Count?"
"It's not exactly a secret order."
Yuder said with a beaming smile, and Cordelia busily looked away to hide her awkward expression.
"Please come in. He says he will meet you right away."
When the squire came back in a fluster and spoke, Yuder took a small deep breath and then turned toward Cordelia.
She, the only one present who knew the truth, asked with her eyes.
'Can you do it?'
'I can do it.'
Because this was still only the beginning.
Steeling himself, Yuder told the group to wait and then followed the squire's guidance toward the commander's office.
* * *
The story was simple.
While returning from this expedition, Count Bayel had accidentally clashed with a group of demon worshippers, and as a result had discovered a document.
It was an encrypted document, and when deciphered, it pointed to a specific location in Langesthei.
"Nothing but the location was written, but since it involves demon worshippers..."
At Yuder's words, the typical middle-aged knight—Sir Barua, commander of the Blue Lion Knights—nodded.
He had always admired Count Bayel, and now that demon worshippers, who could be called enemies of the kingdom, were involved, he absolutely had to conduct a search.
"Hmm, I see. I will move on it promptly."
"Thank you. However..."
"What is it?"
"There is one favor I would like to ask."
"Speak."
"It is a rather childish request, but may I accompany you?"
"You, young master?"
"Yes, it is embarrassing to say, but because of the Nine Yin Meridian Blockage, I have always been confined to the house and have never properly participated in family affairs. So... I would like to see this task my father entrusted to me through to the end, at least. Moreover, since the Blue Lion Knights are an order my father has always praised in many ways, I expect there will be much to learn..."
Yuder laid out his case earnestly while watching Sir Barua's reaction, and the knight seemed receptive.
At the part about Count Bayel praising the Blue Lion Knights, Sir Barua could not keep the corners of his mouth from lifting.
Of course, if Cordelia had been there, she would have focused on the Nine Yin Meridian Blockage and gone on about it being his miracle cure-all.
In any case, Sir Barua cleared his throat to hide his satisfaction and continued.
"Hmm. But young master, it could be dangerous."
"Yes, I am prepared for the danger. Of course, if it truly becomes dangerous, I would only be a burden to the Blue Lion Knights, so to prevent that, I intend to stay a step back with the knights of Count Bayel's household as well as the knights of Count Chase's household."
"Ah... I see, the gathering of the twelve families."
As if the name of Count Chase's household had just reminded him, Sir Barua nodded.
"Very well, I shall permit you to accompany us. However, as you said, you must follow behind us. Understood?"
"I will keep that in mind. Thank you."
When Yuder smiled brightly, Sir Barua also wore a pleased smile. After all, forming a connection with Count Bayel's household in any way was quite a pleasant thing for a warrior.
Then another two hours or so passed.
"We're going in!"
"RAAAH! In the name of the Blue Lion Knights!"
If this had been Korea, they would have needed complicated procedures like warrants, but not in the Saelun Kingdom.
Led by Sir Barua, the Blue Lion Knights poured into the building on the outskirts. Soon shouts, screams, and the sounds of fighting rang out from inside.
The knights of Count Bayel's household and Count Chase's household, who had suddenly ended up following all the way here, looked somewhat flustered, but as expected of knights, their eyes changed the moment a combat situation arose.
"Do you think it'll go well?"
"It'll go well."
As they watched the breaching operation from a fair distance away, Cordelia asked in a whisper.
Because the truly important part started now.
The Devil's Hand gathering points in Langesthei numbered twelve in total.
More than a hundred people could not gather in one place, so they had split into separate cells and gone into hiding.
The place the Blue Lion Knights had raided was only one of them.
'Of the remaining ones, we know the locations of six.'
Because even in the game, they hadn't revealed the locations of all twelve.
'The problem is how to pass along the six locations we know.'
Of course, there was also the option of simply presenting a document marking all seven locations, claiming it was found in Count Bayel's document, but that had various problems.
It was strange that Count Bayel had not immediately reported a document marking seven separate locations, and even stranger that a document obtained by chance contained not only the gathering-point locations but information on the key members involved in the attack.
So this was the move they had prepared.
"It seems things have mostly settled down."
Jun spoke when the sounds of fighting inside the building stopped.
They would soon begin searching the gathering point in earnest, so this side needed to make a move as well.
"Let's go in too."
Yuder spoke as if declaring it and strode forward, and Cordelia immediately followed. The knights hesitated for a moment over whether to dissuade him, then followed behind Yuder.
'Alright, let's begin.'
Unlike the outside, which had looked normal, the inside of the building was utterly bizarre. Symbols and ornaments of demon worship were placed everywhere.
Yuder slipped in among the Blue Lion Knights who were searching the building for any more useful information, and as soon as he found a suitable-looking box, he signaled Cordelia with his eyes.
'Now?'
'Now.'
When Yuder gave the signal, Cordelia suddenly put a hand to her forehead and pretended to stagger.
"Ah, dizziness..."
"Young lady?!"
"S-sorry. I just got dizzy for a moment..."
As always, Cordelia's acting sounded almost like she was reciting from a textbook, but it worked.
Because not only their group but also the nearby knights had their eyes drawn to the beautiful and pitiful Cordelia, who seemed to have been disturbed by the demon statue.
And in that gap, Yuder quickly moved his hands. At the same moment he opened the box lid, he lifted up the document he had kept in his chest.
"Commander Barua! I think I've found something!"
When Yuder shouted, Sir Barua and his aides, who had been looking around some distance away, hurried over. Yuder's group did the same.
"I found it in this box. It appears to be an important document."
Sir Barua, who received the document Yuder held out, momentarily stiffened his expression, then nodded.
Because it was a document containing not only the locations of the Devil's Hand's other gathering points in Langesthei but also information on key members.
"Will it be of help?"
"Of course. It has been a great help. Your father will be pleased as well."
"That's a relief."
When Sir Barua praised him greatly, Yuder let out a relieved breath with a bright face, and Cordelia pursed her lips.
'Wow, look at that con artist. Lying without batting an eye.'
It was only natural, because the document had been made by Yuder in the first place.
'Break their strength.'
Hit seven of the twelve gathering points.
Even if information leaked along the way and a few failed, it was enough to deal a blow to the Devil's Hand forces gathered in Langesthei.
The Blue Lion Knights hurried back to their headquarters with Sir Barua in the lead, and Yuder's group headed back to their lodging.
Good news would probably arrive within a day or two.
But the operation was not over yet.
"They won't give up just from this, right?"
"They won't. They're fanatics."
The Devil's Hand were exactly the definition of fanatics. They were the kind who didn't hesitate at human sacrifice to summon demons, so even if their strength was reduced from the start, there was no way they would give up easily.
So Yuder turned to Cordelia and said brightly.
"So now let's sell your father."
"What the hell is this crazy bastard talking about?"
In truth, it was far from actually selling him.
They weren't committing fraud in Count Chase's name; they were asking for help.
The outline of the second operation was also simple.
'Summon mages from the Red Dawn Tower.'
If the Devil's Hand actually forced an attack, then in the end a situation requiring force would inevitably arise.
So reduce the enemy's strength and reinforce the allies' strength.
In particular, defeating Demonic Human Minos, the boss of this attack, would require the help of the fire mage Ronin.
Cordelia, the biological daughter of Count Chase, would visit a mage from the Red Dawn Tower and ask for help.
'demon worshippers have appeared in Langesthei! We don't know if they might attack, so could you help us during the gathering?'
It was a request from a peerless beauty, and the daughter of the tower master at that.
In reality, the Blue Lion Knights were currently stirring up Langesthei all over, so any ordinary mage would grant Cordelia's request.
As Sir Barua had said, demon worshippers were public enemies of the Saelun Kingdom.
'I've also prepared for the case where they refuse.'
Cordelia took out the letter she had carefully kept in her chest and unfolded it.
It was a mobilization order bearing Count Chase's signature, but it was a forgery.
Forging an official document bearing the tower master's signature was a serious crime, so it was something made to use only in the worst-case scenario.
'Wow... but seriously, what did this guy do for a living?'
She had already been impressed several times, but the more she looked, the more astonishing the forgery skill was.
He had copied Count Chase's signature almost perfectly, and even the wording of the letter sounded exactly like Count Chase.
Even though Cordelia herself, as his biological daughter, had provided various materials and information, how was something like this possible?
This was definitely not the skill of an ordinary citizen A.
'Could he actually have been a con artist?'
Near-perfect forgery, brazen acting without batting an eye, and the very idea of forging the document in the first place.
'The possibility... exists!'
It was when the excited Cordelia was snorting and clenching her fist.
Yuder poked Cordelia's side and said.
"Hey, I can see exactly what delusions you're having, you know? I was a good citizen who paid my taxes and followed the law, you know?"
"Taxes? You paid taxes too?"
"What, did you expect me to evade taxes? Stop talking nonsense and let's get going."
Because it would take time for the mages near Langesthei who heard the news to come all the way here. They needed to hurry to match the gathering schedule.
But it was right then.
"Cordelia?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah."
Cordelia, who had been lost in thought, suddenly looked up and answered. Yuder narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but only for a moment.
"Let's hurry."
"Yeah."
No matter what, sneaking out was too much, so Yuder planned to travel with only Dahlia and Jun.
And watching Yuder's back as he walked ahead, Cordelia resumed the delusion that had been briefly interrupted.
Taxes.
He pays taxes.
A member of society.
A real adult.
'Oh... is he older than me?'
Because she had never thought about Outboxer's age.
"Hey! Aren't you coming?"
"Huh?! Oh, no. Yeah! I'm coming!"
Cordelia hurried after him, answering Yuder's repeated urging in a fluster.