Demon Realm Rift, Battle (3)
"I apologize for arriving so late. If you would punish me for it, I shall accept it gladly."
The old man who had led the family's forces dropped to one knee. The knights behind him followed, bowing their heads in apology.
They had not dawdled, nor had they lost their way. The moment signs of a rift had been detected, they had begun their preparations at once, and in a mere forty minutes the troops had reached the site. But the battle had already been joined, and the damage already done.
They had given their all, yet they could not claim they bore no responsibility. Worse still, Sien herself had been wounded. They had allowed harm to come to the woman who would be their liege — and as members of the family, they were bound to beg her forgiveness.
"No. It's all right. Everyone, please stand."
"..."
"That's an order."
At the word order, the old man rose to his feet. Sien offered him a gentle smile and went on.
"It's been a while."
"...Yes. It has been a long time, my lady."
"Commander Rascal... ah, but you're not the commander anymore, are you? What should I call you?"
"Though I am hardly worthy of the post, I currently serve as Guard Captain."
"Guard Captain, then."
"I had originally intended to simply retire and live out my days in peace. But the family head went and threw more work at this old man. Asked me if I wasn't still hale and hearty, you see. Haha..."
Even as Rascal spoke, a flicker of worry crossed his face — a concern that his words might have wounded her. The previous head of House Lichtenauer, fallen in battle not long ago, had been Sien's father. To have brought that up so casually was enough to give anyone pause.
"Is that so. Well... that does sound like him."
Fortunately, Sien seemed unbothered. Or perhaps she was simply putting on a brave face.
"Ahem. More importantly, this old man was truly astonished."
He changed the subject at once, lest the mood grow somber.
"To think you subdued the demonic beasts with almost no casualties. I would dearly love to hear the full account, but the knights look exhausted, and there are civilians present as well. Let us continue this once we have returned to the estate."
Rascal urged Sien to board the carriage without delay. She climbed in as he suggested, then, as if something had just occurred to her, spoke up.
"Commander Brender?"
"Yes, Lady Sien. Your command?"
"Would you call Adel for me?"
With the family's reinforcements having arrived, Adel had returned to his place among the others. At Sien's request, Brender nodded without a word of protest.
"...?"
Rascal, however, who still knew nothing of the circumstances, could only blink in bewilderment.
A moment later, Brender returned with Adel in tow. Sien held out her hand to him.
"Lady Sien?"
Rascal called her name, startled. The woman who would become the head of House Lichtenauer intended to share a carriage with some unknown man? It was only natural that he would worry about idle tongues.
"..."
What was strange, however, was that Brender remained silent. The Brender that Rascal knew should have been leaping to his feet in protest, just as Rascal himself was about to. And yet the man was uncharacteristically, utterly quiet.
"I shall see to the departure preparations, Lady Sien."
"Yes. Please do, Commander."
That was all he said — that he would hurry the departure along. Rascal wore a look of utter bafflement, but for now he followed her wishes. How could a knight and vassal of House Lichtenauer go against the will of his liege?
"Commander Brender."
Instead, he caught his junior by the arm and set about getting to the bottom of things.
"Yes, sir."
"Adel, was it? Who is that young man just now? I've never seen his face before."
"He was among the civilians traveling with us."
Rascal's face twisted. The reason was likely the same one that had once troubled Brender himself.
"His identity isn't even confirmed, is it? And yet you would seat a man like that beside Lady Sien?"
"..."
Brender regarded Rascal for a moment, then decided to tell him the truth.
"It was a third-grade rift."
"...What did you say?"
"It was neither fifth-grade nor fourth. What we faced was, without a doubt, a rift that glowed red."
Rascal's mouth fell open in disbelief.
"That... is that truly so? A third-grade rift?"
"Why would I lie to you? It was third-grade."
A third-grade rift meant third-grade demonic beasts pouring forth. At the very least, dozens of them would have emerged. Against that, the knights escorting Sien numbered fewer than twenty. More should have been sent — that was the proper course. But a fierce battle not long ago had carved deep into their fighting strength.
"...You were short on knights, and there were civilians to protect besides. And yet..."
"One dead. The rest wounded. Yes. As you can see, the casualties were absurdly low."
"They were."
"The one who made that possible is the young man from a moment ago. That youth called Adel was slaughtering the third-grade demonic beasts all by himself."
At Brender's words, Rascal turned to look toward the carriage, his expression one of utter incredulity.
"That's impossible. That can't be."
"I thought the same. Even having seen it with my own eyes, it still doesn't seem possible. And yet..."
Brender paused, swallowing dryly. Even now, merely recalling that moment sent a shiver down his spine.
"And yet it was, without question, reality."
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
At Sien's question, Adel shook his head. A mere third-grade rift — he could not possibly have been injured. His body remembered and reacted before thought, moving on its own. He could have cleared those beasts with his eyes closed.
"Are you all right, Lady Sien? You appeared to be injured."
"I'm fine as well. If anything, getting off with that much was fortunate."
At that answer, Adel regarded her in silence. There were those who feared a single wound to themselves more than the deaths of a hundred others — who used people, betrayed them, and fled. He had seen more than his share of such men. He had no mind to blame them or curse them for it. He had been told that people were simply that kind of creature.
And yet.
And yet the woman before him was different. She had thrown herself forward to protect others without the slightest hesitation. Were they her family? No. Comrades, then, or retainers? Not that either. They were not even the people of her own territory. They were simply souls who had drifted north. For people she had never seen before in her life, Sien had staked her own.
That was a thing Adel could not easily accept.
"Thank you."
At Sien's words of gratitude, Adel looked at her.
"You helped the knights of the First Squad, and now I owe you the lives of myself and my knights as well. I will never forget this debt. Once we return to the family, I swear I will repay it."
"I merely did what needed to be done. I expected no reward."
At that, something subtle shifted in Sien's eyes. I did what needed to be done. I expected no reward. To some, those might have sounded like empty platitudes. But given the martial prowess Adel had displayed only moments ago, that could hardly have been his intent.
There's something about him, after all.
A faint worry pricked at her — that she might be overstepping. She wanted, desperately, to ask who he really was.
"Why did you do that, earlier?"
"Pardon?"
"I still do not understand."
Sien blinked at Adel's question.
"...I believe I already answered that."
"Even so, I do not understand."
This man has a peculiar fixation on the strangest things. Sien thought as much, and toyed with her lower lip. The answer she had given — because I had to — had been the answer of the head of House Lichtenauer.
If what he wants is an answer that isn't the family head's...
After a brief hesitation, Sien offered a sheepish smile.
"I don't know."
"...You don't know."
"I just... wanted to. That's all."
It was an answer he still could not comprehend. But he could not press her for more. Adel turned his head and looked out the window.
Beyond the running carriage, the northern reaches of the empire unfurled. In the distance, mountain peaks stood painted a pure, unbroken white. Was that white thing the snow he had only ever heard of?
"..."
With Adel turned toward the window, Sien was able to study him a little more closely.
He's... better-looking than I expected?
At first, that shabby appearance of his had kept her from noticing. But looking at him now, his features struck her all at once. Was this truly the same man who had been slaughtering demonic beasts? Could someone this clean-cut have shown a face that terrifying? Anyone who had not witnessed it themselves would never believe it.
"Is there something you wish to say?"
Had he noticed her gaze? The moment Adel spoke, Sien floundered.
"Ah— I, well."
"..."
"I mean... wh-what do you do?"
She had been curious, of course, but she had meant to ask later. Caught off guard, the words had simply tumbled out.
"I mean, I— what I'm trying to say is..."
"I am traveling."
"T-traveling?"
"That is correct."
"Was your destination the north, by any chance?"
"...Perhaps it was."
In truth, he had no destination at all. He had set out simply to leave, simply because he had wanted to try it — reasons like that. A journey of that kind could hardly have a destination. He had received an invitation from someone he had befriended along the way, but that was merely one stretch of the road. It could not be called a destination.
"Do you have further questions?"
"Will you actually answer them?"
"I shall answer, within the bounds of what I can."
"...What kind of person are you? I'd like to know more."
Only then could she invite him to House Lichtenauer without a second thought. Only then would she not needlessly invite the worries of others.
"You said you weren't a soldier, weren't a knight — that you weren't even a mercenary. And yet watching you fight demonic beasts, it just doesn't add up."
At Sien's question, a brief consideration crossed Adel's face.
"That would likely be because I have been fighting since I was a child."
"Since you were a child? Wait. Were you... a child soldier?"
"I suppose that would be the case."
"Then — then how old were you when you started fighting?"
"I am not certain. I believe I began around the age of fourteen."
Sien started. If he had been fighting since he was fourteen, that meant more than a decade spent on the battlefield — and not any ordinary war, but a hell of an entirely different order. The great war against the demonic beasts. All those years of it.
"And then, not long ago, I stopped."
"Did you serve with something like a vigilante corps, by any chance?"
The great war against the demonic beasts had begun some twenty years ago. Rifts had opened across the continent in random locations, and the Empire had done everything in its power to close them. But there were places the Empire's hand could not reach. In those places, people had no choice but to fight for themselves if they wished to survive. And it was from that necessity that the vigilante corps had been born.
"No."
"No?"
"A vigilante corps is a group that protects, is it not? I did not belong to such a group. I merely fought, tasked with the duty of killing. So no — it would not have been a vigilante corps."
With that, Adel closed his mouth. He could answer no further. There were secrets he was bound to keep.
"..."
But to Sien, it looked like something else entirely. A pitiful young man who had been forced to crawl through the heart of hell from the tenderest age — who had only now, at last, set down his weapon and walked away.
How pitiful.
His life, so full of hardship, seemed to unfurl before her. And with it came the thought that she had been rude to ask. She felt as though she had needlessly dredged up memories too terrible to touch.
"...I'm sorry."
And so Sien found herself apologizing before she even knew it. Adel, for his part, wore an expression of complete incomprehension. He had not the faintest idea why she was saying she was sorry.