Chapter 151
Chapter 151
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: The Queen's Command
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'Kill it.'
'...What are you talking about?'
'It really gets on my nerves.'
'......'
'Why hesitate? Isn't this something you've been doing all along?'
'...There's a puppy His Highness brought home. That one first......'
'No, that's the one bothering me. The white one.'
'......'
'And haven't you already killed plenty of beast cubs?'
'...But a beast cub and a human child are different.'
'Isn't it the same? It just can't speak, no matter the size?'
Evan wanted to retort that he knew exactly how eloquent that little mouth could be, but he held his tongue.
'Some were calling it a spirit beast or divine creature. Just think of it as a beast in human form, and it won't be so hard.'
'But......'
'Better to kill it quickly. Well, honestly, it doesn't matter if it's late, but the more attached you get... the worse it'll be. For that half-breed... and for you, Sir Evan......'
'......'
'You... have a little sister, don't you...?'
'...I under...stand.'
'If you want to protect your sister, you must honor the contract.'
Bam!
Evan slammed his beer mug down hard. By now, half the table was filled with empty mugs.
The sly curve of those red eyes lingered in his mind. His lips, split from losing control of his temper, gave off a metallic tang.
"...Damn it......"
The innkeeper glanced warily and cleared away the empty mugs. Evan hadn't ordered any food, but someone had quietly left a skewer of grilled meat.
'Doesn't get me drunk at all.'
Ordering the familiar beer had been a mistake. Evan drained the last of his mug and called the innkeeper over, asking for the strongest liquor they had.
"...You got money?"
At the cautious question, Evan's eyebrow twitched. But he'd drunk enough that he pulled out his coin pouch and handed it over.
"That enough?"
"...Plenty. Food?"
"No need."
"Won't sit well."
"Just bring the booze."
If only he could disinfect his filthy insides with alcohol.
Evan lifted the mug he'd been clutching to soothe his churning gut, only to find it empty. He ruffled his hair roughly.
"Hoo......"
His baby kitten must be waiting.
He'd gone out to meet Ariel, but his feet wouldn't turn homeward, so he'd been holed up in this tavern for hours now.
The sun was dipping low, painting the sky blood-red. That crimson hue reminded him of the queen's eyes, surging up a storm of emotions.
When his master tried to shake him off during the knight exam... he should have accepted it gracefully. There must have been a good reason.
Who was he to complain?
Where had it all gone wrong?
One day, his master had handed him 50 gold coins and told him to take the squire exam.
He said he wouldn't be around for a while, but Evan saw him off, promising to train hard on his own.
But shortly after his master left, his father—who'd gone hunting—died in an accident. The kind that happens to hunters all too often.
Evan had no time to grieve. His mother, who cared for his little sister at home, took one look at his father's ragged corpse and fell into a decline.
To fill his father's shoes, he hunted even harder. Money had been tight even when the two of them brought it in, so now he had to double his efforts.
One day, worn out from hunting and training, Evan turned in early. When the moon rose, Ariel's wails pierced the air as usual, but he ignored them. She must be out of medicine again. His mother would handle it. He was too exhausted to worry about the little one.
But the child's cries bored into his skull like a drill, keeping sleep at bay. He considered getting up, but what could he do? Without medicine, all he could offer was endurance until she cried herself out.
Amid the screams, his mother's soothing voice broke through now and then. Or rather, it was pleading.
'Baby, please... please stop crying. Please......'
'Waaahhh!'
But all it did was make her wail even harder, like she was choking.
Evan irritably pulled the blanket over his head. The thin summer quilt did little to block the noise, but he just wanted some separation.
'Wah... uh... ugh......'
Then the cries quieted. Or rather, they sounded muffled, like something was blocking them.
Evan tried to ignore it and sleep, but a chill ran down his spine. He peeked from under the blanket. Moonlight filtered through the curtains, illuminating his mother's silhouette—and Ariel twitching at her fingertips.
'......!'
Evan threw off the covers and lunged, grabbing his mother.
'Mother, don't! Mother! Please!'
'Wahhh~ Hic, wahhh!'
With her airway clear, Ariel started bawling again.
'Let go, Evan! Raising this child was my mistake. How could we manage a sick baby? What does this little thing know, dragging you down like this...!'
His mother hadn't slept properly in days—months, even years, since Ariel was born. She was utterly spent. She hadn't starved, yet her eyes were sunken, her slender wrists fragile as twigs.
'Mother, I... I have money! Master left it for the exam! It's plenty. We can afford Father's funeral and Ariel's medicine for a while!'
In the end, Evan handed over the money his master had given him for the exam fee.
Master would be disappointed if he knew. Of course he would.
But selfishly, the fear of disappointing him paled against the grief of realizing he could never be a knight like his master. He wept bitterly, hiding from his mother.
But his obsession was too strong. The next day, unable to give up, Evan paid for half a year's medicine for Ariel and headed to the squire exam office with the remaining 10 gold.
'10 gold?! Are you nuts? Get lost!'
'I... I'll earn the rest somehow! Just let me apply first.'
'No dice. And don't think of borrowing elsewhere! The moment you do, your life's over! Even if you luck into squirehood by some miracle, promotion's no joke. Plenty end up polishing knights' boots forever!'
'Pl-please, there must be some way?'
'Hah, unless you suddenly awaken genius and wield aura...!'
'If... if I can use aura, I can become a knight?'
'Duh! Aura users are rare gems! Even the palace knights take 'em on sight... How old are you?'
'Fi-fifteen.'
'Fifteen? With that build? Thought you were eighteen! Total greenhorn! When'd you start sword training?'
'About three years, properly.'
It was only once or twice a month, but it counted—and from the royal sub-knight commander, no less. Evan stood proud.
'Train another ten years. Or scrape up 50 gold.'
'B-but...!'
'Beat it, kid. I've humored you plenty. Oh, exam signup ends in a month—heads up.'
'H-how do you even make aura?'
'If I knew, I'd be a knight! Scram!'
Chase away, Evan bolted straight home, grabbed his true two-hander, and headed to the forest.
Aura... if only he could manifest aura...
He could be a knight. A magnificent one, like his master.
Evan never forgot being chased by orcs. Or rather, his master gleaming as he cleaved them in one stroke.
For the next month, he swung his sword like a madman. He hunted more monsters to stockpile coin, bigger and tougher ones.
The stench of monster blood clung to him endlessly. He cheated death repeatedly from overreaching, and doubt crept in as aura showed no sign.
When faint golden haze finally rose, Evan didn't pause to savor the revelation. He slung his true two-hander and sprinted off.
'Hey, mister! Mister!!'
'Who're you calling mister, brat!'
'Aura! Aura! I made aura! Please... let me sign up for the knight exam!'
'Aura my foot! Think it pops out like that?!'
'N-no! Look!'
But the aura that had flickered by chance refused to reappear, no matter how he strained.
'You little punk! Last day or not, no freeloading!'
'N-no! It was real aura! Golden aura!'
'Then show it!'
Yet Evan couldn't manifest it before deadline.
'Aah......'
Tears welled up. Was this the end? Could he truly never be like his master?
'Brat! Why cry like a girl! I'll wait one more hour...!'
'Monster!'
'A monster appeared!'
'......!'
At "monster," Evan reflexively drew his sword and charged the noise. The man yelled something behind, but it didn't register.
Something shattered. At the source stood a troll.
Trolls were huge and slow, but their tough hide and regeneration made them knight-only prey. Guards swarmed, but could only lure it away or buy time.
Evan had never hunted one. This was smaller than most, but he didn't fancy his odds.
Still, if blades couldn't pierce that hide, maybe smashing with his heavy greatsword would work better.
As he thought that, a fleeing child tripped.
'Waaahhh!'
At the kid's cry, Evan leaped forward. For a split second, his sword felt lighter than usual.
Shlick!
Joy surged at the familiar feedback up his arms—but blue ichor sprayed, blinding him a beat late.
Splatter!
Hot liquid poured over his head. Evan backpedaled, wiped his face with his sleeve, and raised his guard.
But as he turned, a thud shook the ground through his soles.
'......?'
As Evan puzzled, a mutter broke the silence.
'I-it's dead?'
'D-dead. The troll's dead!'
'A knight? Knight's here?'
'Oh god, Laura! My baby!'
'Mommy~!'
Evan stood dazed.
Had a knight arrived? Where was he? Would he teach aura control?
But Evan shook his head and returned to the signup man.
He'd overheard an extra hour. Might make it without hunting a knight.
'Here, the form.'
'......?'
Evan blinked at the proffered paper.
'No need to see the aura?'
'Saw it earlier. Radiant gold, like the sun.'
'...What...'
'Deadline passed, you know? Hurry up.'
'Y-yes!'
Evan scribbled frantically. No clue what happened, but good enough.
'Why become a knight?'
At the sudden question, Evan paused, pen mid-stroke, pondering.
Why did he want to be a knight?
'Mommy, that big brother saved me, right?'
'Yes, sweetie. Say thank you.'
A mother and daughter approached, thanking him and thrusting their market goods into his arms.
'Bye, knight brother!'
Evan awkwardly waved back at the girl.
'Done?'
As they left, the man prodded again.
Evan finished the last letter and spoke with resolve.
'I will become a protector.'
'Won't be easy.'
'That's fine.'
'Alright.'
He'd protect his mother and Ariel.
Yes, back then, he thought everything would go smoothly from there.