Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Opening the Heavens (1)
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The Cradle of Stars.
It was, in name and reality, the Empire’s greatest educational institution—a place that nurtured the esquires who would one day carry the Empire on their shoulders.
The quality of its education and the benefits it offered were so extraordinary that even the Eight Great Families and other prestigious houses sent their brightest talents there.
The moment one entered the Cradle, their life as an esquire was practically set.
The problem was that such a place did not accept just anyone, and I was one of those ‘anyones.’
It was a tree far too high for someone like me to climb, having served for an extremely short time under a master with no real reputation to speak of.
It might have been different with a recommendation from a key figure of the Eight Families or a high-ranking knight of similar stature.
Of course, I knew no such people.
An excommunicated holy knight was out of the question, and Grita’s reputation was insufficient to get someone into the Cradle.
“I know exactly what you’re thinking. But you have nothing to worry about.”
Despite all this, Gunther was filled with confidence.
It was a typical attitude for a Beggar Knight who knew nothing of the world.
“You’ve slain a mage and played a decisive role in repelling a Madosa. As high as the Cradle’s threshold may be, can it truly compare to the name of a Madosa?”
But it turned out the one who knew nothing of the world wasn’t Gunther, but me.
Gunther was right.
Come to think of it, there was virtually no precedent for an esquire to have accumulated achievements like mine.
Life had been so hectic that I had foolishly failed to properly see what I had accomplished.
“Through the Free Knights’ Guild in Comrat, I’ve documented all your achievements in writing and sent them to the guild headquarters. With Lady Grita’s notarization, no less.”
Gunther said with a gentle smile.
“Just wait. There will be good news.”
If, as Gunther said, the Cradle was considering my admission favorably, nothing could be better.
An esquire who entered the Cradle was all but guaranteed to become a knight.
It was a joyous occasion.
The lifelong dream I’d held from my past life to the present was now within arm’s reach.
Naturally, I should have been happy.
But.
“Hmm.”
I wasn’t.
Instead, a nagging feeling settled in a corner of my chest.
Unable to figure out why, I just frowned until I suddenly saw Gunther.
His clothes were worn out from the rough work at the restoration site.
His beard had grown, and his hair was a tangled mess.
The neat (?) Captain of the Relief Knights was nowhere to be seen; in his place stood a Beggar Knight.
“By the way, Master. When did you last wash?”
Gunther did not answer my question.
“Ahem.”
After a single dry cough, he sealed his lips and entered a state of meditation.
“Master! You’re just pretending to meditate right now, aren’t you!”
A flinch.
“No, really, does it look good for the Captain of the Relief Knights who saved Comrat to be walking around like this? Does it or doesn’t it? Huh?”
Flinch, flinch.
“It’s a good thing the lord left without seeing you. You could have at least dusted yourself off. Did you lie on the bed like this? Ugh. Look at this bed. It’s gone from yellow to brown.”
His body twitched constantly.
His eyeballs rolled around restlessly beneath his eyelids.
“Master!”
No matter how many times I called, no answer came.
He looked as if he had fallen into a deep meditation.
It was absurd.
He could at least circulate some aura if he was going to pretend.
Why on earth did he live like this?
A Beggar Knight never changes his spots.
* * *
Time flowed like water, and a week passed in a flash.
The streets, once filled with the debris of collapsed buildings, were now quite clean, and new buildings were already going up in some areas.
“Ah. This is the power of the guild…”
“The power of money, more like.”
Anton, who had been strutting around the construction site despite being of little help, fell silent at my words, a sheepish look on his face.
“By the way, are you not pleased?”
Anton asked after a brief pause.
“You have a chance to enter the Cradle, yet you don’t seem very happy about it.”
He, who had conspired with Gunther to apply for my admission to the Cradle behind my back, studied my expression as he spoke.
“I thought you’d be thrilled, of course…”
“You thought…?”
He responded to my reply with a faint, somehow greasy smile.
“What is it? What.”
Finding his expression unpleasant, I snapped at him, and Anton’s smile deepened.
“It seems you are quite concerned for Knight Gunther.”
“Me?”
“So much so that you’re reluctant to enter the Cradle alone.”
It was absurd.
Me, who had been waiting for the day I could finally be independent, was hesitant to enter the Cradle because of Gunther?
It was so ridiculous it was bewildering.
But what was even more bewildering was…
“…”
The fact that I couldn't think of a good rebuttal.
“As always, it’s a good sight to see.”
Tired of Anton’s patronizing attitude, as if he were looking at a child, I turned my head away.
“I’ve seen many people while at the guild. The conclusion I’ve reached is that not all knights and esquires are like the two of you.”
Regardless, Anton kept chattering on.
“No…”
“Like those two over there.”
Unable to hold back, I was about to say something but closed my mouth again.
At Anton’s words, I glanced toward the restoration site.
The knights of Giftrang were crossing the site.
The Young Lord and the Blood-crazed knights each acknowledged me as they passed.
I gave a cursory nod in return and looked behind them.
There was the prodigy.
His head was bowed low, his body moved with a limp, listless motion—the very picture of a broken man.
A glimpse of his eyes revealed them to be as dull as a rotten fish’s.
How had the boy, who had been arrogant but at least full of confidence, ended up in such a state?
“Word is he’s completely changed since the subjugation. And not for the better.”
I, too, had heard stories about the prodigy from the Forsaken Dogs.
He’d apparently gone on about protecting the refugees while badmouthing me behind my back as an esquire who didn’t even know the basics.
It was rather amusing that when things actually went down, he had fled without a second glance.
He had even sprinted at full speed, so fast that the slower refugees couldn't keep up.
Then there was the fact that when disaster struck Comrat, he had stayed behind at the barracks instead of following the lord and her knights, only to sneak back later.
For a promising esquire who had received the lord’s full expectations, his actions were utterly pathetic.
“It seems the Young Lord has been trying to look after him and console him in various ways, but it hasn’t been very effective. Recently, rumors have been openly circulating that the Young Lord has given up on him.”
It certainly looked that way to me.
The distance between them was too great for a knight and an esquire; something was clearly wrong.
To be precise, the problem lay with the prodigy.
Whenever the Young Lord happened to turn his head toward him, the prodigy would duck his head and avoid his gaze.
Each time, the Young Lord would part his lips with a complicated expression before letting out a sigh.
“Hmm.”
Watching them made me feel complicated as well.
Memories of my past life surfaced.
Knights who failed to uphold their beliefs, or esquires whose dreams were shattered by the cold reality—they were all just like that.
I was no different.
‘You’re a failure.’
‘What in the world did you learn from your previous master? With your experience, you can’t do a single thing.’
‘Stupid fool. Utterly useless fool.’
Someone’s verbal abuse echoed through my mind.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the Giftrang knights until they disappeared from view. Over the prodigy’s slumped shoulders, I saw a reflection of my past self.
* * *
I went to see Grita.
“This is a surprise. For the little esquire to seek me out first.”
Having moved her residence to an inn in place of her ruined mansion, she greeted me without a hint of discomfort.
I hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“It’s about Iden.”
Grita’s eyes widened.
She looked as if she never expected Iden’s name to come from my lips.
“He doesn’t seem to be in a good state.”
“Everyone is like that. What happened was too great to overcome in a short time, wasn’t it?”
“…A word from you, my lady, would be a great help to him.”
Regret washed over me as soon as the words left my mouth.
Why was I going this far for that arrogant prodigy?
But even so, my mouth kept moving.
If left like this, he’ll be broken beyond repair.
But he can still be fixed now.
A single word from someone he trusts and relies on would be enough.
“…”
Grita didn’t answer.
From the slight furrow of her brow, she seemed to be displeased.
Damn it. I shouldn’t have gotten involved.
“I’ve overstepped my bounds…”
“Little esquire.”
As I belatedly tried to salvage the situation, Grita spoke.
“You have enlightened me once again.”
As she said this, the corners of her eyes curved into a gentle smile.
“I thought I had learned that harsh discipline is not the only way. Yet here I was, repeating the same mistake.”
Anyone would be struggling, given the recent events that were so difficult to overcome in a short time.
She had just let it pass, not thinking to look after each and every one.
It was no longer surprising to see Grita fall into self-reflection whenever she saw me.
“It’s a wonder how your little head can think so far.”
I didn’t answer.
Contrary to her words, it wasn’t because I was profound that I understood Iden’s feelings.
‘Yan, you’re doing well.’
I just thought that the one phrase I had so desperately wanted to hear in my past life was what the prodigy needed now.
“I will call the boy and have a private talk with him.”
“Thank you.”
“He is a child I took in, a child I was determined to make a knight. You have looked out for him, so it is I who should be thanking you.”
After a bit more conversation, I rose from my seat.
With my business concluded, there was no reason to keep a busy person any longer.
“Well then…”
I bowed and turned to leave when Grita’s voice came from behind me.
“Tomorrow night, your heavens will open.”
Her words were cryptic, but I knew their meaning all too well.
Gaecheondan.
Tomorrow was the day I would receive the reward she had promised.
It also meant I didn’t have much time left before I had to leave Comrat.
After parting with Grita, I wandered the streets of Comrat for a while.
“Esquire.”
“Mage Slayer-nim!”
“Yan-nim!”
People passing by greeted me warmly.
“Big Bro!”
Among them was Sasha.
*Swoosh.*
Sasha, brandishing a long stick he’d gotten from who-knows-where, swung it with all his might and looked at me with an expectant face.
“?”
Having no idea what he was doing, I just stared blankly, which made Sasha fidget impatiently and suddenly start boasting.
“What you said was true, Big Bro! In a fight between equals, the one with the longer weapon wins!”
He said that while the city guards were busy with the city’s destruction, a few unsavory men from the slums had been robbing people, and he had beaten them all with this stick.
“All three of them couldn’t even get close to me.”
As he said this, he brandished the shabby stick with a few quick swings, looking quite impressive.
“…Huh?”
Watching him, I was inexplicably reminded of someone from my past life.
Surely not, I thought, but I couldn't help but check.
“Try swinging it at me.”
“Oh! A lesson from you, Big Bro, is a rare treat!”
Sasha didn’t hesitate and immediately rushed at me.
A moment later, my fist caught him in the side, and he was sent tumbling to the ground.
“Kuh. I’m still no match for you, Big Bro. The slum gang couldn’t even block my attacks.”
Despite being hit hard and rolling on the ground, Sasha showed no sign of being upset. He only offered words of praise.
Oblivious to my inner turmoil.
“Have you ever learned spearmanship?”
“Nah, Big Bro. Where would a beggar learn something like that?”
His innocently bright reply made me say something without thinking.
“It really is you.”
“Huh? What is?”
Sasha asked as he stood up, brushing the dirt off himself.
“Hah.”
But instead of answering, I just let out a hollow laugh.
It was absurd that a genius who was compared to a knight I had served in my past life was a beggar.
And it was even more absurd that this unparalleled genius was calling himself my little brother.
“Heh heh.”
I couldn’t stop laughing.
How could such a coincidence exist in this world?
“From now on, don’t call me Big Bro.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re… Anyway, if I say don’t call me that, then don’t.”
Leaving the bewildered Sasha behind, I turned on my heel.
Toward the inn where Grita was staying.
“Why have you returned?”
She greeted me warmly, though she looked curious. I cut to the chase and made a proposal.
That an unclaimed treasure was rolling around on the streets.
That there was a kid the Giftrang family desperately needed right now.
“Care to raise him?”