Chapter 23

Translator: True Detective

Chapter 23. Spreading Rumors

Defeat tasted like mud.

Mud taste. Blood taste. And the taste of humiliation.

The border between the North and the Empire, in front of the castle gate of the Eisenhardt Margraviate.

Two guards were standing side by side, swallowing yawns.

"……What is that?"

A guard rubbed his eyes.

There was a silhouette approaching the gate.

Stagger stagger.

The guards' evaluation was cruelly accurate.

The fur coat that would have once been luxurious was now tattered and no different from a rag, and the face visible through the messy hair was gaunt as if starved for days.

Above all, all his front teeth were missing.

"Open the gate! You ignorant fools! Open the gate, I say! Do you know who I am?"

The guards raised their spears.

"Where do you think this is, causing a scene? Get lost!" "Beggars go to the back door. Relief goods distribution is tomorrow."

"I-I am Ulfric Grombalt!"

Ulfric Grombalt.

A man who was once the North's Number 2, called the Blood Wolf, and now has become a toothless old dog.

"……Who?"

"Grombalt! The Northern Grand Duke's younger brother!"

Ulfric shouted.

No, tried to shout.

But because wind leaked through the gaps of his missing front teeth, the pronunciation sounded something like 'Brother of Bupu Grand Duke'.

The guards giggled.

It was natural.

Because there is no way a member of the Northern Wolf family, Grombalt, would appear in such a beggar state without a single attendant.

Ulfric trembled.

No, he had no teeth to grind. Since all his teeth were missing.

These bastards. Dare to treat me. Knowing who I am.

He rummaged inside his clothes.

"Look at this!"

What he took out was a ring.

Although grimy with mud, the silver wolf pattern engraved in it was clear.

The crest of the Grombalt family.

And a signet ring that only direct bloodline members can possess.

The guards' laughter stopped abruptly.

Looked at each other's faces.

"Eh? It’s real silver?" "No, really a Grombalt?"

Exchange of glances.

"Hu, huk! S-Sorry! We didn't recognize you!"

Stance switch.

Because the civil servant's instinctive fear activated, knowing that treating a person possessing a noble's crest recklessly could result in their heads flying off.

The guards hurriedly opened the gate.

It was an entry without welcome, fanfare, or red carpet.

Conrad Von Eisenhardt.

A Margrave guarding the Empire's northeastern border, and a seasoned politician who has experienced all sorts of hardships.

He sat on the office sofa, looking at the man in front of him as if he couldn't believe it.

"Sir Ulfric… Are you really Sir Ulfric?"

"How many times do I have to say yes."

Ulfric lifted the teacup.

His hand trembled so much that tea spilled onto the saucer.

Without caring for face or anything, he poured the teacup into his mouth.

As the hot tea went down his esophagus, he finally felt alive.

"How did you end up like this? Did something happen in the North?"

The Ulfric Conrad saw a few months ago was a dangerous man with sharp eyes, blazing with ambition.

But what is in front of him now?

The North's Number 2, a strong candidate for the next Grand Duke, appeared as a beggar.

"Monster…"

Ulfric muttered.

"A monster appeared."

"Monster? Do you mean a demonic beast? Originally there are many demonic beasts in the North."

"It’s not some demonic beast! That bastard has the shape of a human, but he is not human! Black Knight… Right, that bastard is a demon crawled out from the Abyss!"

Ulfric's pupils shook.

Memories from the Axe Festival. Overwhelming martial power. That body which was fine even after drinking poison.

And the red glint looking down at him.

Fear was real.

"That bastard is called… the Black Knight."

"Black Knight?"

"He slaughtered hundreds of elite warriors alone! The sky was covered in black aura, and the ground was dyed with blood! I risked my life to stop him but… the Black Knight's power… exceeded the category of human!"

Ulfric dropped his head.

"I barely escaped alone, and came here to inform you of this fact."

Built a tower of self-rationalization.

'I didn't lose because I was weak. It was because the opponent was a calamity outside the norm.'

Inflated. Exaggerated.

'Right, he is a natural disaster. Can a person block a typhoon? Can you cut an earthquake with a sword?'

The stronger the Black Knight is, the more he, who lost to him, becomes a 'survivor of a disaster' rather than an 'incompetent guy'.

"Furthermore, that bastard lusts after women…"

Trailed off.

Margin stimulating imagination.

"Princess Lucia… he kidnapped my precious niece!"

"Her Highness ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Princess… was kidnapped?"

Conrad's expression hardened.

"This is no ordinary matter."

The old noble stroked his chin and calculated inwardly.

'It’s a lie. A bright red lie.'

Looking at Ulfric's eyes, he can tell.

'Exaggeration. Bluff. Loser's excuse.'

The politician's intuition was saying so.

But at the same time, the keyword 'Princess Kidnapping' was bait he couldn't ignore.

"Hmm. If that is true, it is something the Empire cannot ignore."

"That is right! A subjugation squad must be dispatched immediately! I will guide the way! We must execute that demon and save Her Highness the Princess!"

Rumor is a truly bizarre creature.

Goes a thousand li without feet, and bewitches ten thousand people without a mouth. Faster than wind and more vicious than an infectious disease.

And the most interesting point is that rumors evolve by themselves in the process of spreading.

Flesh attaches, bones grow, and before one knows it, even horns sprout, becoming a monster that even the initial speaker cannot recognize.

That is the ecology of rumors.

The lie that came out of Ulfric's mouth went beyond the Margrave's office, spreading to the entire territory, and to the Empire.

Flesh attached. Bones thickened.

Before anyone knew it, the Black Knight had become a Demon King over 3 meters tall, with ten horns, shooting beams from his mouth.

Inn window seat.

Ulfric looked down at the street and giggled.

"Kukuku… Right, chatter more. Be more scared."

Alcohol dripped through the gap of missing teeth, but he didn't care.

'The Empire will move. A subjugation squad will be organized. Then I become the guide. Cut off that bastard's head, and I become the Hero of the North again!'

It was a perfect plan. At least in Ulfric's delusion.

But reality is always cold.

A few days later.

Again, Margrave's office.

"I checked the rumors."

"Oh! Finally! Is the Imperial Army being dispatched? Or the Holy Knights? Magic Tower?"

Ulfric asked with eyes full of expectation.

Tsk.

Conrad clicked his tongue as if pathetic.

"Leave."

"……Yes?"

Voice was cold.

The sympathy or curiosity from a few days ago was nowhere to be found.

"Yes? Wh, what are you saying…"

"Didn't I say I checked the rumors? I met merchants who came from the North. They arrived just yesterday."

"M, Merchants? Those guys are guys who lie if given money!"

"Well. The goods they brought didn't lie."

Conrad pointed to the goods placed on the desk.

Snowfield Widow Spider web. Transparents shining magic stone crystals. And Northern specialty herbs.

All goods that are hard to get, so the asking price is the price.

"Rather, they said trade became active. Said it became safe because demonic beasts decreased. Heard a person called Black Knight goes around beating up every demonic beast?"

"Th, That is just what appears on the surface! He reassures people then plans to eat them all at once later…"

"And. I heard about the Axe Festival too."

"!"

"Heard you dueled that Black Knight? Heard you lost even after using poison cowardly. Ulfric Grombalt."

Blood drained completely from Ulfric's face.

That story reached here? Already?

"I have no time to listen seriously to the barking of a defeated dog. It’s a matter of my credit. I can't keep a 'Liar Wolf' with me."

Conrad waved his hand.

It means get out.

Guards approached.

"Th, This is a frame-up! It’s a conspiracy! I am of the Grombalt family…"

"Family? What authority do you have when your brother went missing, and you ran away after losing the Grand Duke seat?"

"……!"

"There is no mercy to bestow upon a loser. It is the same in the Empire."

Ulfric's scream as he was dragged out was miserable.

"Let go! These rude things! Do you know who I am!?"

Bang.

The door slammed shut.

Conrad clicked his tongue.

"Tsk. They say there is no younger brother as good as the older brother."

The fall was fast.

Ulfric Grombalt.

A man who was once the power holder of the North.

After being kicked out of the Margrave territory, he headed to the capital, but no noble welcomed him.

Now he had become a madman wandering the back alleys near the Imperial Capital.

"Black Knight… ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Monster… Must kill…"

His situation became more miserable.

Beard grew bushy covering his chest, and eyes were sunken hollowly.

Smell soaked in alcohol vibrated.

"That person is starting again." "He’s crazy. Don't touch him." "Pitiful too. Heard he was originally a noble?" "Ey, no way. Would something like that be a noble?"

No one saw him as a 'Grombalt'.

Just ignored him thinking he was a drunk homeless person.

One rainy night.

Under the eaves of a shabby back alley.

Ulfric drank alcohol listening to the rain sound today too.

"Lucia… that young thing… to the monster…"

It was then.

"What did you say just now?"

Ulfric lifted his blurry eyes.

A silver-haired young man was standing there.

'……What is it, that guy.'

Even with Ulfric's drunk head, he could feel it.

That is not a normal human.

Atmosphere is different.

A bizarre atmosphere as if even raindrops avoid that young man.

From the sword at his waist, holy light was leaking faintly.

"Did you say Lucia just now?"

"Yeah… our poor Princess… caught by the Black Knight bastard… Hic."

Ulfric burped.

"Every night… must be getting ravaged… begging to be saved… no one…"

Crack.

Under the young man's foot.

The stone floor ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cracked.

Silver-haired young man.

One called 'Leon, the Hero of the Holy Sword'.

Held a sword since childhood.

Offered prayers to the Goddess.

To cut the evil of the world, honed himself solely for that.

Thanks to that, the Hero's heart was straight like a sword.

At the same time, it was a problem because it was too straight.

'Every night… getting ravaged…'

Drunkard's nonsense.

Words a sensible person would have snorted and passed by.

In the Hero's head, Ulfric's nonsense hovered endlessly.

"……!"

The Hero ground his teeth.

'Lucia.'

Childhood, the girl met for the first time in the Imperial Palace garden.

Lonely Princess everyone shunned saying 'Barbarian Blood'.

Only the Hero stayed by her side.

No, speaking honestly, it was the opposite.

The one isolated called a 'monster' in the temple was Leon.

'That child is a vessel for the Hero.''Existence born for the Church.''Emotion is not needed.'

Because too strong. Because too different.

Children avoided Leon, and adults feared the Hero.

"Alone? I’m alone too. Let's be friends."

Lucia was the one who reached out her hand first to such a self.

That smile like sunshine.

That small and warm hand.

Light that entered Leon's world for the first time.

But.

'While I was gone, Lucia?'

During the few months the Hero was out subjugating demonic beasts.

Heard news that the Imperial Palace fell. Heard rumors that the Princess went missing too. Story that she went to the North too.

So he was about to go find her.

But. Kidnapping. Confinement.

And.

'Every night……'

Tremble tremble.

Whole body trembled.

Whether anger.

Or something else.

Wooooong-

Holy sword vibrated inside the sheath.

Resonating with the master's heart.

'Kill.'

Determination was instant.

Cut to death. Tear to death.

Chop up and make into crow feed.

The Hero grabbed Ulfric's collar and lifted him up.

"That bastard called Black Knight, where is he."

"N, North… Frostgard…"

Thud.

Ulfric was thrown into the mud.

The Hero walked into the rain without looking back.

Burning in his heart is a sense of justice.

"Wait. Lucia."

Glistening in his eyes is a sense of mission.

"I will definitely save you."

The Hero clenched his fist tight.

To the North.

To where she is.