Luke Stareil

I had succeeded in rescuing Liliana and was making my way toward the capital when I suddenly encountered the original novel's protagonist in the forest. I made no effort to hide my bewilderment.

...What are you doing here?

I slowly lowered my longsword and let my guard drop.

Standing before my eyes was the boy blessed by the stars.

Luke Stareil.

It was our first meeting, but I knew him at a glance. His pupils quite literally held stars within them.

He ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠really does look bizarre.

I studied Luke's face in silence. Truth be told, readers of the original novel hadn't taken this particular design choice well.

The readers' criticism of the protagonist's appearance had been razor-sharp. Meeting him in the flesh, however, was an entirely different experience.

Mysterious.

I had no particular hobby of staring into a pretty boy's eyes, but those pupils looked as though they might swallow me whole. It felt like gazing into the cosmos itself. The sun was still high in the sky — and yet, when I met his gaze, I could see the stars.

"Excuse me. I was wondering if—"

"Aaaah! Someone help me!"

Just as the star-blessed boy took a step toward me, a tremendous scream erupted from the far side of the woods. I looked in the direction of the sound. A merchant was racing his wagon, fleeing from a band of roughly ten bandits.

Bandits, huh. The regulars of any fantasy world had made their appearance.

I figured I ought to help and began drawing up my mana at a leisurely pace — but Luke had already read the situation and was charging the bandits.

"Huh?"

"The fuck are you?"

The bandits panicked at the star-blessed boy's sudden intrusion. They weren't complete fools, though. They recovered their stances in an instant and swung their arming swords.

"Die!"

Whoosh. An attack that borrowed the speed of a galloping horse. But there was no world in which a mere bandit's blade would reach the star-blessed boy. Luke stepped in on the counter, and his slash sent the bandit's arm flying.

Slash.

"Gyaaaaah!"

Whoa.

Even at his age, he was a proper swordsman. There wasn't a shred of mercy in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠those hands.

"Goddammit, take that bastard down!"

The bandits, who didn't even have the skill to gauge the gap in their abilities, piled onto the star-blessed boy in a chaotic rush. For the record, bandits in this world weren't mere thieves. They were serious criminals who casually committed murder, arson, and rape. In other words, there was absolutely no reason to let them live.

That said, Luke isn't as strong as I expected...

I stroked my chin, watching the fight closely. Originally, he should have been a cut above Gladrock — but judging by the flow of his mana, they were on the same level. Compared to swordsmen his own age, of course, his strength was absurd. Compared to the original novel, he was a little weaker.

...Don't tell me it's because I stole his growth events?

Ah, shit.

A troublesome situation. I needed to travel with him somehow and arrange events that would accelerate his growth.

While I was lost in thought, Luke had already wiped out the bandits in an instant, before I even had a chance to help. The merchant offered his thanks.

"I, uh... thank you for the help."

"Don't mention it. More importantly, are you injured?"

"Well, the merchandise can't be damaged, but... ahem! I'm perfectly fine — not a scratch on me. When the mercenary I'd hired as an escort went down, I thought I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was done for. You saved my life."

The merchant wiped his sweat as he spoke. While he exchanged small talk with Luke, I tilted my head at a strange sense of dissonance coming from nearby.

That's odd.

I could feel another presence in the area, but it didn't seem like more bandits lying in wait. It wasn't a wild animal or a greenskin, either. As I puzzled over it, the merchant's wagon caught my eye.

Don't tell me.

"Ah, where are you going?"

"There's something I need to check."

Leaving Liliana behind, I walked straight up to the merchant's wagon and stopped in front of it. The interior was deathly silent. I focused my senses, using mana.

"W-wait! What do you think you're doing?"

The merchant shouted something in a panic. I ignored him. A moment later, a small, frail sob came from inside the wagon.

"Hic..."

"......"

There was nothing to think about. I raised my longsword and swung it, packing mana into the blade, at the lock sealing the wagon door shut.

Slash.

"No!"

The lock split cleanly in two. I tore the door open, and three young girls of small stature huddled inside, curling into themselves.

Damn it...

Sunlight poured into the dark wagon, revealing the children clearly. Faces that held their breath in fear, sobbing. Their bodies were gaunt from lack of food, and they reeked. Thick veins bulged on the face behind my mask.

So the "merchandise" he'd mentioned earlier were little girls. I'd gone and saved a slave trader from bandits. These people really did come in every flavor of fucked up.

Liliana, who had followed me to the wagon, covered her mouth at a sight so devoid of any humanity.

"How could this..."

"Hey! You can't just smash other people's wagons like th—!?"

"Shut up and answer me. Where are these children's parents?"

I grabbed the merchant by the collar and hauled him up as he tried to turn the tables and lecture me. He gasped and sputtered.

"I-I don't know! I just picked up some orphans whose parents died in an accident!"

"N-no. That man killed our mom and dad."

"Shut your mouth, you little bitch!"

When the girl who looked to be the oldest among them spoke up, the merchant bellowed at her.

Hoo. I was too disgusted to listen to any more of this. Given the circumstances, there was no doubt this bastard was a slave trader — and not just any slave trader, but an irredeemable piece of trash who intended to sell little girls into slavery.

I raised my sword, intending to send him to hell to fuck around with the bandits, when Luke stepped in.

"Please wait. Since I was the one who saved him, may I take responsibility for dealing with him?"

"Who are you?"

"Ah, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Luke Stareil. Eldest son of Baron Stareil, and a first-year at the Imperial Academy."

Luke introduced himself with the air of a proper young man. Yeah, I already knew that. I'd only asked because it would have been strange to act like I did. His features were a bit more delicate than the illustrations I'd seen — not that it mattered.

Then Liliana, hearing Luke's name, spoke as if something had come back to her.

"Ah! I think I saw him at the entrance ceremony. He was the top incoming student, so he gave the representative speech."

"I see. Top of the Imperial Academy, is it... So what do you intend to do with this one, Luke Stareil?"

I flung the merchant I'd been holding aside and posed the question. Luke considered for a moment, then answered.

"He should die. Abusing young girls and trafficking them as slaves is something I can never tolerate. Under imperial law, a noble is also permitted to carry out summary execution in such cases."

Luke spoke with a grave expression. I quietly nodded at his words. The merchant, grasping the situation, went deathly pale.

"N-no...!"

He immediately began thrashing, trying to flee. But the star-blessed boy swung his sword without a shred of mercy.

Slash.

The blade, gleaming white in the sunlight, danced. The man who had filled his greed with the tears of children stopped breathing. In a forest where a chilly wind blew, in the bright light of day, a filthy star fell to the earth.

After the commotion had settled, Luke took it upon himself to escort the girls to an orphanage in the capital, and so we ended up traveling together for a while. Not the kind of orphanage you'd find in a dark fantasy, where the director's hobby is rape — we'd leave them with one run by the Order, so it should be fine. If I mentioned it to Milinarise, who held the highest priestly office in the Pales Order, she would take good care of them one way or another.

"Night will fall soon. We should stay the night in this village."

Luke spoke quietly, gazing at the sunset sinking beyond the mountains, in a village we'd stopped at along the road to the capital. I silently nodded.

Once we rest in this village, the capital should come into view.

The thought of returning to the capital brought various matters to mind. In the underground city, Lüdenburger would be eliminating the Second Prince's forces. And at the mansion, Lucy would be waiting. When I'd told her to name something she wanted, what would she say?

Lost in such thoughts as we walked, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠we arrived at the inn before I knew it.

Creeeak—

"Hey, take a look at that."

"An elf, little girls... and a pretty boy on top of that? What the hell is that masked knight's type?"

"Terrifying... truly terrifying. Whatever you do, don't make eye contact with that one."

The patrons spouted nonsense as they watched us walk through the door. For a moment I was so pissed I nearly smashed a table, but I exercised superhuman patience and held back.

"Hooo."

"Please endure it... And, um, I don't particularly mind, you know?"

Liliana said, lightly catching my sleeve. I wondered if she thought that counted as comfort, but I let it go.

"Welcome. How many rooms would you like?"

"Every remaining room."

"I'm afraid we only have two rooms left..."

"Hah."

A deflated sound escaped me, I was so incredulous. We'd come to this inn because the others were full... Two rooms? How were we supposed to split the group?

I took the keys from the innkeeper and looked at the girls. They were still withdrawn, likely from the memories of being held by that piece-of-trash merchant. Those children needed to share a room with Liliana. Which meant the remaining room would be for me and Luke.

I was about to make the decision after some deliberation when Liliana fidgeted and opened her mouth.

"Um, where should I stay?"

"You'll share a room with the children. I'll stay with Luke Stareil."

"Ah..."

"Is there something you wanted to say?"

"Nooo..."

Liliana hung her head, her words trailing off. What was that? Kind of a letdown. It was a puzzling reaction, but my attention was soon stolen by gossip from elsewhere.

"So he chose the pretty boy after all..."

"To toss aside an elf that beautiful. Unbelievable."

"I understand the feeling. Boys have a boy's unique charm, you know."

Another feast of bullshit. For fuck's sake — and that last guy, who the hell was that?

I couldn't possibly go into a room with Luke under these circumstances, so I slammed the inn door open and stormed out.

BANG!

"Goddamn it. Can't even do anything about those assholes..."

The yard near the inn. I was standing alone in an empty spot, cooling my rage in the evening breeze, when someone followed me out.

"The inn's patrons are quite mischievous... For the record, I don't have any hobbies of that sort, so you can rest easy."

The star-blessed boy revealed his sexual preferences with an awkward smile. Was he being considerate of me? He had every right to be in a bad mood himself, but he really was a kind kid. I faced him and tossed out a light joke.

"That's a relief. Getting physical with other men is something I get plenty of on the battlefield."

"Hahaha, true enough."

Luke laughed brightly. I followed suit, the corner of my mouth curling up. Facing him like this, he felt less like someone destined to save the world and more like just a good-natured boy.

We exchanged small talk for a while, until Luke asked me a question with a distinctly serious expression.

"If it isn't too forward of me, may I ask your name? This is a kind of fate, after all. I can tell at a glance that you're no ordinary person."

"Hm."

A question that struck right at the heart of things. His star-filled eyes held a strong curiosity and will.

So this moment has come at last.

The day I'd exchange names with the original novel's protagonist. I'd planned to seek him out eventually, so I knew a day like this would come — I just hadn't expected it to be today.

Well, it didn't matter. I wanted to join forces with Luke going forward, and more than anything, he was a righteous person. Not the type to blindly impose his own sense of justice. Someone who acted like a human being. Someone who knew how to care for others. That kind of person could be trusted. He wouldn't go around blabbing that I'd been in a village like this, either.

Lost in thought for a moment, I finally removed my mask before the star-blessed boy.

And then, messages rang out in my mind, one after another.