Outside Story (1)
The day of the Subjugation Festival dawned.
This year’s festival began at the kingdom’s western border. Countless houses, the Hasgards among them, had gathered to flaunt their military might. Not only nobles, but adventurer parties, mercenary bands, and even the Church—anyone with confidence in their combat prowess had flocked here.
For several days prior, the kingdom’s soldiers had encroached upon the monster territories to provoke them. When the enraged creatures crossed the western border, the festival participants would slaughter them. People still “mistakenly” believed that monsters were humanity’s only enemies, so this was a festival that controlled their numbers while showcasing the kingdom’s prestige.
“Heh heh… Daywin. You’ve finally learned to ride a horse properly. Back in September six years ago, you kept falling off and worrying this big brother of yours sick.”
The eldest Hasgard glanced at me. He was talking about Daywin’s childhood before I possessed him. Speaking like some court historian. Don’t recite the exact date, damn it. It gives me the creeps.
“But, Daywin.”
Suddenly he dropped his smile and lowered his voice.
“Did you really… bring an Academy student? There must have been better escorts available…”
“Brother, didn’t you know? She’s the one our youngest has been sponsoring recently.”
The middle Hasgard puffed out his chest as he spoke to the eldest. It was a tone that seemed to boast of knowing even the youngest’s trivial information. I don’t understand why they compete over things like that.
“Hmm… It seems we should part ways here.”
A moment later, the eldest Hasgard announced quietly. He was right. From here on, each would lead their own forces into the monster subjugation.
“Well then, Daywin. If you’re in danger, send word at once. I’ll come running right away.”
“Youngest! Don’t forget your brothers are right nearby!”
Hearing those words made me realize something anew. I… really wasn’t expected to amount to much…
“Somehow it feels like they don’t have high expectations of you…”
Ester, riding behind me, spoke quietly.
“Though the same goes for me… Everyone else is so incredible… I still don’t know if I’m really needed…”
Ester muttered in a voice barely audible. She lacked confidence, of course, and was swallowed by anxiety. If this were the Ester from the game, this would be the moment she’d get excited saying, “It’s time to show my skills!” Looks like the tsundere is never coming back.
As I was feeling sorry for her, goblins came charging from afar, kicking up clouds of dust.
Goblins. The enemies of this Subjugation Festival. They weren’t particularly dangerous foes that needed urgent subjugation, but for this festival they had deliberately killed the chieftain to enrage the goblin tribes. I almost felt sorry for being human.
“Ester, we’re going to follow Second Brother.”
“Huh… Weren’t we supposed to split up now?”
“Second Brother is a bit of a scatterbrain. We should help him out a little.”
“Ah, yes.”
“So, Ester, I’m counting on you.”
As I spoke, my expression must have changed without me realizing it, because Ester stared intently at my face.
“Ah… Yes.”
The Subjugation Festival. Today. I could never forget this day. I thought the passage of time would dull it, but every time summer returned, the regret and sorrow only accumulated. In my previous life, on this day—the second son died.
010
The day of the closing ceremony. Before the Subjugation Festival began.
“Lucia, I’ll be away for a while because of the Subjugation Festival.”
At those words, Lucia raised her eyes, darkened with dark circles. Lucia. Third-year Sword Department. One of the five heroines. A girl whose day and night were reversed. And a member of a criminal guild operating in the entertainment district of the marquisate.
“Karma-nim is going to the Subjugation Festival?”
“Of course I’m not going to kill monsters. What I kill, as always, is people.”
The man called Karma grinned. His head was shaved to proudly display a neat hairline, and his green eyes glittered strangely as he spoke.
“Lucia, you know of the Hasgard barony?”
Hasgard. Lucia had heard that name not long ago.
—They say he’s Daywin Hasgard.
Not only had she heard the name, she had even made eye contact and spoken with him. He was a strange person who offered her a scholarship when her grades had hit rock bottom from sleeping through every class. There was no way she could have forgotten that name already.
“…I know of them.”
“You do? Unexpected. I thought you’d have no idea since they’re frontier nobles. Are you acquainted?”
“No.”
Strictly speaking, one could say they were acquainted. But somehow Karma’s atmosphere felt ominous, so she answered dryly.
“That’s fortunate. The target of this commission is the second son of the Hasgards. They want him killed at the Subjugation Festival.”
Guildmaster Karma tossed out the words as if it were nothing special. At that, Lucia felt her heart drop, but she forced her expression not to twist.
The second son. Which number son is that person?
“Who commissioned it?”
“Are you coming too? Let me know if you are.”
“…Lucia has make-up classes at the Academy.”
She had actually been exempted from make-up classes thanks to that Hasgard, but she lied casually.
“This commission is pretty interesting. Hasgard is supposedly the name of a war hero who distinguished himself in the war against the undead long ago. With those military achievements, he became a count in one go. My guess is… the client is a follower of the Necromancer, don’t you think?”
“Why bring up something from a hundred years ago now…?”
Snap—
The moment Lucia finished speaking, Karma flicked his fingers.
“That’s the interesting part. If the client side really is a follower of the Necromancer, why ‘now’ of all times? If it were hatred or revenge, wouldn’t they have tried to kill him long ago? Well, as long as I get paid, it’s none of my business.”
While Karma prattled on, Lucia recalled what had happened at the Academy. A conversation she had accidentally overheard while passing by the headmaster’s office.
—As you said, Laward is blessed with talent of a generation. But I have no intention of abandoning the other students.
—Those five may only be underachievers now.
—Please put a little more faith in the students.
Lucia had overheard Daywin’s voice as he persuaded the headmaster. A powerful voice filled with confidence and conviction. At first she had no intention of eavesdropping. But the moment she heard Daywin’s voice, her feet stopped of their own accord. She wanted to hear a little more. She wanted to take into her ears, even a little longer, those words that believed in even a gutter life that had joined a criminal guild. She was so captivated by Daywin’s words that she missed the timing to slip out of the corridor—so carelessly that for an assassin, her tail would have been caught far too easily.
I don’t know which number son he is.
But still.
“Is it… not possible not to go?”
“Hmm?”
“I have a bad feeling somehow.”
“…About what?”
“It could be a trap.”
“Well, there’s a possibility. But the payoff is big enough to take the risk.”
“If it’s about the commission fee, I’ll work more. Even if I… cut back on sleep further.”
“Huh? Weird. This is the first time you’ve acted like this.”
Karma tilted his head, then soon wore a cold expression.
“Of course you can’t not go. Since the target is a count’s house, the reward is no joke either.”
“That’s exactly why it’s dangerous.”
“Haa… Lucia, do you even know how much money is on this commission?”
“That… I don’t, but…”
“Even if you take on other commissions, you know it can’t compare to one like this.”
“Even so, if I work several times more…”
“Even working several times more, you’re still far short of covering your siblings’ share. Those siblings of yours who can only eat and shit. Who takes them in and raises them?”
The moment siblings were mentioned, Lucia had no choice but to shut her mouth.
“Want me to put them all out on the streets? Three little girls in the entertainment district—think they’ll last a day without my protection?”
“……”
“In your current situation, doing the work of three people is out of the question. Or quit that pathetic Academy and work all day. You don’t want that either, do you?”
Karma lowered his posture to meet Lucia’s eyes.
“Ah, Lucia. Don’t make that face. Then I become the bad guy again. I really want to treat you all well. As long as you don’t talk back for no reason like this.”
“It’s not like I want to be here…”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s no one’s fault. If you have to blame someone, it’d be your parents who went and popped out kids on their own in my guild and then kicked the bucket, right? If you’re going to resent someone, that’d be easier, Lucia.”
He brushed past Lucia’s shoulder with a light shove.
“If you understand, move aside.”
Once Karma had brought up her siblings, she could no longer resist. It was true that he took care of her young siblings. Lucia alone couldn’t take responsibility for them. They would literally end up begging on the streets—and in District 6 of the marquisate, which boasted the worst public security. Moreover, she knew that if she angered him further, he would lay hands not only on Lucia but on her siblings as well. Always. That was how it had been.
Lucia watched Karma’s fist, swinging regularly in time with his swaggering steps. That hand was what kept her from leaving the guild. And that hand would kill the second son of the Hasgards.
…But I can’t just pretend I don’t know.
Since she had been exempted from summer vacation make-up classes, she had time to move. Enough time to tail Karma to the Subjugation Festival.
Back to the present. The Subjugation Festival that began in the middle of a blue forest.
“Hmm?”
The second son, Romons, came to his senses and checked behind him. Daywin, who was supposed to lead his own forces, had started following him.
Did he get scared seeing goblins in real life…? Monsters you’ve only encountered in books or stories have a completely different impact when they’re right in front of you.
Fear. That seemed reason enough for Daywin to suddenly stick close to Romons.
It’s his first time, so it’s understandable. I was startled at first too. Right, Daywin. Better stay behind my back.
Romons nodded and pulled on the reins. His forces soon reached the goblin forest. Even if they were weak monsters compared to humans, from here on it was their territory. A forest packed full of large trees. Romons, assuming goblins lying in ambush in the trees, gulped.
“From here we reduce speed and approach carefully. Those with shields, to the front! Prepare for ambush!”
Soldiers holding tall shields filled the vanguard to block arrows that would fly from the trees.
Thud!
While the soldiers in front raised their shields and changed formation—
Psssh—
Goblins who had been hiding in the trees loosed their arrows. The intent was to create chaos before the formation was complete.
“Behind the shields! The lines must not break!”
Romons’s soldiers moved as trained. They had anticipated that the goblins would hold the high ground and shoot arrows, so despite the chaos they soon formed up.
Crack! Thunk!
The shield-bearers in front withstood the volleys of arrows.
…Why are there so many?
But something was off.
Thud!
An arrow glanced off the side of a shield and embedded itself in a soldier’s arm. At the soldier’s short scream, Romons gritted his teeth. The Subjugation Festival was literally a festival, not a war. Casualties occurred in accidents from time to time, but it was still fundamentally entertainment. And yet—
Too… many. This feels ominous…
Romons Hasgard hid his body behind a shield. The resistance was fiercer than expected. He still couldn’t even tell how many goblins there were. Even if they broke through this assault, there was no knowing how many more might be packed inside the forest.
I have a bad feeling. Something… is wrong.
At the same time, Daywin casually turned his head and met Ester’s eyes.
“Ester, have you ever heard of the Hasgard family?”
He tossed her the same question someone had asked Lucia. At the sudden question, Ester thought for a moment, then shook her head.
“That is… no…”
“Of course not. To the protagonists, our story wouldn’t even be a side story or a sub-story.”
“…What?”
“It would be nothing more than a rumor that doesn’t matter. A rumor that can be erased and forgotten, that merely brushes past.”
Daywin began an unexpected story.
“I’m sorry, Sponsor. I… don’t really understand.”
At Ester’s words, Daywin merely laughed it off.
“Forget it. As I said, it’s just a rumor.”
The Hasgard family was a story that had nothing to do with the main story, one that wasn’t even mentioned. The descendants of a forgotten hero were unnecessary to the protagonist and heroines. But one extra remembered. The extra who had survived until the end of the world remembered that nothing of a story to his bones.
In his previous life, Daywin had awakened outstanding holy power, but simply because it was a hassle, he skipped the Subjugation Festival. He spent his time leisurely alone in the mansion. That day, which should have been peaceful and leisurely, he could never forget.
—Daywin, don’t be shocked and listen.
His always bright and energetic eldest brother faced Daywin while swallowing tears.
—Romons has left our side. It was an accident that happened at the Subjugation Festival.
Diar clenched his molars as if to crush them, suppressing the boiling inside. If Daywin had come to the Subjugation Festival, things might have been different. If it had been the youngest beloved by the Goddess, he might have twisted the tragedy. Both Diar and Daywin knew that fact. The eyes of his eldest brother, stripped of vitality, looked ready to pour out resentment at any moment. He thought understanding was over now.
If you had been there. If you hadn’t spared your strength. If you hadn’t lived so pitifully.
—Daywin.
Daywin squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the words that would be laden with daggers. He wished time would stop right there, but unfortunately Diar spoke.
—It’s a real relief you didn’t come.
Embracing Daywin tightly, he said with aching sincerity. The eldest didn’t even try to gauge the future that would have been different if Daywin had come. Far from resenting Daywin for not coming to the Subjugation Festival—
—I’m just glad you’re safe.
He was relieved. Even while being dragged into mad fury, Diar wished only that his one remaining brother would be in a peaceful place. It was enough for the eldest son to remain in hell.
“Ester, I’ve never been so ashamed in my life.”
Daywin would rather have been resented. Only then did he decide to live properly, but by then it was far too late. Romons’s death was merely the beginning of the tragedy. From then on, the Hasgards slowly approached the path of extinction.
—Having finished his thoughts, Daywin reached a hand toward the sky. The moment he sent a prayer to the heavens—
Kuuung!
A vivid beam of light pierced through the clouds and enveloped Daywin.
Pure white armor clad his form—the symbol of a Holy Knight who set foot on the battlefield receiving the will of God. The full power that the last Holy Knight possessed.
A ring of light floated behind his head.
Halo — Proof of one chosen by the Goddess.
“Sponsor…?”
Ester covered her eyes with the back of her hand against the sudden flash. When the beam of light receded, the Daywin who revealed himself was astonishingly different.
From now on, a story unrelated to the protagonist. A story for extras only. While the protagonist stands in the spotlight, the extras move busily behind the stage. No one looks there. No one takes interest. There are no choices and no bonds form. They leave no footprints toward the goal of preventing the end.
I know that.
But—
I cannot pass over this event.