Banquet (4)
Najin was sensitive to changes in others' expressions.
He had little choice after the childhood he had endured, and those eyes he had been born with never missed even the slightest flicker across a person's face.
"This is the first I've heard of it. The Church did such a thing? That can't be right."
And as far as Najin could tell, Eurypylos did not seem to be lying. The shifts in his expression were natural. Najin checked twice; nothing about them felt forced or artificial.
Of course, the possibility remained that the man before him was a master of facial control and that this entire conversation was a deception—but given everything Eurypylos had said and done so far, that seemed unlikely.
More than anything, the fact that he was making this offer at all stood as clear proof that he did not know what the Church had done. If he had known, he would never have approached the matter this way.
"Then was offering me the position of Holy Knight Commander your own unilateral decision, Lighthouse Keeper?"
"Just as the Empire's foremost represents the Empire itself, I too represent the Holy Light Church. 'Unilateral' is an unkind word. This is the will of the Holy Light Church…"
"In other words, you moved on your own, without any order from the Holy Light's principal deity or the High Priest."
"Do not interrupt me."
The Lighthouse Keeper clicked his tongue in open displeasure and gave a curt nod.
"Why should I follow the High Priest's orders? The only one who may give me commands is the principal deity—the Lighthouse. And even then, I am under no obligation to obey her every word."
So their relationship was not a vertical one of superior and subordinate.
Arms folded, the Lighthouse Keeper continued.
"Yes. It was my own decision."
"May I ask the reason?"
"Your attitude has suddenly grown far more compliant. Have you finally decided you are willing to talk?"
"Yes. A little."
"Your manner still grates on me, but as the one making the offer, I have no reason not to explain."
When Najin dipped his head slightly, Eurypylos's brows twitched. His mood seemed to have eased; the tightly crossed arms had already come undone.
"Great change breeds chaos, and chaos inevitably brings disorder with it. You stand at the center of that change—a force shaking a thousand years of history down to its roots. So what is one to do?"
"Eliminate me?"
Eurypylos recoiled.
"From the start you have been muttering about killing and eliminating as if they were everyday words. That is always meant to be the final resort. It is not something one chooses lightly."
He let out a short sigh and went on.
"Change is, in the end, the current of the world. Human hands may dam it for a time, but never forever. If you cannot stop the flow, the least you can do is keep it close, is it not? Guide it so that it remains a quiet stream instead of becoming a raging torrent."
The explanation had been long, but in essence it amounted to: You look dangerous, so I intend to bring you onto our side.
"You moved for something that small? A man who even carries the epithet of Immovable?"
"…Originally I had been thinking I ought to meet you once you were being called the youngest Sword Seeker. Who could have predicted that in a mere half year after that you would hang four stars upon yourself?"
From Eurypylos's point of view, it was genuinely unfair.
He had meant to take his time, yet in less than half a year the boy had affixed four stars, and he almost never appeared in public, making any arranged meeting difficult. Even when he ordered the Church's underlings to "get in contact with that one," the only replies that came back were, "We will try, but it will not be easy." For the Lighthouse Keeper, the situation had been thoroughly exasperating.
Then word reached him that Najin would attend the banquet. At once Eurypylos had dragged his heavy body to the imperial capital. Any further delay felt dangerous.
And what did he find upon arrival? The boy offered not the slightest respect—only a hard stare—while a Sword Master of the Empire threatened him and the Empire's Archmage all but ordered him thrown out.
It had been, for him, more than a little galling.
"You claim the Church attacked you."
"Yes."
"Tried to kill you outright, from what you say. Even sending outside operatives whose weaknesses the Church held?"
Najin nodded. Eurypylos pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose, his face twisting as he exhaled a long breath.
"Wait a moment. I need to think."
While Eurypylos ordered his thoughts, Najin remained silent. He, too, needed to rethink.
Until now, the enemies he had fixed in his mind had been these:
High Priest Orlang, the principal deity of the Holy Light Church—the Lighthouse That Illuminates All Creation—and the Lighthouse Keeper, Eurypylos.
A considerable stretch of time had passed since Najin drew Excalibur, and in that time he had already suffered assaults from the Holy Light Church. Under such circumstances, the principal deity of the Holy Light could hardly claim ignorance of the present state of affairs. Naturally, Najin had assumed the High Priest and the principal deity of the Holy Light were of one mind.
And if the High Priest and the principal deity are in league, then the Lighthouse Keeper—who holds even greater authority than the High Priest—must be the same.
That had been Najin's conjecture, and it had been a reasonable one.
But…
Najin looked at the man before him.
Outwardly he appeared no older than a youth in his mid-twenties. In truth he was a transcendent who had lived four hundred years.
He gave every sign of knowing nothing of what the Church had done.
No matter how Najin examined him, he seemed unconnected to it.
Was that even possible? The question rose in him, yet Eurypylos did not appear to be lying. Raging at someone who knew nothing would only leave him feeling hollow. With a complicated heart, Najin regarded the Lighthouse Keeper.
Originally, the Lighthouse Keeper should have been the greatest wall standing in the way of Najin's revenge.
Najin had laid countless plans for facing him. In his mind the Lighthouse Keeper had been a powerful, unyielding, merciless enemy. Yet the man he now faced was nothing like the figure of his imagination.
Passive, conservative, and someone with whom one could actually talk.
Of course, he still bore responsibility.
If one wished to assign blame, there was no shortage of it. How could a man who styled himself the great warrior of the Church simply leave its corruption to fester? What had he been doing while the Church rotted to this degree? One could rage over such things—but that would be rage for its own sake.
Najin was furious at those who had deliberately set out to crush him. Directing killing intent at someone who had merely made mistakes in ignorance was far harder.
If I go down that road, I would have to slaughter every single person connected to the Church.
He did not want that.
His aim was only to shatter the structure of the Church and cut down those who had planned this. He had no intention of killing everyone who belonged to it. That would make him nothing more than a butcher.
"Hmm."
While Najin sat with that tangled heart, the Lighthouse Keeper slowly opened his mouth.
"I cannot be certain whether your words are true. I will have to verify them myself. I need to return to the Church and look into the matter."
"…And once you have looked into it?"
Najin asked.
"Once you know, does anything change?"
"That I cannot say. What I wish to learn is not only whether the Church truly did such things, but more importantly why they tried to kill you."
"And if the reason is absurd—if the Church has clearly committed an evil act—what then?"
At that question Eurypylos stroked his chin, then answered briefly.
"Who knows. I will have to see when the time comes."
"…Excuse me?"
"You seem to be under a misconception. I am not the sort of man who cries out for justice or upholds the law. If I were, I would have headed for the Outer Land long ago."
Eurypylos spoke in a flat, indifferent tone.
"At base, I am on the Church's side. I am something like an old friend of the Church—say, a close friend of roughly four hundred years' standing… and when a friend does something a little wicked, one does not immediately drive a knife into his back, does one? First you listen to what he has to say. There is still time to decide after that."
He folded his arms again and leaned back against the chair.
"Judging by the atmosphere, you seem to want to tear the Church down entirely. The Lighthouse, the High Priest, the whole framework of the Holy Light Church itself—you want to smash it all."
"…"
"Silence is as good as agreement. This has grown complicated. Ah—I feel as though I have been dragged into a messy affair. I dislike that."
He scratched at his pure white hair with clear annoyance.
"Najin, was it?"
"Yes."
"I will make the offer one last time. Have you no desire to become Holy Knight Commander of the Holy Light Church? I will grant you the authority. If the High Priest does not sit well with you, kill him. I have no intention of meddling in personal grudges."
But, the Lighthouse Keeper said,
"Anything beyond that is out of the question. I must protect the framework of the Church itself. For my own personal safety, and because I owe a debt to my friend."
He drew a line across the tabletop.
That was the compromise he proposed. He tapped the line lightly with a fingertip, then gave a short tilt of his chin.
"I can give a little more. You may break the framework to a certain degree. I will allow that much. So long as you do not touch one thing, it does not matter."
"And that one thing is?"
"The underground city of Atman."
His finger came down with a soft tap.
"Do you know of the underground city?"
"I do."
"Yes. Well, it is a place where those who have committed grave crimes are quarantined, and it serves its own purpose. If you leave that place alone, I have no particular desire to interfere."
"…And the people locked inside it?"
"Do you know someone there? Unfortunately, that will not do. It is necessary."
"Necessary for what reason?"
"I cannot tell you that. Even explaining this much is a favor I am granting because it seems true that the Church attacked you and that the Church side has wronged you. Accept the favor as a favor. Demanding more than that would be shameless, would it not?"
Najin looked at the line Eurypylos had drawn.
The Lighthouse Keeper was warning him not to cross it. Yet the answer Najin would give to that warning had already been decided.
"Then I must decline."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. My master was quite insistent that if I ever saw a line, I should step over it first and think later."
"He must have been a thoroughly troublesome master."
"A little, yes."
"Then the negotiations have broken down. Ah, what a nuisance."
Eurypylos sighed and tipped his head back. With his neck resting against the chair, he gazed up at the sky. His eyes were fixed on the star of the Lighthouse hanging there.
"All that long journey for nothing. What a waste of time. It makes my insides burn."
"Since the talks have failed, do you intend to kill me?"
"No? Did I not say? Killing is only ever the final resort. Still…"
Eurypylos lowered his gaze to Najin.
"If the situation twists badly enough, it may come to that."
Murder remained the last resort, yet it was still a resort all the same. If there were no other way, he would take it. That was what Eurypylos was saying.
"But as I said, I will have to see when the time arrives. When that moment comes I may stand against you, or I may cooperate with you."
"An ambiguous stance."
"Life is like that. It is not divided into black and white; this is this and that is that—it never splits so cleanly. Is there any creature less consistent than a human being? By then, you yourself may have changed."
Eurypylos shrugged.
"Well then, we shall meet again next time. Or rather, I would prefer there be no need to meet at all."
Eurypylos rose from his seat.
He trudged away.
Watching that retreating back, Najin suddenly asked,
"What is the Holy Light Church to you?"
At the question Eurypylos stopped.
Still halted, he looked back at Najin.
"An old friend."
Having answered, he started walking again, then glanced back once more and added a single line.
"And the reason for my existence as well."
After Eurypylos left, Najin remained seated for a while, sunk in thought.
Merlin.
Yeah.
You heard all of that?
I was listening.
How does he look to your eyes?
How does what look? How strong that Lighthouse Keeper bastard is?
Najin nodded, and Merlin answered briefly.
On the Continent, there is probably no one who can beat him.
…What?
Najin blinked and asked again.
Even including the Empire's three Sword Masters?
Of course I meant including those three.
Doesn't the Lighthouse Keeper only have six stars?
I have told you before—stars do not automatically mean absolute strength. Stars are weapons. Having more weapons to use is certainly an advantage… but that does not necessarily decide victory or defeat.
Once the count approached ten it became a somewhat different story, she said, but stars were not an absolute measure of power.
And that constellation called the Lighthouse Keeper is an exception among exceptions.
An exception.
Whether through Immovability or some other means, the Lighthouse Keeper accumulates his own time. Using that accumulated time, he has made himself an exception to the laws of providence.
The Lighthouse Keeper was free from erosion.
By some method he had escaped it. That was by no means an easy feat, Merlin declared with certainty.
I do not know exactly how much time he has stored, but I have done something similar myself, so I have an idea…
Merlin folded her fingers, calculating.
As I recall, the Lighthouse Keeper began accumulating a little past the age of one hundred, so the stockpile should be a bit over three hundred years? And since he has remained Immovable all that time, he would have had little occasion to spend any of it.
Having finished her count, Merlin said,
If we assume he burns through those entire three hundred years… even if all five pillars of the Empire came at him together, he could still put up a decent fight.
That much?
That is just looking at pure output. Once a fight starts, variables come into play, of course.
Merlin's words lined up with what Dieta had once said. Dieta had told him that the very existence of the Lighthouse Keeper functioned as a kind of deterrent force upon the Continent. The power he possessed was so excessively vast that, paradoxically, it maintained the balance.
"…"
Najin turned over the final words the Lighthouse Keeper had left him.
An old friend, and the reason for his existence.
For a long while, Najin pondered what those words truly meant.