Anastasia Tashkievich
I am definitely not Nikolai Tashkievich. My name is Go Suhyun. The precious name my parents gave me is Go Suhyun, and nothing else. Nikolai Tashkievich is nothing more than the idiot who got shot through with an arrow and died when I was ten years old. So, I answered with confidence.
"It's Go Suhyun?"
"?"
The woman who had been crying just a moment ago stood up, wiped her tears, and pleaded with the Emperor.
"Your Majesty!! This man is not Nikolai Tashkievich!!"
"W-what!! Besides, Tashkievich? Isn't that the family that used to hold the title of Northern Duke?"
An attendant at his side replied, "Yes. It has been so long since we received any news that the title of Duke was passed to the Potocki family a long time ago."
"Hmm... I'm getting old, my memory isn't what it used to be. In that case, Legion Commander!"
The Emperor looked at me with a cold expression. "Did you impersonate the name of the Tashkievich family!"
"No."
"Then why did you introduce yourself as Nikolai Tashkievich!!"
"Because that's what everyone calls me."
I answered calmly. Because that was the truth.
"If you don't believe me, why don't you ask the guys who brought me here?"
"Hmm... My head hurts. Bring those men here at once!!"
The men—the ones wearing flashy armor, that is, the knights—were dragged in and forced to kneel before the Emperor.
"He says he is not Nikolai Tashkievich. Is that true!!"
"I-it is true!!"
"If you speak a falsehood, I will wipe out your lineage for three generations."
Hiccup.
At the Emperor's chilling declaration, the man who had come all the way to the Northern Wall to fetch me wept and shouted, "I, I also just knew him as Legion Commander Nikolai Tashkievich, but he introduced himself as Go Suhyun or something! It was my mistake! Please, kill me!!"
"You are honest. Grant him ten platinum coins."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Just like that, the guy came and went in a flash. The Emperor is fucking cool.
I opened my mouth because there was a fact I needed to add. "Legion Commander Nikolai Tashkievich... that man had his head pierced by an arrow shot by an orc archer and died ten years ago."
"How could that be!!"
The young lady of the Tashkievich family cried out, sobbing.
"I don't know why I became that name, but I am the sole survivor of that legion. Since I survived alone in that demon realm, my strength is more than enough to rival an entire legion. It's not strange to use the title of Legion Commander."
As I calmly listed only the facts, the Emperor's eyes reddened as he approached me. No. Don't come here. The only people allowed to hug me are beautiful girls. I'm telling you, I don't want a bearded old man!!
Squeeze.
The Emperor hugged me anyway and rubbed his beard against my face.
"How truly valiant!!"
"Uwaaaah! Let go of me!!"
"If a ten-year-old commoner survived in that demon realm, how much suffering must he have endured! You are now the Count of Breitenfeld! I shall give you a name as well! You are Go-Shugiru von Breitenfeld!!"
I was forcibly renamed.
Lady Elena looked at me with a dumbfounded expression and said, "Oh my."
There were even tears welling up in her eyes. This is good. Being pitied by a beautiful girl feels really great. So, I wish she would hug me instead of the Emperor, but I suppose that won't happen.
The Emperor rubbed his beard all over my face, then returned to his seat and picked up a wine glass.
"A mere commoner has become the Count of Breitenfeld! It is a double celebration! Everyone, a toast!!"
"Cheers!!"
Everyone drank, but only the Emperor downed his in one shot.
"I shall pour your glass myself."
Glug, glug, glug.
My wine glass was filled to the brim. No, wasn't filling it halfway the standard rule?
"C-cheers."
Anyway, I shouted cheers and downed it in one shot.
"Today is a joyous day, so eat, drink, dance, and sing to your heart's content! I shall take my leave now!!"
The Emperor said that and left. The Emperor's attendant approached me. This person was also fucking pretty. Not as pretty as Lady Elena, but pretty nonetheless. Thump.
Just as I was failing to control my heartbeat, the attendant said, "The granted jewels and platinum currency have all been sent to the Breitenfeld County. Please check them when you visit the territory later."
She left after saying that.
......
So, the only ones left around me were Lady Elena, myself, and the Tashkievich-something. The Tashkievich-something had collapsed on the spot and was crying in a hushed voice. The other people in the banquet hall went back to dancing, drinking, and enjoying the delicacies. I tried to approach Elena to ask for a dance, but Elena went to the Tashkievich-something first and said, "I understand the circumstances, but this is a public place. Come, stand up."
With that, the two of them disappeared outside the banquet hall.
......
What is this? What the hell kind of fucked-up thing just happened? I quickly followed Lady Elena.
There, the Tashkievich-something was sniffling and complaining, "I saw it too. I saw my father get hit by an arrow and die. Because I was there too!"
"Then why did you come?"
"I didn't think anyone would impersonate my father's name. Even if he was hit by an arrow, he could have survived! I saw my father get hit by an arrow and ran away on the spot, so I didn't know for sure if he was dead!! Hwaaaah..."
Ah. Was that the brat?
The day I hunted goblins one after another and unlocked the ability of the Weapon Warehouse. I saw a blonde girl running away after seeing the Legion Commander die from an arrow. The Legion Commander was blonde too. Then it connects.
"Hey, Weapon Warehouse."
Weapon Warehouse
Which weapon would you like to retrieve?
"The Legion Commander's sword."
Executing command.
The Legion Commander's sword was held in my hand. I approached where the Tashkievich girl was and handed it to her. She looked back and forth between me and the sword, then asked, "T-this is..."
"It's the Legion Commander's sword."
"Father's..."
She took the sword, caressed it, and seemed to be recalling the past. "Truly, Father's sword..."
"I told you it was."
The Legion Commander who had already died is weaker than me. So I copied the weapon. I don't remember why I did it. Anyway, a sudden curiosity arose, so I asked her, "You, what's your name?"
She looked me straight in the eye and answered, "Anastasia. Anastasia Tashkievich."
"Anastasia."
As expected, that's the name. She's pretty. As pretty as Elena. She's even prettier when a beautiful girl cries. So I comforted her even more.
"The Legion Commander's last words were also 'Anastasia'."
"Ah, Father..."
She wrapped her arms around the sword, curled up on the floor, and began to cry as if she were losing her breath. Elena looked back at me with a flustered expression, but I shrugged my shoulders proudly.
I might be a pretty sweet guy.
The North was hell. The Great Wall built at the northernmost tip of the Empire was a hell even worse than that. After watching my father get hit by an arrow, I fled with my mother to the far south and reached the Imperial Capital. I lived relying on my mother's family. Life was affluent. I didn't starve; in fact, I had plenty. I wore nice clothes. I didn't have to walk much, either. Because there was a carriage.
Even so, my life was hell. I could not forget the sight of my father's body being pierced by an arrow for even a single moment. I could not forget the blood-soaked air of the Great Wall for even a single day. I was merely a shabby fugitive. I abandoned the soldiers who were fighting while dying. I abandoned the territory's people I was supposed to protect. I would have been better off dying there myself.
I look at the man standing before me. This man is a soldier I couldn't save. Look at those eyes. A person who has lived a normal life does not have eyes like that. This man is a territory resident I couldn't protect. In the North, they were so short on manpower that they even dragged in boy soldiers. This man standing before me was a true monster who survived alone in that hellish Great Wall. A ghost of the North who returned holding my father's sword.
The one word he spat out with an indifferent face tore my heart to shreds.
"The Legion Commander's last words were also 'Anastasia'."
My father was looking for me until the moment he died. He was worried about me. I should have been there too. Yet, I ran away in a hurry just to save myself. I'm suffocating. This man didn't offer me comfort. He asked me, who has been hiding cowardly for ten years. Why did you run away from that spot? Why didn't you face your father's death? Why did you leave us behind and go south?
Like that.
"Ah......"
I am trash. Trash not even worth as much as a dog. No. That might be rude to a cute dog. I am a maggot. A woman not even worth as much as a maggot. I deserve to die. Yet, I want to live.
I hugged my father's old sword and prostrated myself on the floor.
My forehead touched the tips of his feet.
Judgment. I must willingly offer my life to this great survivor to wash away my sins.
"Please......"
A moan leaks out before I know it.
"Please...... use me as the Legion Commander's dog......"
With all my sincerity, that is what I said.
"Please...... use me as the Legion Commander's dog......"
Anastasia's words. Hearing that, only one thought came to mind.
What kind of bullshit is that? Is she a crazy bitch?