Chapter 59: Behemoth
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 59: Behemoth
I let out a deep sigh as I watched Isabelle, who was radiating menacing blades of wind.
There was no stopping her now.
“Surely you’re not thinking of going after him looking like that?”
“What?”
The look on her face, as if to ask what business it was of mine, told me I was right.
She was going to set off on a journey with broken fingernails and blood streaming from the soles of her feet?
Suppressing another sigh, I pointed a finger toward the second-floor staircase.
“You saw my companions earlier, right? Go upstairs, mention my name, and get treated by a nun named Ophelia. While you’re at it, get some spare equipment.”
“What are you up to?”
“What do you mean? You’re going to find Mars, aren’t you? Not to die. So go get treated.”
Isabelle narrowed her eyes.
“...Seriously, what’s your game? Until now, you were so desperate to keep me and Mars apart, and now you’re helping me find him?”
“I still wish you wouldn’t get involved with Mars. But you don’t seem like the type to stop just because I tell you to, and if you go out recklessly in your state, you’ll probably die. And if you die, Mars will resent me. I’d rather not have that. So go upstairs, get treated, grab some simple gear, and come back down. I’ll tell you which way Mars went after that.”
“...”
Though suspicious, Isabelle must have realized what a mess she was in, because she headed up to the second floor.
A short while later, she came back down, having been treated and lightly armed with leather armor and a rapier.
“Now, tell me. Where did Mars go?”
“To the Empire in the north. He’s probably headed for Laimar City.”
“...Are you sure? You’re not lying, are you?”
The menacing wind swirling around Isabelle grew stronger.
“And if I am, what are you going to do about it? Kill me? Setting aside whether you even have that ability, are you confident you won’t be resented by Mars?”
Isabelle bit her lip hard.
“...If this is a lie, just you wait.”
With those final words, she left the inn.
I stepped out of the inn as well and watched her head north.
Of course, the direction I gave Isabelle was a lie.
Mars had headed east, toward the Carta Kingdom.
Because of that, the two of them wouldn't be meeting for a while.
For a while, at least...
I don’t know what will happen from here on out.
My plan to make Mars and Isabelle go their separate ways had already gone awry.
Isabelle would actively search for Mars, and someday, the two might be reunited.
If that was a happy future for Mars, then fine.
However.
If it turns into a tragedy...
I might get just a little angry with the Goddess.
Only after Isabelle was out of sight did I sigh and turn around. And I was slightly startled.
Neria was leaning against the inn wall, her face deathly pale.
“Neria, was that you? You weren’t in your room... What are you doing here?”
I knew someone was eavesdropping in front of the inn, but I hadn’t expected it to be Neria. At my question, she became flustered and started to stammer.
“N-No... It’s just... I wasn’t trying to listen in... It just wasn’t a good time to go in...”
“Really? Well, the situation was a bit tense. Let’s go inside and have breakfast. We’re leaving right after we eat.”
“Cloud, um, about that... Can we stay just one more day? I’m not feeling very well...”
“Not feeling well? What do you mean...”
I was wondering what she was talking about when I caught the strong stench of alcohol coming from her.
My brow furrowed.
“Don’t tell me you were out drinking all night? Even after I told you we could leave at any moment?”
“N-No, it’s... I-I’m sorry...”
Large teardrops welled up in her eyes and streamed down her cheeks.
“Hey, don’t cry... Sigh, fine. We’ll leave tomorrow, so go inside and get some rest.”
“I’m sorry... I’m sorry...”
No matter how many times I told her it was okay or asked what was wrong, her tears wouldn’t stop.
Neria just kept muttering that she was sorry.
-So that conversation you wanted to have, why didn’t you have it sooner?
I-I wanted to. But I was afraid that if I did... Cloud, you’d be in danger...
-Bullshit.
-Protect me? Who do you think you are?
I’m your childhood friend. I like you. That’s why I promised to protect you.
-At some point, that mentality must have set in. Ah, she’s beneath me. She’s someone I have to protect.
I... I’ve never thought anything like that.
Neria denied Cloud’s words.
They were directed at some pink-haired girl she didn’t know, but they felt like an accusation against herself, so she couldn’t help but deny them.
But she couldn’t deny Cloud’s next words.
-You were more precious to me than anyone.
-Can you imagine what it feels like to be abandoned by someone that precious?
-It feels like a scorching fire is boiling inside your head, and your eyeballs are about to flip over.
-Do you know what comes out instead of tears? Blood. Tears of blood.
-And something huge gets stuck in your chest, right here. It hurts so much. It feels like something precious inside your chest is crumbling away.
A large nail was driven into Neria’s chest.
With every word Cloud spoke, a hammer struck that nail. Her heart began to crack, piece by piece.
She knew, of course, that he would be hurt.
But she had never thought about it deeply.
Because she was afraid.
Neria was afraid to imagine the depth of the wound she had inflicted on Cloud, and so she had run away.
She simply thought that someday, she would be able to comfort him again.
But the truth Cloud had shoved directly into her mind negated her optimistic thinking.
Thump, thump, thump!
The pink-haired girl ran out of the inn, dressed differently than when she had arrived. She left the village and ran toward the forest.
Cloud also came out of the inn and watched the girl run. When she was out of sight, he sighed and turned around, startled to find Neria.
“Neria, was that you? You weren’t in your room... What are you doing here?”
“Ah...”
Neria opened her mouth to answer, then closed it.
What was she supposed to say?
Originally, Neria had planned to talk with Cloud.
She thought that if she confessed everything that had happened and her true feelings, their relationship could become as close as it once was.
But she was wrong.
Everything was different from her expectations... from her optimistic thoughts.
What would happen if she told Cloud the truth now? How would he take it? Wouldn’t it just be like rubbing salt in the wound?
Far from mending their relationship, wouldn’t their current one shatter completely?
Wouldn’t they end up separated forever, just like Mars and that pink-haired girl?
Neria grew afraid.
“N-No... It’s just... I wasn’t trying to listen in... It just wasn’t a good time to go in...”
And so, she ran away once more.
After staying in the village for one more day, Cloud’s party traveled toward the southern part of the Prona Kingdom.
They arrived at the estate of the Oller Ducal Family.
The rulers and great landowners of the southern Prona Kingdom.
“Hero Cloud...? P-Please wait a moment!”
The head chamberlain had been perfectly calm when he led them into the reception room. But after checking the Hero's Badge, he couldn't hide his agitation and hastily left.
It feels like we’ve been waiting for a while, and now we have to wait longer?
It couldn’t be helped, since it was a sudden visit.
Cloud was about to drink his tea when he noticed Eri’s unpleasant expression.
Right, Eri’s supposed to have a bad relationship with her family.
If he remembered correctly, it was because she was an illegitimate daughter and was ignored by her family.
We should get out of this house as quickly as possible.
Just as Cloud was thinking this, the reception room door opened and a middle-aged man entered.
Seeing the two armed knights following him, Cloud figured the man must be the head of the Oller Ducal Family.
The Duke sat at the head of the table, and his knights took up positions on either side of him.
“I couldn’t believe my ears when the chamberlain told me, but it was true. I never thought you, Cloud, would come here.”
“Is my visit so surprising, Duke Oller?”
The Duke’s eyebrow twitched.
Did this brat just speak to me so casually?
The incompetent Hero of the Prona Kingdom, daring to address him, Duke Oller, in such a manner?
Noticing his lord’s displeasure, his knight, Halstion, took a step forward and warned Cloud.
“Sir Cloud, even if you are the Hero, Duke Oller is a great lord who possesses vast territories in the Prona Kingdom. I ask that you show him the proper respect.”
Duke Oller wore a pleased expression at his knight’s words. Cloud, on the other hand, tilted his head as if he didn’t understand. He asked the knight who had issued the warning.
“What is your name?”
“It is Halstion.”
“I see, Sir Halstion. Did you just tell me to show the Duke respect?”
“I did.”
“Then let me ask you something. What disrespect have I shown the Duke? Did I insult him? Did I tarnish his honor?”
“You have not committed such a great disrespect, Sir Hero. You have merely committed the small disrespect of speaking informally to His Grace. I would ask that you speak more formally from now on.”
“Speak more formally?”
Cloud crossed his arms and fell into thought.
Soon, as if he had finished contemplating, he uncrossed his arms and spoke.
“I don’t feel the need to.”
The moment Cloud answered, the aura emanating from the knights chilled the air. The servants attending them froze.
In contrast, not only Cloud but his entire party remained unaffected by the knights’ aura.
No matter how elite the knights of the Oller family were, their presence was nothing compared to the oppressive aura of the Minotaurs that roamed the deeper floors of the dungeon.
Cloud looked at Halstion and continued in a level tone.
“Is a Hero of the Prona Kingdom lower in status than a Duke?”
“...”
Halstion couldn’t answer.
If it were just about Cloud, perhaps, but he had used the word ‘Hero.’ To affirm that would be to drag in not only the other three Heroes but all the Heroes in the continent’s history.
Seeing Halstion unable to answer rashly, Cloud asked again.
“You can’t answer. Then let me ask differently. Is Cloud, the Hero of the Prona Kingdom, lower in status than Duke Oller?”
Halstion thought he could answer that question.
Cloud was a Hero, but unlike the others, he had no special achievements.
His origins were humble, and he had no faction supporting him.
Compared to Duke Oller, the ruler of the southern Prona Kingdom and his master, Cloud was of a lower class.
The fiercely loyal Halstion thought so, and he was about to answer as such.
“Enough.”
If his master, Duke Oller, hadn’t stopped him himself.
“Your Grace?”
“Sir Halstion, that is enough.”
“But...”
“Did I not tell you to stop?”
Halstion flinched at Duke Oller’s heavy voice.
“M-My apologies!”
Halstion immediately bowed his head and stepped back. After confirming his knight had retreated, Duke Oller looked at the Hero and smiled.
“I hope you will forgive my knight’s rudeness. He is a skilled man, but he is young and full of vigor.”
“...”
Cloud didn’t reply, as if to ask if that was all.
Duke Oller sighed.
Finally, he gave Cloud a slight nod.
“My apologies. I will apologize for Sir Halstion’s rudeness.”
“I accept your apology.”
“Thank you.”
Cloud drank his tea. Duke Oller watched him silently.
If Halstion had answered rashly just now, things could have gotten troublesome.
It was true that Cloud had no notable achievements compared to the other Heroes. It was also true that he was a commoner of humble birth with no supporters.
But he was a Hero.
A human chosen by the Holy Sword, forged by the Goddess Iries herself.
And the Hero who represented the Prona Kingdom.
If Halstion had openly declared him to be of lower status than Duke Oller, what would have happened?
Not only would the Church have taken issue with him, but other nobles or even the king might have become wary, mistakenly believing that Duke Oller was trying to place the Hero beneath him.
A single word could have created a great deal of trouble.
“It seems the rumors I heard were true. You’ve changed a great deal since I last saw you.”
A while ago, Duke Oller had heard about the incident at the social gathering in the Empire.
The story was that Cloud had brutally assaulted Gis, and that Frillite, the Empire’s Hero, had defended him.
It was a story that was hard to believe.
“I’ve been through a lot. You can’t help but change, even if you don’t want to.”
But looking at his relaxed demeanor and calm eyes, the Duke had no choice but to realize it.
The incompetent Hero from three years ago, the one who would tuck his tail and run at a mere knight’s shouting, was no more.
Before him stood a proper, real Hero.
“Enough with the pointless talk, let’s get to the heart of the matter. I heard the number of magical beasts has surged in your territory. Have you found the cause?”
“We haven’t determined the exact cause. However, we suspect it might be the work of a Named magical beast. We’ve found some evidence as well.”
A Named magical beast.
A creature like a leader of monsters. Even if you killed it, it wouldn’t be gone for good. Someday, another monster would inherit its mantle.
“If it’s a Named beast-type magical beast, Behemoth is the most likely culprit. Have you called the other Heroes?”
Duke Oller nodded.
“I have already summoned all three of them.”