That They Might Remain (1)
After parting ways with the peddlers, we arrived at a small but well-developed city: Deorfumain.
“Wow, the checkpoint’s really packed.”
Just as Deathbringer said, the checkpoint at Deorfumain was thronged with people. Most of them looked like merchants—judging by the loaded wagons they drove or the bulging packs strapped to their backs.
“Maybe because the city’s built along the river, there seem to be an awful lot of traders.”
And because of that, we’d already been waiting for a full thirty minutes. It was the first time since we’d set a record back in Far Enoch.
“This place has always lived off trade… but even I didn’t expect this many.”
“Still, compared to everyone else, aren’t we getting in early?”
At that, the Inquisitor spoke up in her earnest, rounded voice. She had a point. Ordinary people spent at least an hour in situations like this. We only got through faster because of our special occupations.
“Even if we’re receiving consideration because of our special status, we mustn’t grow accustomed to privilege.”
“That’s correct. There’s nothing to regret about it.”
“Oh, come on. Who asked to be let in early? I just said it was crowded.”
“You looked so disappointed, that’s why I said it.”
“What? Ha, unbelievable. What did I even do?”
Anyway, two or three groups still stood ahead of us before we could enter the city. Bored, I gently stroked Frederick’s nape. The half-chaotic market atmosphere around us while we waited made me worry the horse might throw a fit.
Frederick was tough enough not to flinch at distant explosions, but toughness and the ability to endure noise were two different things.
“Worry about yourself first, softie.”
“I am reflecting on myself plenty!”
“Really? Are you sure about that?”
“You should do some self-reflection yourself, you bastard!”
In that spirit—please hold it in. Hold it in. Watching his tail swish sideways and his ears flatten back, I felt like I was cradling a time bomb.
“Next!”
Fortunately, our turn came before Frederick exploded. I took the rear of the party and led him forward.
“That’s right, did you hear? About Lady Biryuho……”
“Ha, I heard ages ago. Calling him a hero—how could he do that to the guardian deity of the East……!”
“I heard it was the same everywhere else too. Actually… wasn’t he a demon spy?”
“Nonsense! Don’t say that! You’ll get in trouble with the temple people!”
Then, of all things, the group beside us brought up Biryuho. It wasn’t strange. This city sat close to Ednium and Camborer, and enough time had passed for the news to start circulating.
“The nobles said so, didn’t they? That the guardian deity had actually been drying up this land. So they had no choice but to kill her!”
“Ha, who believes that? Nobles lying isn’t new!”
“Come on. The temple said the same thing.”
“The temple’s all the same. The higher-ups are all liars.”
But this kind of malicious talk was a first for these people. No—not the first, but the first time such malice had reached me this closely.
My gaze flicked instinctively toward the Inquisitor. At this distance she must have heard it too.
“What is it?”
“…Nothing, Inquisitor.”
She seemed to have decided not to show anything. Archmage and Deathbringer also glanced her way, but the Inquisitor only looked puzzled in return.
“More importantly, let’s go! The inspection is over!”
…Well, fine. If it hadn’t wounded her, that was enough. It wasn’t something for me—who sought only the barest minimum of interaction—to worry about.
“Demon Knight, will you stay outside again this ti—”
“Mage.”
“Uh.”
More to the point, we had finally entered the city. In other words, it was time to part ways.
“…I’m listening.”
“The length of our stay is—”
Still, we needed to set the schedule before separating. We weren’t going our completely separate ways.
I stared only at the Archmage with the coldest eyes I could manage. Catching my intent, he stroked his staff.
“We don’t particularly have business here… so I expect we’ll leave the day after tomorrow.”
A swift answer.
“…Shall we meet at the Adventurers’ Guild the morning of two days from now? Around seven o’clock.”
And with the exact time specified—the answer I had hoped for most. Perfect.
“Instead, even if just for a moment, the temp—”
“Confirmed.”
I replied lightly, then left the party. With the meeting time and place decided, there was no reason to hesitate. Even if the Archmage had been about to say something… if it had truly been important, he would have run after me or shouted it. Seeing him just sigh and back off, it must have been something I didn’t need to hear.
“Uh, uhhh……”
My hand led Frederick as I strode straight into the city. Behind me the Inquisitor and Deathbringer made dazed sounds, but that wasn’t my concern. I was gone in an instant.
Hiiing.
“Wait.”
I needed to move quickly if I wanted to find an inn that could take care of a horse.
Puhing.
“…Endure it.”
Separately—were all horses like this? Always trying to eat little and often? I opened my inventory, marveling once again at the things research alone could never teach. The snacks for Frederick I’d brought from Camborer were starting to run low.
Once I secured an inn, I’d have to restock right away. Not just that—I needed lunchboxes, drinking water, and to remake the heated stones. I sorted through today’s and tomorrow’s tasks while organizing the schedule. It was a relief we weren’t leaving first thing tomorrow.
“You!”
Then someone shouted. The man’s worn, tattered temple armor and the half of his face twisted by burns burned themselves into my vision. The former was the mark of an Inquisitor; the latter, a personal scar.
“How dare one who bears demon energy!”
And “one who bears demon energy.”
The moment I heard that cry, my mind went cold. I couldn’t decide whether to be grateful he hadn’t simply called me a demon, or to be flustered by the raw hostility. Either way, the situation had become troublesome all the same.
“Everyone who doesn’t want to get involved, stand back!”
“I-It’s an Inquisitor!”
“What? What’s going on?”
“Right now! If you don’t want to die, put some distance! And you—contact the temple at once!”
So what now. The man had clearly decided I was an enemy… After joining the hero’s party, this was the first time something like this had happened to me. It left me rather at a loss.
“Ha, so you’re waiting for me, demon?!”
“…Be grateful for your affiliation. If not for that, I would have ripped your tongue out by the root.”
Of course it wasn’t as if temple people had never stopped me before—especially when I wandered cities alone, separated from the party.
“Hypocrisy from a mere demon!”
“Foolish……”
But even when they stopped me, it had never led to a fight. Every temple person who approached me had followed the guidelines sent down from above.
“I haven’t even received—”
“O God, grant me the power to defeat evil……!”
“Ha.”
Guidelines like: Even if they harbor demon energy, if their hair is divided into ash-gray and black, they carry a two-handed sword, and their right eye is covered by an eyepatch, do not rashly treat them as an enemy—attempt dialogue.
It was consideration from higher-ups reminding everyone that I was a companion of the hero, and though I harbored demon energy, I was not a target for hostility. Whether that consideration was for me—who had to explain myself every time—or for the temple people who would get smashed if they attacked under a misunderstanding, I didn’t know.
Anyway, thanks to those guidelines reaching even the lowest ranks, until now I’d only ever faced sudden inspections—May I confirm whether you’re the one I’ve heard of? Ah, you are. Pardon me—never anything that escalated into a fight like this.
“Die!”
In other words, this situation was a first. Troublesome.
Clang!
I quickly drew my longsword and caught the oncoming blade. The faintly glowing edge, imbued with holy power, was quite heavy.
Grrrind.
But not so heavy I couldn’t hold it. I locked swords with him in a contest of strength while my right hand kept hold of Frederick’s reins. The horse shook his head and poured out complaints, clearly unhappy with the situation.
Clang!
In the meantime the opponent recovered his sword. He seemed to have realized he couldn’t win a pure contest of force.
“Tsk.”
Eyes blazing with rage snapped into the next stance. As a bonus he put more distance than usual between us, as if expecting me to attack.
“What the heck is going on?”
“Dunno. Seems like a heretic.”
“Heretic?”
For me—who had zero intention of attacking—it was a rather comical sight.
“You……!”
Perhaps taking it as an insult, his pupils burned hotter still. Gray hair a shade lighter than mine fluttered in the wind.
Clang, cla-clang!
But he still showed no sign of stopping. I crossed blades again with the charging man. Left, right, down, up. The arbitrary sword paths were a bit tricky. It was a novel experience in its own way—not the part about fighting under a misunderstanding, but the part about having to fight while fixed in one place.
“Ohh……”
“A knight?”
“What, why is an Inquisitor fighting a knight?”
“Who knows……?”
Of course—with Frederick right behind me, the option of evasion had completely vanished. Holding the reins also made it impossible to free my right hand or shift sideways. Using mana wasn’t convenient either. Strengthening my body or coating the weapon might be fine, but scattering sword energy or mana spears would be far too threatening; civilians could easily get caught up in it. And since it could become a problem later, I couldn’t inflict major harm on the opponent either.
For someone who had always fought offensively based on speed, this was nothing but novelty.
“Hyaah!”
More than that—you bastard, don’t put the horse in the attack range. What’s the horse’s crime?
I frowned as I watched him freely use stances with large preparation motions, taking full advantage of the fact that I wasn’t moving first. The thrusts and downward strikes in particular were infuriating. Their reach was so long I absolutely couldn’t dodge, yet when I tried to parry, the path was awkward or the force was simply too much.
Still, I used my head a little, gripping the sword reverse like a tonfa and somehow enduring with my forearm as well… but even so it strained my wrist. It was starting to throb.
“Di—!”
“Know your place.”
After parrying roughly three thrusts and taking about two downward strikes, my patience finally hit its limit. The mana I had been feeding into the blade to keep it from breaking or bending swelled several times over and dyed the sword black.
Kill me?
Seok!
“—!”
The thin impulse faded. The opponent’s sword, mid two-handed downward strike, was sheared off like soft tofu. Whoosh. The severed fragment spun once and stuck into the ground behind him.
His eyes flew wide.
“Still……!”
Yet even then he showed no sign of giving up. Honestly, I was starting to get fed up.
“Not yet! Damn demon!”
Well… being thorough against demon contractors is fine, but isn’t this going too far? If I had lost my temper and started attacking, that would be one thing. By this point he himself should have realized I was holding back.
I barely swallowed a sigh as I looked at someone whose professional spirit was thorough to a fault. It was even more dejecting that no one had picked a fight other times, yet this happened right when I was deliberately putting distance between myself and the hero’s party. Whether that distance and this fight were coincidence or inevitability, being wronged still felt wronged.
Clatter.
Meanwhile the opponent had dropped his sword again and clenched his fists. I didn’t have much bare-knuckle experience. At any rate, it was a problem when the other party was too enthusiastic.
“That’s enough. You’ve lost.”
Thankfully, there was no need. Berserk had barged into the fight.
“Or do you intend to become a foolish and despicable person who doesn’t know how to accept defeat?”
When she had started watching, I had no idea. This type of combat was a first for me, so I hadn’t paid attention to the surroundings. And when Berserk deliberately concealed her presence, she was hard to find.
“This man is a demon contractor! What do you know……!”
“Are you an idiot? If he had set his mind to it, not only you but everyone around here would already be dead.”
“I’m not talking about force……!”
“If not force, then what can you discuss?”
Anyway, Berserk stomped forward and planted herself between us. The circle of onlookers now focused their stares on her. She paid them not the slightest attention. Her wrinkled eyes fixed coldly on my opponent.
“Whether one harbors demon energy inside, or mana, or holy power—power is power. Just as a sword and a mace differ, and magic and blades differ, yet the fact that they can kill people is the same.”
“That’s sophistry—”
“Therefore, no matter what the essence is, a strong person enduring is in itself a kind of proof, you weak and petty thing.”
“……!”
That was… unexpected. She was usually the very definition of hearty; I hadn’t imagined she could carry such a chill.
“What, what do you know……”
“Demon Knight!”
Then another voice cut in—loud, upright, and solid.
“I heard there was a disturbance and came……!”
It was the Inquisitor.
“Let’s go.”
Prrt.
If the Inquisitor had arrived, the incident was as good as over. Nothing landed as straight as a hero’s word. Moreover, because I had fought quietly, there was nothing particular to clean up afterward. The witnesses weren’t a problem I could solve. So I could leave. With that calculation I simply walked away, not forgetting to grumble inwardly about what a stroke of bad luck this was.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
“Ha. You’re no warrior.”
“Let—let go!”
“Wait, Demon Kni—huff. Berserk? What’s going on? And you……?”
“That attire is an Inquisitor… Sister, perfect. Right now that man……!”
“Yes? Did the Demon Knight do something?”
The one fortunate thing was that people parted like the Red Sea the moment they met my eyes. I walked comfortably through the gap they made. Please—just let me find an inn quickly and rest.
I’m tired.