The Bandit's Toll
“My proper greetings are late. Good day to you, Lord Rowell. Lord Bagloros. My name is Eledia Nadens.”
After we each had a light drink—mine and Rowell’s beer, Elena’s tea, Bagloros’s soup—the atmosphere had eased enough for Elena to collect herself and formally greet Rowell and Bagloros. She, too, seemed quite shaken by Jane’s condition.
And Eledia Nadens was her real name.
“Yes, hello. Anak has already told us about you.”
“Good day.”
By now I should have been used to Bagloros’s voice, yet it still startled me every time I heard it.
“Could you tell us more about those Dark Temple people?”
After offering Jane a brief word of comfort and regret over what had happened, we moved on to the subject of the Dark Temple and Lord Kainaxnus.
“You mean they took an entire village through a dimensional gate?”
I couldn’t help raising my voice. I had known it was theoretically possible, but I had never imagined something like moving a whole village to another dimension would actually happen.
“Yes. Lord Dragonlord opposed it, but in the end three dragons lent their aid, so it became possible. I suppose that was the smallest mercy they could show while still bound by the pact.”
“So the other summoners currently using Anak’s name—are they all from that group?”
“No. Two of them are people Lord Kainaxnus rescued who happened to have summoning talent, but the other two joined later out of concern over the Dark Temple’s existence. They had already been working privately to improve the public image of summoners, which allowed us to come up with various methods.”
“Then how large is the Dark Temple at present?”
No, Rowell. There’s no need to take it that seriously.
“We cannot say for certain, but from what we have heard, there have been no confirmed activities within Melpis or Shelmil. Still, the atmosphere among summoners is clearly uneasy. Moreover, we have heard that suspicious letters are being sent to summoners expelled from Shelmil and Melpis in several other countries, including Polsong and the Asen Principality. For now, we estimate their numbers at around a hundred.”
At the mention of a hundred, Rowell’s expression finally relaxed a little. Right. Summoners were few to begin with, so there was no need for excessive worry.
Besides, unless they had some truly exceptional summoner among them, a hundred people would ultimately be nothing special.
“So there have been no unusual movements?”
“Fortunately, it seems they have not yet taken any direct action against ordinary citizens.”
Of course not. If the situation had truly been dire, she and the others would have poured all their efforts into tracking them down rather than focusing on improving public perception. Besides, as she said, it was impossible to return to the era of the Dark Priests now.
Originally, I had learned of the forbidden spells of that era because the governors of Aphros had granted me access to the forbidden texts related to the Dark Priests at my request. Of course, Lord Medrup, Rowell, and Aegina had opposed it. Especially Lauti—she had even broken her vow of silence to try to stop me.
But I had no choice. They did not know, but at the time I had to find some way to replace “that” spell. If it meant I could replace that spell, then even if it was some horrific forbidden art from the past, yes—even that accursed sacrificial summoning—I would have gladly chosen it.
In any case, unless someone among the Dark Temple’s members had stolen the relevant books from Aphros’s forbidden archives—where even the Demon King’s commanders could not intrude—or already knew their contents, they would never become true Dark Priests; they would only bear the name. At best, they would be nothing more than a large band of thieves commanding an army of summoned beasts.
“Since Lord Kainaxnus and his companions are pursuing them, they should be able to uncover their true nature soon.”
“There’s no need to worry, Rowell. We’ve heard plenty about the exploits of the Dragon’s Ally, Lord Kainaxnus, ever since our academy days. Besides, those who are truly ideological extremists will be few in number.”
In cases like this, the vast majority were simply riding the wave of the atmosphere. Once the leaders were dealt with, they would scatter as if nothing had ever happened.
“Besides, if the hero gets involved for no reason, the matter will only grow larger.”
At those words, Rowell finally nodded. He would worry, of course, but he would not insist on joining when I put it that way.
After that, we chatted about this and that while waiting for Aegina to come down. We hoped she would come down and tell us that Jane was all right. But even after quite some time, she did not appear, and it was only when dinner time arrived that she finally descended the stairs, looking somewhat tired.
“How is she?”
“She’s fine. She must have been exhausted—she fell asleep a little while ago.”
Aegina walked slowly toward Elena, who bowed her head to her.
“It is an honor to meet you, Lady Aegina. My name is Eledia Nadens.”
“Yes, hello. I wish we could have met under better circumstances. It’s a shame.”
“Yes. It truly is.”
At Aegina’s words, Elena’s voice grew a little smaller.
“Would you like to join us for dinner?”
“It is a very kind offer, but I am afraid I cannot. I must head to a village near the Pengshan Mountains to drive out werewolves that appear every night.”
She took a small crystal orb from her bosom and handed it to me. It was a communication crystal.
“If you wish to contact us, please use this.”
She bowed politely to us once more and left the inn. Given her personality, she had probably waited all this time just to greet Aegina in person.
Werewolf extermination, huh. I had heard their numbers had greatly decreased because of the last great war, but it seemed they still inhabited this region.
I slipped the crystal she had given me into my pocket and ordered dinner. Of course, I did not forget to ask them to prepare sandwiches in case Jane woke up later and wanted something to eat.
* * *
The next day, Jane returned home by carriage. Rowell and Aegina had wanted to escort her personally, but she firmly refused, saying she could not trouble them any further, so only Bagloros accompanied her and planned to rejoin us later.
While parting, Aegina held her hand several times, and at the final farewell she pulled her into a tight embrace. It was like an older sister looking after a younger one, and Jane had surely drawn strength from Aegina’s demeanor.
Afterward, we left Winzes and were climbing the mountain path toward the next village. My horse, which had been tied up in the stable for the past few days, seemed to have felt cramped; it picked up speed at the slightest opening, pulling slightly ahead of the others.
“……”
Aegina had remained silent ever since. She was probably still worried about Jane. Rowell, out of consideration for her, said nothing, so a long silence stretched between the three of us.
“…By the way, Aegina.”
I disliked that silence. At my call, both Rowell and Aegina turned to look at me at the same time, and I found the sight rather amusing.
“Back when I first said I would reply by letter, and even now, you seem to understand Jane’s feelings quite well. Do you have experience with something like that?”
At my question, both their eyes filled with bewilderment, and I could not suppress the smile that rose to my lips. Come to think of it, there had been this kind of atmosphere at the beginning of our journey. They had feelings for each other yet could not express them, so they would startle at every little word from me or the others.
While I found that sight rather cute, I had once thought I would never be able to feel that way myself—yet somehow it felt as if I had returned to that time for a moment.
“Oh, Anak, really! Don’t say such nonsense!”
She looked back and forth between me and Rowell, desperately denying it. At that sight, Rowell smiled faintly in relief. Well, Rowell might not have known, but the fact that he was her first love was something all of us who had traveled together understood. Otherwise, she would not have been so clumsy at expressing her emotions.
Besides, after she had challenged that noble’s son who was harassing a woman at the ball to a duel on the spot and nearly beaten him to death, no man had dared approach her again—or so I had heard from the king and Ed. So there was no way anything like that had happened.
“…It is only because I know from the maids who used to help me with my appearance that they suffered similar things at the hands of knights. Of course, that knight did it on purpose.”
“Let me guess. That knight was beaten black and blue and kicked out of the palace, right?”
“Something like that.”
And it was probably Aegina herself who had done the beating.
“Anyway, it really is different being a woman. I have seen countless things like that from the sidelines, yet I never once thought of it that way.”
Oh, it would be a lie to say there was not a mischievous smile on my face.
“Men are all the same. But Anak, when exactly did you see so many things like that?”
“Why? Did you think I had nothing to do with that sort of thing?”
Watching her flustered expression was delightful. So was watching Rowell, who was still smiling without knowing what was coming.
“No, it is just that you have never mentioned anything like that before.”
“Right. You never said anything like that to me either.”
Oh, Rowell. Stop looking so curious. I am about to burst out laughing.
“I saw plenty of it at the academy. Girls confessing to you or Senior Julian and getting rejected was practically a rite of passage for the female students at our academy.”
At my single remark, the laughter vanished from both Rowell’s and Aegina’s faces. I turned my head back to face forward and loosened the reins slightly, letting the horse do as it pleased. The horse seized the opportunity and quickened its pace, putting a little distance between me and the two of them.
But even with the distance, I could still clearly hear that one line.
“Rowell, what did that mean?”
“Ah, no, Aegina. That is……”
Oh, Hero of Light. Please do not blame me too much for this prank. It has been a long time since our journey felt like the old days; should we not have a little fun?
Besides, back then, before those confessions, it had been me who had to deal with the countless female students’ questions and schemes trying to learn Rowell’s ideal type or similar information. So surely this much could be forgiven.
In any case, I savored that old feeling for a while, watching their adorable lovers’ quarrel.
“Ah, come to think of it, when it was May Torres’s turn, she asked for time to think and the whole academy was in an uproar, wasn’t it?”
“Anak!”
It was a shame that this prank could only be used this one time—first and last. There were hardly any other ways to put Rowell in such a difficult position.
But just as I was thoroughly enjoying myself, I sensed a suspicious and rather ominous presence gathering on the hill in the distance. Of course, Rowell and Aegina must have sensed it too. It simply was not enough to make them stop their lovely conversation.
Come on, surely not? It could not be that, right?
And finally, as we neared the hill, people aiming arrows appeared from the bushes on both sides of the road, and a group of people holding swords in one hand emerged.
Right. I had hoped it would not be, but of course it was.
“Now then, from here on, we would appreciate it if you paid the toll.”
Bandits, at this point in time.