Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Reunion with the Roving Blade
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I had anticipated that a day like this would come eventually.
Indeed, hadn't it been last autumn that I sent him a letter through Polo, the empire's supply officer who had come looking for Weibin?
Of course, Elric hadn't expected him to show up in quite this manner.
“This must be the royal banquet of Ferdin. It's a rare treat to be invited to a feast in another kingdom. Well... I sincerely hope everyone enjoys a peaceful year ahead.”
He quickly averted his gaze from Elric and addressed the assembly before making his way to the center of the hall.
In an instant, people swarmed around him.
“Elbus Graham... A celebrity has arrived.”
Tiria murmured softly.
Her tone was as if she were revealing some fact Elric was ignorant of.
“He's known as the Roving Blade of the Empire. Even before reaching adulthood, he was a key figure in the wars, only retiring due to injury. His exploits remain legendary across the land, so few in this eastern region haven't heard his name.”
Elric let out a small chuckle at her measured tone.
“I know that too. From traveling the continent...”
Oops, better not say too much.
He swallowed his words, and fortunately, Tiria accepted it with a soft exclamation of “Ah...” and a nod of understanding.
“...Yes, he's famous in many ways. My apologies; I've been rude.”
“No, not at all. If something like this happens again, please explain. I know little of high society.”
Unthinkingly, his hand reached out to cover the back of hers.
Tiria gave a small nod, while Elbus deftly navigated the commotion.
Elric fell deep into thought.
‘The Moon Shadow's initial target was Elbus...’
There was much to consider.
The Moon Shadow had already tried to assassinate him once and suffered a harsh defeat at Elric's hands.
So why target him again now?
It had to be one of two reasons.
‘It's worth risking the danger.’
Or perhaps his appearance here was an unforeseen accident.
Either way, it wasn't pleasant.
Elric felt a surge of displeasure.
‘Why have you come all the way here?’
His gaze fixed directly on Elbus.
In Elric's expectations, Elbus would leisurely tour the east and sneak into Weibin—that was the extent of it.
Elric judged that Elbus, who knew his temperament well, wouldn't deliberately put him in an awkward spot at such a public event.
Yet here he was, unexpectedly.
It couldn't be dismissed as mere whimsy.
Elric knew him as well as Elbus knew him.
Behind that noble demeanor, he always calculated extensively before acting.
Today's appearance was surely part of such calculations.
In that moment, their eyes met.
Elbus smiled faintly and mouthed words.
-Let's talk later.
That was the message.
Elric signaled his agreement with a glance.
And so the main banquet began.
Baba boom!
“His Majesty the King is entering!”
The king made his entrance.
“It gladdens my heart to see all your faces at the start of this new year. Moreover, this year we are honored with an important guest, making it all the more special.”
The middle-aged man began his speech in a dignified voice.
“...Thus, I conclude by wishing Ferdin a year filled with peace. Enjoy yourselves.”
With a wave of his hand, the orchestra shifted to a new melody.
The dance had begun.
“Family Head, perhaps now it's time...”
“No.”
“...Pardon?”
Elric looked at Tiria and said,
“It's a ball. Why not enjoy it a little? Of course, with my knee like this, I can't dance with you.”
A glint appeared in her eyes.
Discomfort, perhaps. But there was no helping it.
Elric felt a twinge of regret, then quickly composed himself and spoke.
“Are you all right with that?”
“...Yes.”
“Good. Then may I step away briefly to handle some business?”
Feeling awkward as he said it, he saw her nod.
Elric stood, saying, “I'll be right back.”
Elbus had already left the banquet hall.
There was no need to search for him.
Wooong—
A mana pulse.
He was signaling his location with a code.
*
The place Elric arrived at was a garden somewhere in the palace.
Whether he'd scouted it beforehand, the area was shrouded in deep silence, far from the banquet hall's clamor.
A garden blooming profusely even in midwinter—a miracle permitted by magic.
Elbus Graham gazed at the flowerbed with a gentle smile.
“It's been a while.”
He turned his head and said.
Elric couldn't help but laugh.
The greeting had a playful edge.
“You always manage to exceed my expectations.”
“Shall I take that as a compliment?”
“Come now, how could that be a compliment? And staring like that the moment I arrive—what am I to do? My heart nearly stopped.”
“My apologies.”
Elbus chuckled and added,
“Well, I'll be. I never dreamed you'd be a married man.”
Elric's lips pressed into a thin line.
For some reason, his face felt flushed with heat.
“That's...”
“No wonder it seemed odd. So many women threw themselves at you, yet you never spared them a glance. No interest in women? All lies.”
“It's not...”
“A devoted husband, then. Roaming the battlefields yet unable to forget your wife...”
“...That's not it, so could you drop it?”
Elric felt his face burning.
Back then, he truly had no time to look at women, and calling him devoted didn't sit right—even he knew he'd wronged Tiria far too much.
It was a tangle of complex circumstances, but Elbus shrugged it off as if dismissing excuses.
“Your lady is quite beautiful.”
“My wife would be jealous if she heard that.”
“It's fine. Ilia is generous about such things.”
As if.
Elric recalled the face of a fiercely spirited woman.
-You're quite the pair, aren't you?
From their first meeting, introduced by him, she'd been bold and outspoken.
Not bringing her along must be his way of keeping Elric's matters secret from her—a considerate gesture.
But was the consideration ending here?
“Honey practically dripping from your eyes. Holding hands, whispering—who knows what. I was dying of curiosity.”
“I said stop.”
“Like a pair of star-crossed lovers. Did you kiss?”
Elric's fist clenched tight.
Only then did Elbus shut his mouth.
Insufferable man.
His knack for slipping away was unparalleled.
Elric sighed and said,
“...You didn't call me out here just for this nonsense, did you?”
Elric was eager for the main topic.
From his deductions, the matter binding him and the Moon Shadow now was far from ordinary.
“I figured you knew roughly. You're not one to act rashly.”
“Ah, assassins? Of course there are. I have plenty of enemies.”
“It's no laughing matter. Those targeting you...”
“To be precise, it's not me they're after.”
“...What do you mean?”
Elric's brow furrowed.
Elbus smiled leisurely and said,
“It's an assassination aimed at the empire's envoy, not me. This position wasn't originally mine; I only secured it last week.”
“...Ah.”
So that was it.
Elric finally understood why the Moon Shadow had taken on this job.
The three assassins begging for their lives on their knees flashed through his mind.
‘They've got it rough too.’
Of all people, their target changed to Elbus—given their timid nature, it must have been a nightmare.
A wry chuckle escaped him.
“You're right on the money.”
Elbus reached out and plucked a flower.
It was red.
“I trust you've been following the news from the western front. Things have changed there, haven't they?”
“...”
“And right when major clashes are about to begin. War is like that, isn't it?”
Elric could guess what came next.
It was a phrase Elbus often uttered.
“Despair for some.”
“And opportunity for others. I remember.”
“You've heard it so often.”
“Have I?”
Elbus chuckled.
Then his expression hardened, his smile turning bittersweet.
“For example, there are those seizing opportunities.”
It wasn't hard to grasp.
An imperial noble coming to the east.
Assassins targeting that noble.
Suppose, hypothetically.
If Elric hadn't been here, and the original envoy—not Elbus—had arrived.
If the Moon Shadow assassinated him.
“An imperial noble assassinated in eastern lands.”
That would mean,
“A fine pretext for war.”
Another sea of blood would be born.
“There are forces wanting the war to expand eastward. Within the empire, perhaps colluding with outsiders.”
Elbus's words chilled Elric's heart.
How far did they intend to drag out that endless war?
“Listen, Kasha... no, Elric. Let me be direct.”
Elbus's gaze turned to him.
“No thoughts of returning to the battlefield? We need you.”
His face was grave.
He wanted an honest answer.
There was something amusing.
In that instant, what flashed in Elric's mind wasn't the battlefield's horrors or grim memories—but a wheat field landscape.
And a certain woman's face.
“I...”
He parted his lips amid hesitation.
“Are the two of you acquainted?”
A third voice intruded.
Elric and Elbus's gazes simultaneously turned toward the source.
There, a burly blond middle-aged man approached.
A man Elric had never actually met.
But Elric knew full well who he was.
“...Count Nimrud.”
The power broker of Ferdin Kingdom who had ordered the assassination.
An unequivocal enemy.
“What an astonishing coincidence.”
He grinned crookedly.