Hyde Clashes with Nicholas! #2

"Whew, that was really stifling. Fride—meeting her in person, she's such a magnificent woman! Do you think I could become someone like that someday? She has a presence completely different from my master's—"

On the road back to the inn, Psyche fanned her flushed cheeks with both hands. She had seemed fine at the time, but the weight of meeting such heavyweights must have been pressing on her more than she realized.

"More than that, me being appointed a Gold Badge Knight… it was so sudden I still can't quite believe it. Do you think I can handle it? Hyde, what do you think? Honestly, I wanted to refuse. It's such an enormous position, and I'm… in so many ways…"

Psyche was being passive about the appointment, but the truth was that her becoming a Gold Badge Knight was only natural. It had been that way before, after all. This was clearly the calling and providence the Lord Elohim had prepared for her.

"Psyche, a pure and devout soul like yours will handle it better than anyone."

I know because I saw it myself. Among the Gold Badge Knights expanded to the Seven, Psyche's exploits shone the brightest. She clashed with the enraged Las over and over and still came out alive every time.

"Psyche, when you insisted on keeping your vow of chastity even after marriage, I wondered what the Lord Elohim's will could possibly be. Now I see. Providence truly is marvelous, is it not?"

I praised her. Psyche would become a Holy Knight finer than anyone. She would surpass even Alter Archibold and be revered as a true "Saintess" in every sense of the word. A single white lily blooming amid the adversity of wicked heretics and cultists. I was certain I would see that sight again.

And if Psyche becomes a Gold Badge Knight, I'll be able to keep tabs on the Order and the other knights' movements!

"Psyche, as the Agarpe family already has a black mark with the Order, you know full well you cannot refuse this appointment. Even so, I must say—you absolutely must accept this offer."

"……"

Psyche pouted, lips pushed out as if something about it displeased her.

What's she unhappy about? Psyche, thanks to your performance in front of Rust, a whole lot of soldiers were poured into the Agarpe domain, and the oil tax was reduced to a tithe—your family's finances improved, didn't they? Honestly, half that credit belongs to me for playing Rust and pushing you forward, right?

Then Psyche slapped both her cheeks with a sharp smack.

"Lady Fride said it, didn't she? That I was appointed Gold Badge Knight in order to capture that man Rust. So once I catch him, I won't need to remain a Gold Badge Knight anymore, right?"

"Well, early retirement for a Gold Badge Knight is unprecedented, but at the very least you could submit a formal request."

"I will! I'll catch that man for sure! Actually, yesterday I heard my little brother Dihon's condition has improved dramatically! And I also realized that I like you, Hyde—far more than I thought!"

Psyche's face was burning red as she said it.

Psyche likes me more than she thought… Is this the first time a woman has given me such a pure, fresh confession? Sure, I once heard Milione say things like "Rust, rape me!" but that was far too indecent and blasphemous. No count. I want to erase it from my memory. Therefore, this is the first time I've ever received a confession from a woman.

"Psyche, so that means…?"

"Hyde, if you suddenly got swept into danger and disappeared like yesterday, I think I'd be truly heartbroken. And that made me think… it might be nice if we had a child who looked like both of us…"

Psyche. Has she decided it's all right to break her vow of chastity? Originally the vow was for her brother Dihon's health. Now that Dihon is better, maybe she thinks she no longer needs to keep it.

"What you wanted to tell me yesterday… was it that? The thing you couldn't say because of the purification rite we performed to meet Fride…?"

At my question Psyche's face turned even redder. She hesitated, fidgeting, then scuffed the dirt of the road with the toe of her shoe.

"Actually, I wanted to say it much earlier than yesterday, but with everything so busy there was never time… And now I've been appointed a Gold Badge Knight like this…"

Talk about impeccable timing. A little unfair, honestly. But on the other hand, the way everything slots together so perfectly like destiny… I truly feel the Lord's providence. The Lord has a plan for everything.

Ssk—.

Psyche tightly clasped my hand. Her eyes, glistening with moisture, met mine.

"Now that it's come to this, I'll capture that man Rust with everything I have. For the world. And for you, Hyde—and for the family we'll have together…!"

"……!"

Am I supposed to be happy about this or not?! Being able to be fruitful and multiply with my wife Psyche is pretty great, but to do that I have to catch Rust? Goddamn it! Nothing in this world comes easy! Then again, my life has been hard mode from the moment I was born! The Lord gives trials that humans can bear, right? The fact that the trials and tests crashing down on me are so harsh means my soul is stronger than anyone else's—strong enough to endure them.

That was when it happened.

Psyche kept silently locking eyes with me. It was the first time our gazes had held this long, and I felt a chill—as if those clear eyes were piercing straight through everything inside me.

"Is something the matter?"

"No, Hyde. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I was just thinking how black your eyes are—like someone spilled ink into them. Is that a Midbar trait? Or is it just you?"

"I couldn't say. I don't really know myself."

"Because of Miss Lucy's mother, so many Midbar children and women died… It's such a cruel story. And yet you still tried to defend Miss Lucy."

"Lucy's mother and Miss Lucy herself must be viewed separately."

And my mom is a twenty-first-century human, after all.

"You two are back late. I heard Fride left Veneto over an hour ago. Did you sneak off and eat something tasty without me?"

Milione. This girl really lived life at her own leisurely pace. Was she that jealous that Psyche and I had finally enjoyed a quiet little stroll as husband and wife?

Milione kept going.

"So what did that Fride woman say?"

"Miss Milione, I've been appointed a Gold Badge Knight—just like your older brother, Sir Alter Archibold."

"What? Come again?"

Milione looked like she couldn't process it. Of course she couldn't—it was that astonishing. Psyche spent a good while explaining everything that had happened, and Milione's expression shifted by the second.

"Wait, that means— Psyche, you have to keep your vow of chastity forever? Puhahaha!"

Milione burst out laughing as if it were the funniest thing in the world. She was so loud the guest in the next room yelled, "Keep it down over there!"

"It's too hilarious! Married and still appointed a Gold Badge Knight! In this world! Forced to stay pure forever!"

"It's not forever! Once I catch Rust I'm retiring immediately!"

"Which means forever! You think you can catch Rust? That man is like fog. No substance. No one will ever catch him."

"He does have substance! There were a lot of theories about him this time! He's about 183 centimeters tall, silver-tongued, writes well, and has ties to the nobility!"

"Ohh? Is that so? A man connected to the nobility… Now that you mention it, it makes sense. If he's hiding his face with a mask because his status is something that absolutely cannot be revealed…"

Milione sank into thought.

This atmosphere is bad for me. Rust's identity is a man who writes well. Anyone would immediately think of me—Hyde, author of the world's greatest masterpiece, Backstreet Nymph's Village! Time to change the subject!

"Enough of that talk. Milli, any news while we were gone? How's Miss Lucy doing? What about Abbess Midnar?"

"I think those two are at the Grand Cathedral? You didn't run into them there? And a letter came from the Black Knights. I already opened it and read it."

Milione held out the letter.

She just casually opened and read a letter addressed to me. What a completely rude bitch.

Thinking that, I unfolded the paper. The contents were as follows.

"Knight Nicholas is claiming possession by Rust for the series of charges against him?"

"Yeah! Isn't it hilarious? Think it's real?"

That bastard Nicholas. Cornered, so he scrambled his brains for any way out. But he doesn't realize the sturdy fortress he crawled into is actually a trap, does he? It's late now, so tomorrow I'll head to the Black Knights' barracks. Nicholas, you son of a bitch—I'm going to thoroughly wreck you.

Inside the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠carriage leaving Veneto, Fride, her face hidden behind a black ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠veil, gazed out the window. Amid the changing scenery she asked the knight seated across from her, almost absently:

"So, Sir Roland. How was she?"

"Psyche will make an excellent knight. His Holiness Gregory's eye remains as sharp as ever."

"She was a spirited child. And remarkably… beautiful. If that terrible war hadn't broken out twenty years ago, she might even have become queen—betrothed to Pendragon's son."

"……"

"If the war had never come, would you and I look different than we do now? I still think about it sometimes. That day Pendragon took Asya away. If you had taken me with you as well…"

"……"

Roland kept his silence. Fride tried to picture the man beneath that black armor and helm. Once she had loved him enough to risk death. Twenty years later she could no longer fully recall even his face. Perhaps the man she had loved was already dead beneath that cold black steel. Perhaps the armor was filled only with cold mud and something squelching.

The thought made her suddenly laugh.

It's the same for me. Beneath these black clothes, the self he once loved no longer exists anywhere. This is our punishment… For us, simply living each ordinary day is hell itself…

It was the moment Rust's claim—that the very act of humans living in this world of suffering was a sentence he himself had imposed—came back to her. How arrogant and fantastical it had seemed, yet when she thought carefully, so many of that man's words pierced straight through the heart.

A man like a roaring blaze. A conflagration that would burn everything to ash. It was only natural that people who had grown weary of this world flocked to him. Like moths that fling themselves into the flame even knowing their bodies will burn—

"Why does that man Rust hate the world so much? Is it rage at being forced to wear a mask, the same as us? Sir Roland, what do you think?"

Fride asked. Of course the man would remain silent again—she had asked without much expectation. Fride was a woman who preferred talking alone more than enduring silence.

"I was seriously considering whether Rust's true identity might be you, Black Knight Roland. Of course now I see it isn't. Just what kind of man is he?"

Then—

Roland opened his mouth beneath the helm.

"A man who has fallen in love. Most likely."

"What did you say?"

Pfft—!

Fride couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing. Roland was always so serious, yet every now and then he said something ridiculous. Wiping tears from beneath her veil, she said:

"Well, lust is deeply bound up with love, after all. That's why only the Seat of Lust among the Great Sin Seats was left vacant. But twisted love always brings only misery…"

How many people had died because King Pendragon of Royal Road and his lover Asya had loved each other? And how much horrific suffering had the love between Fride and Roland themselves brought?

"This is as far as I can escort you. Tomorrow is Nicholas's trial, so I must return. Fride—take care on the long road—"

"Sir Roland. Then farewell—"

Roland stepped down from the carriage. The carriage started again, and the two—alike yet utterly different—now headed in opposite directions. Exactly as they had twenty years ago.

Did they occasionally look back?

That was a story no one would ever know.