Chapter 141
Chapter 141
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 141
>Chapter Title: When Did We?
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I calmly organized my thoughts.
The makeshift "Magic Tower" and "Sword Sanctuary."
By creating these two groups, we'd earned a certain degree of trust from the Young Patriarch and the Third Sword, but in the process, we'd caught the eye of the Patriarch himself.
And the result of that was right now.
"...What will you do?"
I gathered my wandering thoughts under the Third Sword's solemn gaze.
After hearing the Young Patriarch's message, I could understand the Third Sword's silence.
In other words, he'd been deeply agonizing over which of the two opposing orders to follow—the Patriarch's or the Young Patriarch's.
And his choice was...
'The Young Patriarch.'
This meant the Third Sword had fully resolved to become the Young Patriarch's man.
That aside, though, I had some personal curiosity.
"There's something I want to ask before we decide."
"Speak."
"How can we trust the Young Patriarch's word? How do we know he'll keep his promise?"
"That's..."
The Third Sword faltered.
He knew.
How this situation looked from our perspective.
Depending on how you interpreted it, the Young Patriarch was just a sneaky bastard who'd taken what he wanted and flown the coop.
But that doubt didn't last long.
The Third Sword bowed his head politely.
"I'm sorry."
"..."
Honestly, I was surprised.
The Third Sword of Lortel bowing his head? No, that wasn't all.
What he did next was even more shocking.
"Take my sword as collateral."
He drew the sword from his waist and held it out.
"...Hm."
I let out a rare, faint groan.
Parun and Shine were no exceptions.
"...Hrm."
"Pledging your sword? Are you truly sincere?"
"...Of course."
The Third Sword nodded silently at Shine's question.
At this point, even I hesitated to say anything rash.
'Pledging his sword?'
Frankly, it meant nothing to us.
Sure, it was the sword of Lortel's Third Sword, so it was probably worth a fortune...
'But does that make it collateral for an Infinite Chain? No.'
In this situation, no material object could serve as collateral for an Infinite Chain.
However.
What the Third Sword was offering wasn't just a "sword."
It was a knight's honor.
His pride.
Itself.
'...Of course, a fake knight like Shine would probably just pledge the sword's value instead of the sword...'
Anyway.
I stared at the well-worn hilt of the Third Sword's blade, lost in thought.
Honestly, my curiosity was piqued.
For him to stake his sword was like me staking the Magic Tower I'd build in the future.
Not some half-built tower, but one towering high with every inch packed full.
Beyond its material value, it was about his resolve.
But why?
No matter how much it was his lord's promise—no, for his lord's honor—was it really worth staking his pride?
That was when I'd thought that far.
"What will you do?"
I set aside my questions at the sound of Shine's voice.
Then came Shine's added remark.
[I think he's trustworthy.]
Shine seemed favorable toward the Third Sword's actions. Otherwise, he wouldn't be urging a response like this.
Say what you will, Shine was a knight too.
But.
Of course, I wasn't a knight.
Neither was Parun.
[Parun, what do you think?]
Parun took a moment to gather his thoughts before answering.
In the end, his response matched Shine's. Though the reasoning differed.
[Regardless of trust, a knight of the Third Sword's caliber doesn't stake his pride lightly. Questioning it here would be tantamount to crushing that pride.]
In other words, even if we couldn't trust him, we'd have no choice but to accept.
Yeah, that made sense.
[Make the choice yourself. This was your setup from the start.]
Parun handed the decision to me and fell silent.
I organized my thoughts one last time before the final call.
Combining Shine's and Parun's opinions...
'They both think avoiding the Patriarch is the way to go.'
Even Shine, mad with the Sword God's Tomb, was telling me to accept the Third Sword's offer. That was ominous.
So, he was only mentioning the Third Sword's proposal.
That left it truly up to me.
"Third Sword. Or Zeke, was it? Sir Zeke."
"Speak."
"For now, put the sword away. You look pretty awkward like that."
This was pure goodwill.
Because.
Sir Zeke's hand, extending the sword with such a resolute expression, looked awfully lonely.
But Sir Zeke seemed to misunderstand my kindness and let out a groan.
"Is my pride insufficient?"
"No, that's not it..."
Of course it was insufficient.
But that wasn't why I told him to put it away.
The others were naturally just thinking "trust Sir Zeke or not," but I hadn't decided that far yet.
So, what I was pondering was this.
'Meet the Patriarch?'
Or avoid him.
Before choosing, I posed a question.
"It's none of my business, but I'm curious..."
"Ask anything."
"If you defy the Patriarch's order like this, can you handle the fallout? The Young Patriarch gets a pass because he's the Young Patriarch, but you seem like you'd be in quite a bind, Sir Zeke."
Sir Zeke answered calmly.
"I am the Young Patriarch's sword."
"I thought Lortel's knights swore loyalty only to the Patriarch?"
"That was the order from that very Patriarch. To follow the Young Patriarch. Of course, the Young Patriarch doesn't know."
It was quite the ironic situation.
A knight defying his sworn lord because of that lord's command.
That was probably the source of Sir Zeke's anguish. He himself must not have been sure how far the Patriarch's order to "follow the Young Patriarch" extended.
However.
"Even so, punishment is inevitable, isn't it?"
"I'll endure it."
Sir Zeke replied calmly.
But unlike his calm answer, the price he'd pay wouldn't be light.
Defying the Patriarch's command.
Disobeying orders was a grave matter that demanded an example.
'Well, given his position as Third Sword, it won't come to losing his head or anything...'
Anyway, the punishment wouldn't be light.
With that realization, my doubts deepened.
"I still don't get it. From your position, Sir Zeke, following the Patriarch's order would have been better. Is it really worth taking this much damage?"
"Didn't I say? I am the Young Patriarch's sword."
"No, that's not an answer. Even if it was the Young Patriarch's order, what if it was the wrong decision? Would you have followed? Sure, you would have. But isn't this situation different?"
"...I don't understand what you're getting at."
"In a conflict between the Patriarch's and Young Patriarch's orders, why choose the Young Patriarch's? 'Young Patriarch's sword'? That's not an answer. If it were a solo order from the Young Patriarch, fine. But when they clash, you'd choose what you yourself think is right."
"So..."
"I'm asking your motive."
As my explanation ended, Sir Zeke half-closed his eyes and sank into thought.
"Why, you ask..."
And his answer was.
"Didn't you trust us first?"
"...?"
When did we?
I tilted my head.
Parun tilted his head too.
The only one here who didn't tilt his head was Shine.
As our reactions diverged, Sir Zeke continued in a voice dripping with apology.
"Even without any guarantee we'd keep our promise, you readily paid the price. Partly because I'm the Young Patriarch's man... but ultimately, that's why I followed his order. Trust. Because you showed trust first."
Uh, um...
Did we?
Frankly, we hadn't thought much of it.
'We didn't have many other options anyway...'
We just figured the mystique of secret groups like the Magic Tower and Sword Sanctuary might add some coercive force to enforcing the promise.
So, to put it bluntly.
We never trusted them.
But this misunderstanding.
Wait.
I suddenly asked.
"...How could you trust the seed we've sown?"
We'd paid the full price, but honestly, they were all intangible.
The magic armor Kallium had substance, but we'd only given its location, and verifying the Impir family background would take some time.
But Sir Zeke's response was astounding.
"Setting aside the Impir family info, the magic armor Kallium alone is enough to earn trust."
"Huh? You don't mean... you already confirmed it?"
"...? Yes. The Young Patriarch tried on the magic armor Kallium and was quite pleased."
No, confirmed and already acquired it?
'...Insane.'
At this point, I shook my head at Lortel's ruthlessness.
Even using warp gates, acquiring it in such a short time would have required knights working day and night.
No, not warp gates?
'From Kuholon to Lortel is about two days on horseback...'
Right after our meeting ended, if he'd immediately contacted nearby and driven the knights like dogs, the timing would match.
But that was that.
"Just for that? What if the Impir family info is a wedge to drive between you?"
"A wedge?"
"It's not, but..."
"Since the Young Patriarch chose to believe, I simply follow."
"..."
Oh, what a stubborn guy.
'Is he an idiot?'
From his tone, he seemed to have considered the possibility of a wedge. But he discards his doubts so easily because his lord believes?
And stakes his own well-being for someone he'd once doubted?
It was a mindset I couldn't comprehend.
But by now, I could vaguely glimpse the principle behind Sir Zeke's actions.
"You didn't completely dismiss suspicion of us, did you...?"
"Correct. I even told him straight it could be a wedge."
"But since the Young Patriarch believed, you set aside your doubts? And once you did, our actions became 'showing trust first'?"
"That could be how it's seen."
My head spun.
"Sir Zeke, are you really just a sword?"
Meaning, do you have no brain?
"I am the Third Sword."
"Yeah, that's true."
His refreshingly straightforward answer left me speechless. It was right after that he fully grasped my implication.
"Ah, I see what you're thinking. But... I have my own conviction. You may be suspicious, but you're not evil."
"...And if you're wrong?"
At my question, Sir Zeke smirked.
But that smile felt chilling somehow.
"Am I wrong?"
"...No."
Honorifics slipped out automatically.
Right, I'd forgotten.
The weak have no choice but to "trust." Because they have no options.
But the strong, like Sir Zeke, can "choose to trust." Even if trust is misplaced, they have the power to correct it.
So, pure-hearted trust born of strength!
'...Well, if the body's weak, the mind suffers. For Lortel's Third Sword, the brain can slack off just fine.'
Anyway.
"I'd appreciate an answer now. If my sword isn't enough..."
"No, no."
I shook my head vigorously at Sir Zeke's words.
"Then, what will you do?"
What to do.
The recent exchange had already given me the answer.
No, honestly, it was decided from the start.
- Didn't you trust us first?
Sir Zeke repaid trust with trust.
Sure, we hadn't sent any trust... And his trust was backed by overwhelming physical might.
The trivial details didn't matter.
Trust for trust.
Goodwill for goodwill.
We'd already exchanged trust—how could I turn away from his plight?
"Guide us to the Patriarch."
There's no paradise in running away.
That was my mindset.
Of course, not running might mean tasting hell, but anyway.
To state it clearly: it absolutely wasn't because I couldn't trust Sir Zeke, the pride in that sword, or the Young Patriarch's promise.
...And moreover.
When I calculated the material value of the sword Sir Zeke offered, the estimate was far from disappointing.
No, not at all.