Chapter 30
The Flower That Bears a Sword - Chapter 30
Translation: godsn
It was ambiguous. Just like the birthday banquet story. Though it seemed like she remembered, even if she assumed she didn't, there were plausible reasons for each of his strange behaviors.
Or perhaps, without realizing it, she was desperately searching for evidence that he had no memory of her because she wished it to be true. She truly didn't know. It was confusing. Eki slowly blinked her eyes.
"...Thank you for your high regard."
"Still, be cautious. Monsters are different from humans."
"Yes, I'll be careful."
She gave a slight nod in response. He stared at her intently before stepping back.
"Then, return and rest well."
"But, Captain."
As he turned to leave, he paused and gave her a look that said to continue. Eki hesitated, lightly biting her lip before finally asking her question.
"Why did you return to the barracks but not turn on the lights?"
"......"
"Did I... disturb you while you were trying to sleep?"
"...I wasn't about to sleep, so you needn't concern yourself."
With an inscrutable expression, he turned away completely. It was his way of saying that was enough. Eki hesitated, then bowed slightly to his retreating back before leaving the barracks.
The moment she returned to her own quarters, she collapsed onto the cot. The flickering lamplight cast strange shadows across the tent's ceiling. The erratic, swaying shapes were so indistinct it was hard to tell what cast them.
Just what cast the ambiguous shadows of Yurien's behavior?
Her head was a mess. Closing her eyes, the Magic Sword—which had stayed quiet while she was gauging the mood—began chattering incessantly.
[Warning you to be careful of monsters? As if they're any threat to you. If he knew you once cleared an entire Node by yourself, he'd lose his mind. Pathetic, isn't he?]
"Don't speak carelessly about Yurien. No—don't even say his name at all."
[But I'm right! Stingy human!]
"Shut up, Bal."
[All my master ever says is 'shut up.' How cruel.]
"If you'd stop whining about killing people all the time, maybe I'd be a little kinder."
[...Hey, you being kind to me would be weirder. Let's just keep things as they are.]
"Perverted bastard."
At her scolding, the Magic Sword grumbled. Still lying down, Eki wriggled out of her clothes and tossed them aside. Removing her makeup felt unbearably tedious. Why hadn't mages invented a magical tool for taking off makeup? It'd probably sell better than mana telegrams.
Staggering up, she wiped off her makeup, changed into sleepwear, and swapped her gloves for plain silk ones before flopping back onto the cot. Just before sleep took her, she offhandedly asked the Magic Sword:
"The accumulated bloodlust... it won't dissipate by killing monsters, will it?"
[Still better than not killing anything at all... But you know this, don't you? The bloodlust that forms me is fundamentally born from humans' hatred toward other humans. Even when my shell controlled you, it only sought out humans. Why ask when you already know?]
"No reason."
[Just kill Ian cleanly, okay? He deserves it! One quick slash—easy, right? You'd feel so much better afterward!]
"Enough. Let's just sleep."
[Tch.]
Eki closed her eyes. She worried she might dream as vividly as before, but that night's dreams were hazy. She dreamed of dancing with someone in a banquet hall awash with dazzling colors.
A wish that had never come true—yet one she had longed for—bloomed secretly only in the depths of sleep, where reason had faded away.
The state of White Crow Canyon was dire. Even before entering the gorge, a sinister aura seeped outward. From within came intermittent shrieks—metallic screeches tangled with bestial howls. Thick fog lingered despite it being daytime. A foul stench drifted with the mist.
"The war must have been quite brutal."
"They say they poured boiling oil. With so many dying in agony, it's only natural monsters would swarm. Probably plenty of ghouls and skeletons. Might even get some Redcaps."
Baraha responded to Eki's words. They soon came to a stop at the canyon entrance. Baraha gave Eki's shoulder a light pat.
"Come back safely. Stay close to the Captain."
"Yes, Senior."
The subjugation squad split in two—Captain Yurien took the right flank, while Giosa Owner Teresa handled the left. Vice Captain Baron remained at camp with a handful of junior knights to guard it. As a result, his squire Baraha also stayed behind in the barracks.
'He'll be fine... right?'
Originally, Baraha was supposed to die during this monster subjugation. But Eki had no way of knowing exactly which incident would claim his life. All she knew was that it happened on a night of pouring rain and lightning.
At least they'd return to camp before nightfall, so it should be fine. Eki bid Baraha farewell and joined the knights gathering on the right flank.
She wore a black dress and a wide-brimmed hat adorned with feathers. Not the black of mourning, but a smooth fabric with a faint purplish hue. She'd deliberately chosen a dress that wouldn't show stains, even if monster blood splattered on it.
Since the mission wasn't expected to take long, her luggage consisted of just one small bag containing some jerky, water, and miscellaneous tools. Normally, she'd attach it to her belt, but wearing it over her dress would have looked ridiculous. So Eki fastened the belt around her thigh beneath her petticoat instead.
On her opposite leg, she carried a spare dagger. Normally, the uneven weight distribution would make balancing difficult, but she'd long since moved past being bothered by such trivial inconveniences. With her sword simply held in hand, she looked like some noble lady who'd brought a decorative blade on an outing. Though the sword was far too shoddy to pass as decoration.
Eki ignored the lingering stares and moved forward. At the head of the formation, Yurien was discussing something with the other knights. She stood waiting a short distance away.
When the discussion ended, Yurien turned, and the knights dispersed back into formation. Unlike the awkward stares from junior knights and cadets, the full knights either paid no attention to Eki's attire or found it amusing enough to smirk. Yurien's gaze lingered not on her clothes, but on her face. As he passed by, he murmured:
"Don't stray too far."
It wasn't a request for a response. Moving past her, Yurien took his place before the assembled knights, junior knights, and cadets. His blue eyes quietly swept over them. The faint murmurs died under that gaze. Then he spoke:
"Expect ghouls and skeletons to comprise the majority of monsters within the canyon. However, Redcaps may also appear, so remain vigilant of your footing at all times. Additionally, if you spot a Dullahan, junior knights and cadets are to disengage and report immediately to your commanding knight. Should your issued silver powder run low, resupply from your commanding knight's temporary squire. Any wounded are to report to their commanding knight before withdrawing to camp. We will have no fatalities. Any questions?"
His voice wasn't particularly loud, but infused with mana, it carried clearly to the rear of the formation. A crisp, cool tone—like the atmosphere of a finely honed blade. Without raising his voice, every knight's attention remained fixed on him. Respect, reverence, obedience, expectation—these currents flowed between them. Yurien accepted those gazes with dry indifference.
Eki watched him from behind as if observing something unfamiliar. Now that she thought about it, the Azure Sky Knight Captain she'd once known—the one who came to slay the Demon of the Magic Sword—had carried this same aura. Back then, just seeing him approach had felt like having the cold edge of a blade leveled at her. Not the defenselessly smiling man from yesterday.
No one raised any objections or questions, so Yurien extended his right hand. A golden pattern shimmered on his palm—the emblem of the Holy Sword. From it, a blade of pure white light erupted.
A flawless white sword, its hilt and blade forged as one seamless metal, entwined with faint golden patterns. A weapon crafted long ago by the legendary Blacksmith, who had tempered its blade with humanity's justice and etched its patterns with mankind's sense of duty. The Holy Sword Langiosa.
Yurien grasped it. He didn't shout a rallying cry or roar a battle chant. The Knight Commander holding the Holy Sword simply stepped forward and issued a quiet command.
"From this moment, we commence the purge of White Crow Canyon."
The order resonated in everyone's ears as if whispered directly beside them. The Azure Sky Knights split into two streams, pouring into the canyon from both sides.
The moment they pushed through the mist, a putrid stench flooded their nostrils. Inside the fog-veiled world, rotting corpses staggered to their feet, and filthy skeletons draped in decaying flesh drifted aimlessly. Monsters known as ghouls and skeletons. The moment they caught the scent of the living, they shrieked and swarmed.
Blades sheathed in mana sliced through the air from all directions. Where a Master-ranked knight swept through, the junior knights under their command severed the monsters' lifelines, and the cadets followed to finish them off. That was the basic unit of the Azure Sky Knights—a single knight at its core.
Though the numbers of ghouls and skeletons were overwhelming, before the Masters, they were little more than walking scarecrows. Their advance was steady, and no sign of crisis appeared anywhere. This was, without a doubt, a purge. The ashen tide was erased beneath the knights' hands—a scene that proved why the Azure Sky Knights were called the strongest order.
And among them, Yurien stood out most of all. He had no follow-up unit. There was no need for one. While a general in an army was a commander to be protected, the Knight Commander of the Azure Sky was not a commander—he was a one-man battalion.
White mana shimmered along the Holy Sword's length, trailing behind its path like a radiant halo. The sight was breathtakingly beautiful, but its aftermath was pure devastation. The monsters touched by that white mana were reduced to little more than dust.
Mana amplification and Demon-Purging. A power that grows stronger against evil.
Echinacea followed behind Yurien, recalling the Holy Sword's abilities. Langiosa was one of the Giosa she had been unable to wield, having failed to meet its owner's conditions. Still, she knew its reputation well.
Of course, it was only natural that Eki couldn't become Langiosa's owner. The Holy Sword would never yield itself to one who had committed evil. Back then, Echinacea had been a slaughterer—she couldn't even hold Langiosa, let alone wield it.
An owner could summon and store their Giosa through the emblem engraved upon them, but a Giosa whose conditions one failed to meet had to be carried by hand.
A beautiful, untouchable sword. The weapon of the only person who had ever believed in her—and the sword of Yurien, whom she had killed with her own hands. What thoughts had crossed her mind as she carried that Holy Sword, the one that would never accept her as its master?
Just like someone I could never reach. Just like Langiosa, who would never allow itself to be mine.
With a bitter smile, Eki followed in Yurien's wake. Without a follow-up unit, she was the only one behind him. And since Yurien was sweeping through the battlefield with overwhelming force, she had nothing to do but trail after him leisurely.
Of course, "leisurely" was only by her standards.
Most of the Azure Sky members chasing after their Knight Commander at the front lines weren't watching him—they were watching Eki. They had seen their commander countless times, but Echinacea was a first for them today. And without fail, they all arrived at the same thought.
So the monster found another monster like herself and made her a squire...