A Joyful Victory and the Celebration Banquet
"Graaaah!"
The chimera charged forward with a frenzied roar. Elsid and Tybon refused to stand idle. Gripping their swords with both hands, they charged straight at it.
Whoosh!
The chimera tried to crush them beneath its powerful horse legs, but the two men swung their blades in perfect unison. Clang! Without any prior signal, their simultaneous strike deflected the crushing blow with a joint technique.
After parrying that attack, both men threw themselves into the fight without hesitation. Elsid blocked strikes that looked lethal, but otherwise took hits on his body while repeatedly smashing the chimera with his wooden sword. Tybon did the same, hacking away with relentless cuts.
Endless blows and merciless slashes rained down on the chimera, tearing into its flesh.
"Graaaah!"
The chimera howled in agony right before their eyes.
"Hraaaah!!"
"Yaaaaah!!"
Elsid and Tybon answered its pain-filled roar with their own battle cries, swinging their swords without pause. The louder the monster screamed, the more battered their bodies became, yet they ignored the pain coursing through them and kept attacking.
Elsid struck with speed and precision; Tybon with raw power and weight. Their styles differed, but both were deadly. Though this was their first time fighting together, their sword trajectories never clashed, all of them landing squarely on the chimera.
"He was... that strong?"
After finishing off most of the undead, Marienne found a moment to glance over. The sight before her left her unable to hide her shock.
She had always known Tybon was strong. He was the one who had taught her the sword, and she had seen him fight many times. But the swordsman she was seeing for the first time today—she couldn't even begin to describe his technique.
The fact that he wielded a wooden sword didn't matter. Despite swinging his blade hundreds of times, he struck only at the chimera's joints, slowing its movements with pinpoint accuracy. Having watched countless talented knight cadets train at the academy, she could tell: this was no ordinary swordsmanship. He wasn't a Sword Master, yet the way he moved and swung his blade made it feel as though aura was radiating from his entire body.
"Tybon!"
"Leave it to me!"
The endless exchange between the two swordsmen and the single chimera was finally reaching its end.
Thud!
Both of the chimera's horse legs were severed. With a heavy crash, its body tilted. Tybon's swordsmanship and the relentless barrage of strikes had finally overwhelmed the monster's regeneration, driving it to the brink.
Elsid drew its attention from the front while—
Slash!
Tybon cleaved the chimera clean in half with his greatsword. The bisected corpse collapsed to the ground, turning into a cold, lifeless heap.
Thud.
"Our victory!"
"Waaaaah!"
The moment the chimera fell, Marienne shouted in triumph, and the rest of the subjugation force, having wiped out the remaining undead together, erupted into cheers.
After a grueling battle, the subjugation force claimed a joyful victory.
***
Having slain the chimera, the victorious subjugation force returned to the domain of Nao. Though they had encountered the misfortune of facing undead, they had wiped out every last bandit and captured all survivors, locking them away in prison. Miraculously, there had been no deaths during the subjugation. A few would be bedridden for months, but they were alive.
Afterward, Lord Marienne prepared a grand banquet to celebrate the victory and invited every member of the subjugation force—except, of course, those too injured to move.
The venue was the grand hall inside Marienne's estate. Countless delicacies and fine wines awaited the guests. Under the bright moonlight, adventurers, mercenaries, and soldiers alike laughed and enjoyed the celebration of their triumph.
"What is the subjugation force's greatest contributor doing out here?"
During the banquet, a conversation unfolded on the terrace where the night air was cool. The one who had approached was Tybon, the chief knight whom Marienne had personally knighted. The other person standing on the terrace was Elsid, who had come out alone to catch the breeze.
"I'm not used to places like this."
"Yet you're eating quite a lot for someone who claims that."
"That's that, and this is this."
Elsid's plate was piled high with chicken and other dishes, and he was happily devouring them with a fork. His grandfather had once told him: no matter how terrible the situation, eat as much delicious food as you can. Regretting that you ate is better than regretting that you didn't.
"And you called me the greatest contributor, but you're the one who cut the chimera in half at the end, Tybon."
"Hah, how modest. It would've been impossible without you drawing its attention. Besides, weren't you the one who dealt with the bandit ambush trying to strike our rear?"
Tybon let out a hearty laugh.
"No matter what anyone says, you're the greatest contributor."
"Thank you for the praise, Tybon."
Since he insisted, Elsid decided to simply accept the compliment.
"So, what did you need from me?"
Better to get to the point quickly.
"As sharp as ever. If you don't mind, would you come with me? It won't take long."
Tybon's earlier hearty smile vanished, replaced by a serious expression.
***
Guided by the knight Tybon, Elsid was led to the lord's office on the top floor.
"Sorry for calling you away in the middle of the banquet."
Inside the office, Lord Marienne was waiting for him. She wore a pure white dress adorned with frills and ribbons along the hem, seated on the sofa in the room.
"Have a seat."
At her words, Elsid sat on the sofa prepared for him.
"Why did you call for me?"
"Before we begin, take a look at this first."
In response to Elsid's question, Marienne placed a blackened, decayed wing on the table. It looked like the wing of a corrupted bat.
"It's a piece of the chimera you and Tybon defeated earlier."
"This is?"
Only a few hours had passed since he and Tybon had fought the chimera together. Yet this...
"Yes. It decayed far too quickly. As if several days had already passed..."
Marienne spoke, reading his thoughts before he could voice them.
"And as you know, this subjugation had far too many strange points. We raided the bandits' hideout, yet undead suddenly appeared midway through."
"And in the end, that chimera made of who-knows-what showed up."
"Exactly. Things have become complicated. There are too many suspicious details for this to simply end as a bandit subjugation."
Marienne pressed a hand to her forehead, her expression troubled.
"I hate to even consider it, but it's possible a necromancer who uses forbidden magic is involved. Not just one who controls corpses, but a mad mage capable of creating chimeras as well..."
Elsid's expression hardened for a moment at her words. The mention of a necromancer made him think of that villain, Tyeg, who had once defiled Mount Tyren.
"I've talked longer than intended. The reason I called you while you were resting is because I have something I wish to give to you, our greatest contributor."
Marienne placed an ornate wooden box engraved with an antique pattern on the table and revealed its contents.
"It's a replica of adamantite."
Adamantite was a metal spoken of only in legends. Weapons forged from it were said to be capable of cutting through all manner of magic and even striking things without physical form. That was only part of its power—its true capabilities could only be known by those who actually wielded it. The stories only ever mentioned that much.
"It's a very special material created by our domain's mage tower to most closely resemble adamantite. Of course, compared to the real thing, the difference is like the sun and a firefly."
"Thank you."
Elsid expressed his gratitude for the gift and accepted the box containing the adamantite replica.
"A blacksmith in your hometown of Ragna Castle should be able to process it into a weapon or armor."
"You knew about my hometown?"
"I have an old connection with the lord of that castle. He boasted endlessly about how proud he was of his domain's people."
Just as Elsid thought the matter was settled after receiving what he was owed—
"Now that our private conversation is over, it's time to discuss official business."
The real conversation was only just beginning.
"Could you deliver this to the Temple of Pios in Agatram?"
She placed the decayed bat wing into a gleaming silver box she had prepared and handed it to him.
Pios, the god of healing and light, was worshipped by most priests across the continent of Carnea. Agatram was home to one of the larger temples dedicated to Pios, second only to the main temple in the imperial capital. Having learned all manner of necessary knowledge while working as a trainer, Elsid was well aware of this.
"I know the location, so it's possible."
"No need for further explanation, then. No point wasting time."
Marienne smiled, looking relieved at Elsid's response.
"If you handle this matter, I'll provide your hometown of Ragna Castle with sufficient supplies. What do you say?"
She made an offer he couldn't refuse. For Ragna Castle, which was always short on proper weapons and medicine, this was an incredibly helpful proposal.
"Fine. I'll do it."
After a brief moment of thought, Elsid gave his answer. Gathering both boxes he had received, he turned and left the office.
Only Marienne remained behind.
"I hope this turns out to be nothing serious..."
She stared at the door Elsid had walked through, murmuring with a grave expression.
