Chapter 22
Chapter 22
The moment he heard that song with its eerie, incomprehensible lyrics, the strength drained from his body and sleep came crashing down on him.
"■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■"
The members of the elite unit he had brought along buckled at the knees and began collapsing one by one.
Alpheus, too, was on the verge of drifting off without realizing it.
"Use this when you absolutely have to stay awake but you're too sleepy. Always keep it on you."
Brisa's voice suddenly came back to him.
He forced his head, which was growing as heavy as cotton, to stay alert and rummaged through the inside pocket of his shirt.
Just as Brisa had instructed, his fingers touched the thoroughly dried Awakening Herb.
He picked up the Awakening Herb with trembling hands and ate it, and his eyes flew open. At the same time, far off in the sea, he could see the form of the monster that had been singing.
'......Huh?'
Alpheus sent wave after wave of sword energy toward the indistinct monster.
'It is a monster...... right?'
Was that glinting thing scales, or a person's silver hair.......
"They say a very unusual monster has appeared there as well."
Just as the attendant had said, it certainly was a very unusual monster.
He narrowed his eyes, and the monster, grazed by his sword aura, vanished beneath the sea. At the same time, the song that had been dulling everyone's minds ceased.
"Hey, hey."
He hurriedly woke the sleeping knights and the Second Imperial Prince.
"Wake up. Everyone, wake up."
They wouldn't wake easily, so he finally resorted to a certain amount of physical force.
The sleeping knights and the Second Imperial Prince rose, rubbing at their bodies, which had turned black-and-blue with bruises.
"Ah...... what happened?"
"The moment we heard that strange song, we fell asleep...... and after that, I have no memory."
"It seems that's what happened in the meantime. Good heavens, we nearly died. Isn't that right, Alpheus?"
At the question from the imperial knight examining his bruises, Alpheus nodded.
"That's not wrong."
Then he quickly spoke to the Second Imperial Prince.
"I couldn't kill the monster in question. I have no more of the Awakening Herb my little sister gave me, so we must leave this island immediately."
Now that he had seen it for himself, this seemed less like a massive Monster Wave than a case of one monster with an unusual ability drastically lowering the survival rate of anyone who came here.
"Right, let's head back at once."
The Second Imperial Prince agreed, looking around.
After that, before Alpheus could even bring it up, he said,
"Let's all go to the imperial palace together. If you have no need of a barony, then I will tell His Majesty the Emperor that you should at least be generously rewarded with war compensation."
He added while looking at Alpheus's clothes, his throat seeming to catch slightly.
"Besides, didn't you come all the way here out of friendship and save my life as well? My mother will certainly reward you privately, too. So absolutely do not refuse."
Alpheus was relieved he didn't have to admit that he'd come to beg rather than out of friendship.
And so, when everyone had left the island and set foot on the continent.
"Huh?"
The Warp had stopped operating.
"The Magic Tower has suspended all Warps. They say they cannot be activated again until midsummer."
The imperial knight who had gone to investigate the situation reported in a grim voice.
The Second Imperial Prince let out a deep sigh.
"Then we'll have to stay here for the time being."
He narrowed his eyes and muttered.
"Where nearby is there a noble residence large enough to accommodate a knight order of this size......."
Alpheus shook his head cheerfully.
"Ah, I'll go by horse."
"What?"
"If the Warp is out, I'll ride a horse."
The Second Imperial Prince stared blankly at his face and asked.
"Are you in your right mind?"
He had good reason to ask. Crossing that vast distance on horseback was no easy feat.
And on top of that, the Empire was enormous.
"Ah, of course, only my knights and I will be moving. I'm not suggesting we all ride to the imperial palace together."
Alpheus hastily explained.
"I left my young sister alone in our territory. I can't wait until midsummer."
At that, the Second Imperial Prince was even more appalled.
"That doesn't change my reaction. Are you really in your right mind?"
Wondering if the bruises on his own body had somehow ended up on Alpheus's head instead, he kindly explained.
"You're going to ride from the east all the way to the central region? Do you know how long that will take? And on top of that, monsters are appearing at every territorial border right now."
"Even so, our Bribri is waiting."
The Second Imperial Prince blinked and asked,
"Bribri? Are you perhaps raising a pet with a bad temper?"
"No! It's the name of my new little sister, the one who gave me the Awakening Herb as a token!"
In truth, Alpheus had survived thanks to Brisa, but more than that, he couldn't forget the moment he had received the Awakening Herb.
"Do you know? Back when I was fighting for my life every single day in the north......."
He murmured with eyes full of melancholy.
"Every night, everyone would gaze at something. A mother's portrait, a father's keepsake, letters from siblings, things like that. Things my beloved family had left for me, things I wanted to see one last time before a life-or-death battle, traces of the people I had to return to no matter what......."
Alpheus's voice gradually sank.
"I had nothing like that. So I read things like novels about young heroes instead."
If Brisa had heard this, she would have said, "So those youthful hero novels are the source of your protagonist syndrome."
Alpheus continued, visibly holding back emotion.
"But now, at last, I have a token of family given to me by Bribri. I have somewhere to return to. So I need to get back to her as soon as possible."
The first family of a righteous young man who had grown up lonely as a commoner orphan.
Alpheus wanted to be good to her no matter what.
"I had to grow up far too young because I had to take responsibility for myself. I know all too well how sad that is...... so I don't want to raise my little sister that way. Never."
After hearing all that, the Second Imperial Prince could not stop Alpheus.
In the end, the Second Imperial Prince rummaged through his clothes and took out the jewels he carried for emergencies.
"Here, at least take these."
"No, what is all this......."
"Distribution will have stopped because of the Warp, so food prices won't be cheap. You'll need to eat along the way, won't you?"
The Second Imperial Prince even stripped off every brooch he was wearing before smiling gently.
Once all the ornaments were removed, with his brown hair and green eyes, he looked like an unassuming knight.
"My older brother sent me all the way out here, but thanks to you, Alpheus, I survived once again. I will never forget this debt. Let's meet at the imperial palace as soon as the Warp is running."
Alpheus laughed heartily and said.
"To be precise, it was our Bribri who saved your life, Your Highness. I was able to come to my senses because of the Awakening Herb Bribri gave me. We were all nearly wiped out."
"That child...... hmm."
The Second Imperial Prince started to say something, then closed his mouth.
Alpheus tilted his head.
"What about our Bribri? Have you met her before?"
"......I have."
The Second Imperial Prince said, rolling his eyes.
"Her Majesty the Empress Dowager favored her, so when she was attending Capital Academy, she summoned her to the imperial palace several times. I saw her a few times coming and going."
"Is that so! As expected, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager recognized our Bribri's cuteness as well!"
"Personally, I think it wasn't cuteness she recognized...... but usefulness."
The Second Imperial Prince's expression darkened slightly. But he soon smiled and patted Alpheus on the shoulder as he spoke.
"You've always longed for family."
With gentle eyes, he wished his comrade good fortune.
"I hope that child becomes a good family to you."
"Of course."
Alpheus said brightly.
"Of course, I have to be good to her as family first. She's a child, after all."