The Sure-Hit Sword (3)
"Accusing me of being a criminal out of nowhere? If I'm guilty of anything, it's the crime of saving a dying man."
"And which dying man would that be?"
"Irene."
The man's expression shifted.
"Irene survived?"
"She did. She'll be receiving treatment at the temple by now. There's a witness, too—so don't go pinning crimes on people based on circumstances alone."
"...Is that the truth?"
"I already revealed my identity, didn't I? Would I tell a lie that flimsy? If you still won't believe me, go down and check for yourself."
The man lowered his sword, though suspicion still lingered in his eyes.
"Then you should identify yourself as well. What house were you born into, that you can be so insolent toward a duke's son?"
"Kalman."
So he really was the Sword Duke.
Father had once told me that if I ever had the chance to meet the Sword Duke, I should cultivate a friendship with him—but I doubted a man like this would be a good influence on a twelve-year-old boy.
"Aren't you being awfully unreasonable for someone of your stature? If you're going to pin a crime on someone, shouldn't you at least explain it first?"
Kalman studied me in silence for a long moment, then quietly parted his lips.
"Five days ago, word arrived from the North. The famine that had plagued the region was, in truth, caused by a 2nd-grade mana root."
"And?"
"It was an incident serious enough for the Duke's eldest son to step down from his position as acting lord—yet the culprit was never caught, and the mana root was never recovered."
I was honestly sorry the culprit hadn't been caught. Mabel had poured every ounce of her effort into erasing the evidence.
"That left two conclusions. Either Duke Esterzy was incompetent, or the ducal house itself had covered up the incident."
He returned his sword to its sheath.
"His Majesty took the matter gravely. Depending on how one interprets it, one could even conclude that Duke Esterzy had instigated an insurrection. As it happened, a man in the Capital named Zargon was circulating 2nd-grade mana roots in bulk, so an investigation team was dispatched to raid his floating castle."
...And that team was wiped out, while a kid who called himself Esterzy was found fiddling with the mana root. Wonderful.
I let out a sigh.
"I set foot in the Capital for the first time in my life today. I've never even seen a floating castle before this."
"If Irene testifies to that, your story may gain some credibility. However, judgment on you will be suspended until the truth comes to light."
"The truth isn't far away."
I jerked my chin toward a corner of the hall.
"See that? The demon we've got tied up over there?"
"...A demon, you say?"
Kalman followed the direction of my hand. There, a massive warrior thrashed like a worm, bound fast by my sealing arts.
"If I'm innocent, wouldn't that mean someone else was behind all this?"
"You're saying that creature killed the investigation team?"
"Obviously. How would I have killed that many people by myself?"
Apparently he'd suspected me of being the perpetrator of the massacre. Slapping such a horrifying accusation on a young, innocent boy like me—the man had no shortage of prejudice to spare.
Kalman approached the bound demon and examined it up close.
"An axe-wielder."
He'd identified the demon's primary weapon from a brief glance at its hands alone.
"It matches the wounds left on the corpses. I will concede that your account has merit."
"Glad we could communicate."
"Why can't this one speak?"
"I sealed its mouth for a bit. Want me to undo it?"
He gave me an odd look.
"...If you would."
I raised a finger and chanted the incantation of curse-breaking. The character for Loss inscribed on the demon's forehead faded away, and part of the seal loosened.
"I'm innocent, I tell you!!"
The demon exploded into shouts the instant its mouth was freed.
"Everything was done at the command of that human brat—Eden Esterzy! I was merely obeying orders!"
It pleaded desperately to Kalman.
"You there, human! Don't dismiss my words! Behind everything that's happened stands the House of Esterzy!"
This child had absolutely no survival instincts. Framing my own family—what a bold move for a demon fighting for its life.
Truly, it would do anything to save its own skin.
I watched Kalman's face carefully. We'd only just barely managed to have a civil conversation, and if he fell for the creature's idiotic blathering, things would get complicated.
Kalman listened to the demon's rant with a blank expression, then placed his boot on the creature's hand.
"Everything I say is the truth, human! This was all Esterzy's—AAAAAGH!"
When Kalman bore down with his foot, the demon let out a harrowing scream.
"I despise lies."
He said flatly.
"So answer honestly. What were you doing here?"
"Eden Esterzy ordered—KRAAAAGH!"
This time it was the other hand that got crushed.
Without so much as a flicker of his eyebrows, Kalman methodically ground the demon underfoot. His technique was so resolute I found myself wondering if the Pillars of the Empire were selected for their torture skills rather than their swordsmanship.
"Stop, stop! I'll answer anything, just let go, please!"
Within five minutes, the demon had degraded to the point of begging for questions. Kalman drew his longsword from its sheath and asked in a voice stripped of all emotion:
"Who is your superior?"
"Lo—Lord Zephet!"
The demon cried out in a terrified voice.
"Demon Baron Zephet is overseeing the entire operation!"
"What is the objective of this operation?"
The demon hesitated. When Kalman's blade rose to the back of its neck, it deflated with a hiss and groveled shamelessly.
"S-stop! Our objective was to establish a foothold within the Capital!"
"Why?"
"T-to topple the order of humanity—isn't that obvious?"
Well, there was at least one demon for whom that wasn't obvious. Someone named Caroi. Or, well... Caroi.
"What was your relationship with Zargon?"
This time I asked. The demon answered with its entire attention fixed on the blade at its throat.
"That greedy rat was nothing more than a tool for disposing of our goods."
"Then why bother making a deal with a human at all?"
"Money. Maintaining a foothold required a great deal of human currency."
None of this would have come to light if Zargon had sold nothing but Ironshine. Apparently ruining yourself over money worked the same for humans and demons alike.
"Where is this Zephet?"
Now it was Kalman who asked. This time, the demon did not answer easily.
"Swear first that you'll spare my life! Swear it in the name of your god, Solitas!"
"I so swear. In the name of Lord Solitas."
Kalman answered without hesitation.
He would grant a demon's request that easily? For the prime perpetrator of this massacre?
Well... it wasn't impossible to understand, if I tried. This deep in, he couldn't afford to give up the most crucial piece of information. And it wasn't as if he could comb every corner of the vast Capital hunting for a handful of demons.
"Lord Zephet resides in the floating castle of District Four."
Shick.
Kalman severed the demon's head with his sword. The head tumbled and rolled across the floor.
I stared at him, dumbfounded. In this world, breaking an oath sworn in a god's name was unthinkable—something I couldn't even begin to imagine doing.
"...Was killing it like that really necessary?"
"I obtained all the information I needed. I merely disposed of it according to procedure."
"You literally just swore an oath to a god."
"Lord Solitas will understand."
Something about that...
Felt like I'd just glimpsed the world of bad adults.
"Demons establishing a base in the Capital—an intolerable situation. Their footholds must be purged as swiftly as possible."
Kalman turned to me.
"May I count on your loyalty?"
"Loyalty? Where did that come from all of a sudden?"
"I mean: will you fight against the demons for His Majesty's sake?"
"Aren't you a little late to be talking about loyalty? You were calling me a criminal just moments ago."
"Take into account that the circumstances invited misinterpretation."
Apparently, once a man rose to the rank of a Pillar of the Empire, his neck grew too stiff to bow in apology.
I crossed my arms and fired back in equally rigid tones.
"The Capital is crawling with nobles and knights. I fail to see why it has to be an Esterzy who steps up."
"Because of the traitors."
Kalman's voice turned grim.
"It has already been confirmed that they infiltrated the Capital long ago. None of this would have been possible without the cooperation of traitors within the Empire. With a disturbance so difficult to raise openly, we need the strength of an outsider."
So Northerners counted as outsiders here.
His concern about traitors seemed reasonable enough. I'd personally demonstrated my ability to take down demons, which made me the most trustworthy asset on the table at this point.
But the true expert at hunting demons was someone else entirely—a Pillar of the Empire and my own father, Duke Drek Esterzy.
"Then go talk to my father. I'll tell you where he is."
"Let me make one thing clear. The fact that demons have established a foothold in the Capital must be known to no one besides you and me. Not even Duke Esterzy, the so-called Shield of the North."
"My father would be far more useful than I am."
"Too many eyes watch the Duke. Demons especially would be monitoring his every movement."
Thorough fellow, this one. Was he refusing to tolerate even a hair's breadth of possibility that the operation might be compromised?
"You're plenty capable yourself. I doubt you truly need me."
"A Demon Baron is not a rank that acts alone. There are surely more players behind this. I find myself short one high-grade Awakened. Of course, you will need me as well—must you not prove that the House of Esterzy's loyalty remains steadfast?"
He never once mentioned that it was because my abilities were exceptional. How touching.
I weighed the gains and losses of working alongside Kalman. Building a connection with someone holding the power of a Pillar of the Empire was hardly a bad move.
My contract with Zalman was effectively void now, which meant I needed to seek out a new trading house. He might provide information on promising firms, or lend a hand with the contract itself.
Not that I appreciated his habit of pointing a sword at strangers before saying hello.
"I have one condition."
Kalman frowned.
"Which is?"
"I'm bringing one of my personal knights along as my companion."
"Did my words go in one ear and out the other? I said no one besides the two of us may know of this."
"I'll vouch for her identity myself. She holds a very deep grudge against demons. And I'm not negotiating here. If you can't accept this condition, consider our talks concluded."
The personal knight I intended to bring was Thalia. Over a decade ago, she had lost her parents, her siblings—everything she had—to the demons.
For ten years, she had set that seething hatred aside and stood faithfully at my side. As her lord, I wished, just once, to see her fury aimed at the right target.
"Oh, and I have a companion dragon as well."
"A companion... what?"
Ruby leapt out of my pocket and wrapped snugly around my neck like a scarf.
"A companion dragon. You have seen a dragon before, haven't you?"