The Punishment Hall (17)
The Punishment Hall (17)
The promised month came to an end. I stretched long and hard.
It was the last day. Beside me, Monica lay asleep. I wasn't sure when it had started, but she had taken to quietly crawling into my bed.
"Hey."
"Mmph."
Monica, who had been drooling, stretched long and hard.
"Yaaawn..."
"I told you not to get into my bed."
"It's comfy... here... it's the best..."
Monica smacked her lips. Her stomach growled.
"I'm hungry..."
"You really do whatever you want."
I scowled. I took cooking tools out of my Pocket.
"As if I'd just! Hah!"
Whoosh!
Sacred Flame blazed up.
"As if I wouldn't at least fix you something! Hah!"
I baked bread and lightly crisped the bacon.
I soft-boiled the eggs and added a bit of salad.
"I made extra after my share, so eat it or don't!"
Clack.
Gloss dripped down over the bowl I set down. Monica rubbed her eyes.
"...I think I'm getting lazier and lazier. Is this what marriage feels like?"
I gave her a light smack on the head. Monica yawned.
"Where are you going?"
"I've got to go to work."
"It's only six...?"
"I'm busy today."
I had to wrap up the work. And while I was at it, I had a few things to hand out.
"Wipe the sleep from your eyes. There's nothing about you I haven't seen."
"You wipe them for me."
"Who do you think I am, your servant?"
"Hey! You keep dropping the formal speech more and more!"
I ought to just give her a good—
. . .
Valkan glanced over at me.
"So today is the last day."
"It is."
"......"
Valkan gripped his sword and exhaled. Lightning energy flowed through a body with no magical power, pure flesh alone.
Pure power honed through his racial traits.
"You're going to go all the way to the end?"
"You started this."
"Well, I don't have much to say, but..."
I grinned. I brought my sword up against his.
"Let's go. I'll match you."
"...Cheeky brat."
Valkan let out a short laugh.
"I'll pour everything out."
Thunder rang out. Lightning energy reverberated, and sparks flew from the bars.
Blue sparks burst amid the clashing sword strikes.
Dozens of exchanges flew back and forth in an instant.
From the middle on, I couldn't keep up and drew up Sacred Power. Was he completely overwhelming me with pure physical ability alone?!
"...A little more...!"
Valkan shouted as if grinding his teeth. His scar-rimmed eyes were dyed gold.
"Just a little more!"
"Quit your whining!"
Flames crashed down; thunder met them.
BOOM!!!!
It burst. A corner of the prison wall shattered, sending fragments flying. The prison groaned and shook.
Amid the pouring stone shards and dust, I swept my arm and cleared the dust away.
The revealed form of Valkan was down on one knee.
Hurk.
He vomited blood. I raised a hand to my cheek.
Blood came away on my fingers. I hadn't fought seriously, but he had broken through that level gap and managed to scratch my body?
Valkan really was Valkan. Just what you'd expect from the leader of the Lycos Mercenary Company.
Slumped, he let out a sigh. He looked down at the sword he had barely kept hold of.
"You monstrous bastard..."
I let out a short laugh.
"Feel a little better?"
"So that was your aim after all."
"When anger builds up inside, people go mad. They have to let it out somehow. But you kept holding it in... You're stubborn."
"...Stubborn, huh. Now that you mention it, that person used to say that to me often too."
The fallen sword made a small sound. Valkan leaned his back against the broken wall.
"...The Lycos Mercenary Company... I miss it. But I can't go back."
"What happened?"
"I gathered the survivors of the Frost Tribe from the war with the Empire and made a mercenary company. That was Lycos. We needed money, and we submitted to the church. Because we had no connections among humans, we had to take work through the church. But in doing so, we were forced to take requests we should have refused."
"......."
"I made a foolish choice. The request was impossible from the start. When the others were swept up in excitement, I should have opposed it to the end... I couldn't. By the time I killed the enemy, all my comrades were dead too. There was no one left alive. In my arms, the last bloodline of the chieftain was dying."
Valkan murmured bitterly.
"The blood cooled. I tried to die with them. But she told me to live, for her share as well. So... I had to hold the funeral our way. I had to carry the dead back to our homeland. The homeland we had abandoned to survive. The place we had left behind."
"Couldn't you just bury them there..."
"We are frost. We are wolves, and we do not change even in death. More than anything... the young lady wished for it. The chieftain's last bloodline asked me to take her to our homeland. The dying warriors were the same."
Valkan fiddled with his sword.
"A leader commands, and subordinates follow. I had a responsibility. The responsibility to send them back to our homeland. But the homeland had already burned. The Empire had set all the lush vegetation ablaze. All that remained there was ash. So..."
"You ate them?"
"It is another funeral rite of the Frost Tribe. By eating the dead, you remember those who have passed. I heard that those who are eaten are believed to have lived lives worthy of another warrior's respect, and so they go to paradise. It is an old... so very old story that no one remembers anymore. It was a story I heard separately, when the others were playing, because I asked the tribe's shaman to teach me, stubborn and fussy as I was."
"You don't think it was wrong?"
"Well. I don't know. I had nearly lost my mind from repeated failures, so I had no room to think rationally. That was true until recently. Even though I was clearly the leader of the pack... I drove everyone to their deaths."
Valkan glanced over at me.
"I felt it while swinging my sword. I made a mistake, and I have no intention of forgetting it. But even so, they told me to live... so I should honor their wish."
"How do you plan to live?"
"I plan to think about that from now on. After getting beaten thoroughly, I can finally think at all."
Valkan turned his head away sharply.
"Now get lost, Zahard. I'm tired of being dragged around by you and your whims. Leave me alone."
"......"
In martial-arts terms, it was what you'd call qi deviation... I suppose. A state where his rage had peaked and hardened in his chest, lashing out at everything.
I took it with my body and released it for him. It was bitter, but I made it possible for him to carry his past and keep living.
"Grumbling to the very end."
"Hmph."
"Before I go, take this."
I took out the necklace I had brought in my Pocket.
"Here."
"...What is this?"
"I got it at the market. They say a wolf Beastfolk's favorite prey is the red-maned beast, right? It's a necklace made from its fangs. A parting gift."
He grumbled, but he had followed wherever I led.
This was repayment for that. It wasn't as if I hadn't grown fond of him either.
Valkan took the fang necklace. He looked back and forth between me and the necklace.
"You're... giving this to me?"
"Stay out of trouble, Valkan. I'll ask the church separately. Whether there's any way to reduce your sentence."
"......"
"And hey, Valkan."
I sat down in front of him.
"What if I had been your subordinate? Then I definitely would have liked you. Being stubborn isn't all bad, is it? The subordinates under you probably thought the same as me."
"......"
"Straighten your shoulders, Valkan. You were a good leader. They probably knew that too."
Valkan stared at me blankly. I held out my fist.
"No one asks a leader they don't respect to live, right?"
The bone necklace trembled in Valkan's hand. His dazed gaze looked down at my fist.
He opened his mouth to say something, then stopped. The corners of his lips twitched upward.
The words he spat out as if chewing on them came out somewhat muffled.
But I heard them clearly.
"...Spouting cheeky nonsense."
Bump.
Our fists met. The tears he had tried to hide fell at the same time.
"...Thank you, Zahard."
. . .
"I see. So you're leaving."
"My time's up."
Rakkum handed me the fishing rod. I smoothly pulled in a fish.
"How's that? I'm skilled now, right? I'm confident I could survive anywhere."
"Fishing in a pond and fishing in a river are different."
"They're similar. Don't scare me for no reason."
"Brother still has much to learn."
Rakkum grinned. He stood and stirred the pond with his hand.
"Brother. What do you plan to do once you're outside?"
"First... hmm... let's see... I'll take down one cheeky bastard..."
"And then?"
"I have to go to the Fairy Forest too. And later I have to get a job as an instructor at the Academy."
"You have much to do."
"Capable people have to work. Nothing to be done about it, right?"
"That is also true."
Rakkum snatched a fish. He raised a sharp claw and sliced open its belly.
"I'm glad you're different from me, Brother."
"What's different?"
"I was taught that great power must come with great responsibility. So I carried many people on my back. It's the same now."
"Do you know what it's like outside?"
"I don't. But I do know that if I were to escape this place, any Lizardfolk who might be outside would be in greater danger."
"......"
"But even I sometimes want to act as I please. Brother. Perhaps I am carrying a responsibility I never wanted. Perhaps I fear being cursed at, and so I try to look good to others."
The fish's scales were stripped away. His thick hands moved swiftly, and sashimi was ready in no time.
"My path may be right. Seen another way, Brother's path of taking responsibility only when you want to may also be right. There is no single answer anywhere."
"...Well, humans are all different."
"Exactly as you say. But there are things to be learned by being together."
Rakkum held out the raw fish.
"Take it. My first cooking."
"Don't you like swallowing them whole?"
"But Brother likes something different, doesn't he? There isn't much I can do for you. So I wanted to at least do this."
"......"
I took a piece of sashimi. I chewed and swallowed it.
"...It's good."
"Brother is bad at lying."
"I'm good at it, you know?"
"You're not."
Our eyes met. The dependable Lizardfolk warrior grinned.
"It was a joyful time. If I could, I would want to go back to the beginning. Thank you for all the wonderful stories. Brother, those strange stories of yours were so very... so very enjoyable..."
"Why are you talking like someone I'll never see again?"
"As I age, my heart grows weak. It has been so long since I ran through the marshes that I seem to have forgotten even how to live as a warrior."
Rakkum rose. He placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Watching you, Brother, I came to think, belatedly, that I want to do something for myself, not for the tribe."
"I definitely think that's good... but what do you plan to start with?"
"I'm thinking."
"Then shall I pick one for you?"
I held up the item I had brought. Rakkum asked, a little nonplussed.
"...What is this?"
"Repayment for spending time with me."
Rakkum took the item. He looked at the various dyes, brushes, and paper, then glanced at me again.
"What is this...?"
"You said you liked it. Murals. There's no one around to mind, so paint comfortably."
His slit pupils widened. His trembling hand picked up a brush.
He dipped it lightly in black dye and drew on the paper. Somewhat rough hand movements.
But even so, a hand that didn't know what to do with its joy.
What was being drawn with clumsy skill took shape. A small lake and a fishing rod.
And one lizard.
A picture of one human together with it.
"...Brother."
Rakkum set down the brush. He hugged me tight.
"Ra—Rakkum?"
"...Brother. May the soul of a warrior be with you wherever you go. Even if you forget me, I will not forget you."
He pulled away from me. He opened his mouth and smiled brightly.
"Meeting you, Brother, was one of my few blessings."
"...Are you trying to embarrass me?"
"Every word is sincere. Brother. Do not forget my name. I am Rakkum. The greatest warrior of the tribe that once commanded the marshes."
His rough hand stroked my head.
"I will always stand behind you. Joyful times, joyful gifts, and a joyful friend. Do not forget. I am Rakkum. I am your brother. Go forward, wherever it may be. I will be watching. You... think only of going to the end. I will support you from behind."