Chapter 101
Chapter 101
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Father, My Father
-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘A dream?’
This felt just like an illusion conjured by the tower. After a flash of blue light, it was as if time had stopped, and then he was whisked away to some unknown place.
A small village came into view, familiar yet unrecognizable. A fog shrouded everything ahead, making it hazy, but he could still make out its general shape.
[I have admired my brother since long ago.]
A voice rang out, deep and vast like the sea, wide like a meadow—heavy with weight.
‘Father?’
It was unmistakably his father’s voice. But even as he looked around, there was no sign of him.
His voice simply echoed in his mind once more.
[My brother was the eldest son of the Strange family, destined to become the next family head and the master of this continent.]
The eldest son of Strange? Master of the continent? What on earth was this about?
[I wanted to make him the king of this country. No, I swore to grant him power so overwhelming that no one could ever challenge him.]
A voice filled with resolve.
[But the next year, my brother lost his life on the battlefield, and I was the one who took his place.]
Shiiiik—
The fog veiling his eyes lifted, sharpening the surroundings and allowing him to grasp his location.
This was a fairy village not far from Lake Mimir.
‘Alfheim.’
It was small but separated as a sanctuary, safe from monster invasions.
[I despaired. The one I saw as my dream, my path—he had left this world so futilely.]
Thud, thud, thud.
A young knight arrived in Alfheim, clad in a tattered cloak and battered armor.
He had no helmet to protect him from enemy strikes, and the sword in his grip was so dulled by blood that it could no longer cut anyone down.
“Why did you leave this world? Brother, why on earth did you try to climb the tower alone...”
The knight collapsed at the village entrance, unable to support his own body.
Thump.
[I lost consciousness right there.]
‘Father?’
[And only after the sun rose the next day was I able to open my eyes.]
‘......’
[It was a long journey. I followed the path my brother had taken in life, searching for the reason.]
‘The reason?’
[Why he had tried to climb the tower alone that day. And why that apostle had come out of the tower.]
His father’s monologue reverberated in his mind, and soon the surroundings darkened. Then his vision cleared, revealing the interior of what looked like a cabin.
Crackle, crackle, crackle.
A bonfire blazed fiercely against one wall.
A woman who had been eating a tomato jumped in surprise when she saw the father regain consciousness, then helped prop up his upper body.
“You’re awake?”
Her mouth was stuffed so full of tomato that her pronunciation was garbled. Her cheeks bulged like a squirrel hoarding food for winter, and at the sight, the father unwittingly let his lips twitch upward.
It was rude.
To react like that to a woman he was seeing for the first time in his life. Realizing his mistake, the father quickly schooled his expression and asked the red-haired woman,
“Forgive me, but where is this place?”
The red-haired woman beamed brightly in response.
“Elrpuhawim.”
“Elrpuhawim?”
She gulped down the mouthful of tomato in one go.
Gulp.
“Alfheim! Alfheim, you fool. Did you come here without even knowing where it is?”
The father scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
He had been fleeing an enemy ambush in a frenzy, so it wouldn’t have been easy to keep track of his bearings.
“Alfheim... I see.”
The red-haired woman let out a long “Hmmm—” while fixing him with a sharp glare, then brought over a basket of tomatoes.
“Wanna eat?”
The knight patted his waist as if checking his pockets, then shook his head.
“Forgive me, but I have no money on me right now.”
Slap!
It happened in an instant.
The red-haired woman smacked the father’s forehead with her palm.
“Who asked for money? Eat.”
“...Ah, yes.”
Her crude manners and coarse speech.
[It was a shock. Who in the world could treat me like that? Me, the continent’s greatest knight bearing the name of Strange.]
Even I would have been flustered.
The difference in their stations was obvious from their clothes alone—how could she be so brazen?
‘Even if she did help me.’
The red-haired woman grinned like a child and asked the father,
“You’re a knight, right?”
“Yes.”
“Strong?”
“Strong?”
“Yeah, you’re a knight, so you must have some muscle. Could you beat a troll?”
The father let out a disbelieving chuckle.
“That’s nothing.”
“Really?! Great! Finish eating and let’s go.”
“Go? Where to?”
“You’ll see when you follow!”
She grabbed both of his arms and yanked him to his feet. He was so flustered that he unwittingly followed the red-haired woman.
[Alfheim was truly a beautiful, vibrant place.]
His father’s voice sounded wistful.
I watched the young father and the red-haired woman in silence.
“Alright! Just beat that guy in arm wrestling.”
“...Pardon?”
The place she had dragged the father to held a dwarf with a build as massive as an orc, waiting.
“Kuhahaha! Verdandi, if you can’t win, you brought a human boyfriend instead?”
Verdandi stuck out her tongue at the dwarf with a pout and yelled,
“Shut up, you piglet. Do you even know how amazing this knight is?”
“What? Who’s this knight?”
“...Who?”
“Yeah.”
Verdandi glanced at the father, then looked away as she replied,
“Crystal King Calipha III de Strange.”
[There’s no way such a name exists.]
‘There’s no way such a name exists.’
The father and I thought the exact same thing at the same time.
‘Wait, how did she know he was from Strange?’
The dwarf jumped in shock at the mention of Strange.
“S-St-Strange?”
“Huh? Uh... yeah! This knight is from Strange, even if he doesn’t look it. Right, sir knight?”
Verdandi elbowed the father in the ribs. He stared at her in bewilderment before giving a short nod.
“Y-Yes... that’s right. I am from Strange.”
“Awesome! Then let’s have a match, you pig. I’m betting everything on this knight beating you!”
“W-Wait a moment.”
“Go on—go. Golden-haired knight. Smash that pig and come back.”
“No, that’s not—”
“Go!”
And so, the father unwittingly ended up arm wrestling a dwarf he had just met.
Bam!
The father crushed him with force enough to splinter the table.
—Woooaaah!
The villagers watching the arm-wrestling match cheered. It was the first defeat for the dwarf, whom countless adventurers visiting Alfheim had never beaten.
Verdandi clutched wads of money in both hands and hopped around in excitement.
“Money! It’s money!”
The father gave her a hollow smile. Still, it didn’t feel bad—there was a smile tugging at his lips.
“Here—this is your share.”
Verdandi handed one bundle to the father.
“It’s fine.”
“What do you mean fine? Take it, beggar knight.”
“I’m not a beggar knight.”
“Right, wandering beggar.”
“......”
“Take it when I give it. No complaints later.”
She stuffed the money pouch into his bosom by force. The father chuckled indulgently, then peeked inside the pouch.
“10 bronze coins?”
It was so little that Roys would consider it not worth carrying.
“Too much?”
“...No.”
Verdandi grinned widely and leaned in close.
“Alright, now let’s go eat.”
“Eat? Didn’t you just eat a whole basket of tomatoes—”
“Shut up. That was dessert.”
She acted without hesitation.
Grabbing his wrist, she dragged him to the middle of the market and bought all sorts of food.
“Mister, that one, this one! That one, this one! Give me all of it—I’m rich today! Puahaha!”
Verdandi kept shoving the baskets of goods from the merchants into the father’s arms.
[It was a feeling I had never experienced before. It was only a short time, but I think I felt happy.]
‘Happy?’
A word hard to believe coming from his father’s mouth.
[Because during the time I spent with her, I could forget the pain of losing my brother.]
I fell silent.
And continued watching his father’s old tale unfold.
A few days later.
“Alright! Today, big sis is treating everyone since I made some money, so eat up!”
Verdandi spread her arms wide before dozens of children. Most of the kids gathered before her were slaves marked with the imperial army’s emblem on their shoulders.
“Slaves?”
The father murmured softly.
“Yeah, all these kids are slaves. I bought them from an eastern slave trader.”
“An elf owning slaves? That’s a first.”
Slap!
“Hey, you idiot. What would I make them do? I bought them because they’re pitiful!”
“Pitiful?”
“Yeah. The gods don’t judge the wicked, so the world’s a mess. I brought them here to bestow favor upon them.”
“...I see.”
[I couldn’t understand it. In the world I knew, slaves were worth less than livestock—how could she speak of bestowing favor on them, even invoking the gods’ name?]
I had thought the same.
[That’s why I paid even closer attention to her words. That night, I listened as she told me how she had lived her life.]
‘......’
[And I realized that I—no, this world—was the one that was wrong.]
“That was delicious.”
After the meal, the father prayed.
“Verdandi, don’t you pray to the holy one who provided this meal today?”
“Pray? Why bother. I heard it at the church where I was captured as a kid. The priest there said the poor have vulgar hearts too.”
“The poor have vulgar hearts?”
“He said someone like me wouldn’t even have my prayers answered by the gods.”
“...Who said that?”
“Who? The priest I just mentioned. To lowly scum like us, even the gods aren’t equal.”
The father bowed his head.
Verdandi grinned broadly at the back of his head, then asked cautiously,
“Should I pray today too? Since I got to eat this meal thanks to you.”
Without giving him time to reply, she began her prayer.
“I give thanks to you who provided our daily bread today, so just leave a faithless wretch like me be. And for those kids over there—”
Verdandi turned to look at the father.
“—this nameless knight, and all the people in this world upon whom the rising sun will shine tomorrow, grant your blessings.”
Verdandi clasped her hands tightly. The father’s pupils froze as he gazed down at her.
[That day, my heart pounded for the first time. I must have thought the same thing over and over until her prayer ended.]
[She’s beautiful. I want to see this woman’s smile more from now on.]
Grab.
The father took Verdandi’s hand.
“Come with me.”
Verdandi tilted her head in confusion.
“Huh? What’re you saying?”
“I’ll make you happy.”
“Happy? Me?”
“Yes.”
“S-Suddenly?!”
“Yes. I’ll ensure blessings fall upon you—no, upon everyone on this continent. I’ll create a country where all are equal.”
“......”
“So believe in me and follow me.”
Verdandi stared at the father with a stiff expression for a long while. Though she wondered what nonsense this was, his earnest face drew a laugh from her.
Pfft!
“You’re joking, right?”
“I’m serious.”
“Say it’s a joke.”
“It’s not a joke.”
“Say it’s a joke.”
“As I said, I’m serious.”
Verdandi bit her lip and lowered her head, then looked up with a radiant smile and asked the father,
“Where do I go?”
[That day, I was overjoyed as if I owned the world. No word like ‘happy’ could capture it.]
[But I made a grave mistake with her.]
‘A grave mistake?’
[...That day, I should never have brought Verdandi to the castle.]
The Alfheim before his eyes vanished like smoke, and bricks flew in from somewhere, assembling to form the corridors of Strange Castle.
Click, click, click.
Sharp footsteps echoed. At their end appeared a tall woman in a white dress.
Catarina de Strange.
She gazed down at Verdandi with cold eyes and whispered,
“How dare a filthy elf wander inside the castle?”