Chapter 9
Chapter 9
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Distortion (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Bulki asked again.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Save those trembling in fear. But how? By charging in blindly and swinging your sword? If so, Bulki of Brnaun, what do you swing your sword for? What do you cut? What makes your sword different from the Hero's? Look at fate. If you can't grasp your fate or the weight of your blade, go back and ask your friend Iven. He knows something."
Bulki bowed his head at Riu's words. And he admitted it.
It made sense. Even if reckless Bulki himself didn't know, cautious Iven surely would have the best approach.
"It'd be a waste of my hand to strike you now. Listen well. Our mission was 'investigation.' There were losses, but it succeeded in the end. For knights, it's not about doing well or poorly. If you erred on your first mission, move straight to the second. That's what a true knight must be!"
"But then shouldn't we get treated first and-"
Riu turned back, saw the knights readying supplies, and mounted his horse as he spoke.
"Just as your sword told you to save them, mine now tells me to cut down the enemy."
"Captain, I..."
Riu grinned again toward the vast plateau, muttering to himself.
"Doing as the sword says... Truly the creed of a knight, isn't it."
***
Meanwhile, Iven headed straight for the grand cathedral. Recalling how he'd received his sword here, he made his way into the majestic, beautiful chapel.
A colossal structure built solely from the mysterious stones of the highlands, filled with diverse crafts from ancient sages, and the Holy Brazier. Drawn by something, Iven walked toward the brazier.
He'd gone about halfway in a daze when an elderly priest appeared, as if he'd been waiting.
"What brings you here, sturdy knight?"
"Ah, I'm Iven of the 3rd Knight Order. And a believer in the Harmony of Miflas. Priest, might I'meet someone who handles the cathedral's administration?"
The old priest smiled kindly and replied.
"Our Secula Order isn't under the central bureau, so we don't need separate administration. We all share the duties. May I ask what it's about?"
"I see. Well then, could you deliver this letter to the Princess?"
"This?"
Iven handed the old priest Lije's letter.
"I'm sure we sent something similar last time too. Since the Order isn't under central authority, has some internal measure been taken that I don't know about?"
The old priest checked the letter's contents without losing his smile.
"I don't know everything, but the Saintess is probably already handling it. Don't worry, young knight."
"Thank you. But if they've already left Brnaun, protesters will arrive here within a week-no, in my view, three days."
"Protesters..."
"Ah, of course, just peaceful, unarmed citizens of the Empire seeking resolution."
"Understood. I'll deliver it personally."
"Thank you."
"Then I'll be off. May the Harmony of Miflas be with you."
With that, the old priest took the letter and vanished somewhere, still smiling.
Iven felt he'd done all he could. But the Holy Brazier reflecting in his eyes nagged at him terribly. If only its flame could be shared with all the Empire's people...
But he could only turn away with a mutter. It wasn't his place. He couldn't handle it.
Still,
"Yeah, I'll talk to Bulki when he gets back."
Wouldn't the Hero and friend ponder it with him? That thought filled Iven's mind.
Even as he thought it, Iven couldn't tear his eyes from the Holy Brazier. It felt like lingering attachment. Or resentment trapped in some abyss.
A flame that seemed made for Bulki. No, a radiant light stretching his shadow alongside Bulki's. Iven finally shook his head and headed to the training grounds.
"Yeah, Bulki can figure it out. If Bulki just comes back, everything..."
***
"What is this, Priest?"
"Ah, a fine knight named Iven from the 3rd Knight Order handed it over. He said it seems letters have been vanishing midway."
"I see. Guess it's time to prepare the festival."
"Festival? Well, anyway, I gathered all the Brnaun beggars from the slums near the sewers as ordered."
"Well done. They're important people connected to this letter, so treat them with utmost care."
"Yes, the Saintess was prepared after all. I'll have them washed, fed, and bedded first."
"That would be perfect. May the Harmony of Miflas be with you, Priest."
From behind the tale, the Princess spoke with an alluring smile. It even felt like the incarnation of a god.
That breathtakingly beautiful Saintess prepared for her own impending festival.
***
"There you are, friend."
"You're back, Bulki. How was it? The first mission?"
"Uh, could we spar first, by any chance?"
When night fell once more over the continent, Bulki-returned to Sonain-skipped rest and treatment to seek Iven at the training grounds. His unusually grim expression and request for a spar first made Iven worry something had happened.
But,
"Yeah, that's exactly what I wanted today."
"Thanks, friend."
Iven knew the world's distortion but felt helpless to act. Bulki had chosen power yet didn't know how to wield it.
They could be perfect answers for each other now. But unsure how to ask or reply, they simply drew swords as knights.
The moment they agreed to begin, Bulki swung first. Iven blocked, and white-and-blue sparks flew.
What would you have done?
What will you do now?
Swords laden with those innocent questions clashed. It was like envy and gratitude, despair and hope mingling.
Iven raised his straight sword to slash upward, but Bulki neither dodged nor withdrew-he slammed his down. He'd calculated the tangle of arms, and Iven's pauldron tore with a rip over the shoulder.
"Ngh!"
The shock was like a dislocated shoulder, but Iven didn't stop. He swung the upward blade straight down again. Twisting the arc precisely to the prior spot, the friction-heated armor made Bulki groan from the impact too.
"Hup!"
Thus the friends clashed again. Iven stepped to disrupt Bulki's read of his sword's path, slashing left and right without pause. Bulki parried every blow, alternating his blade's flat and edge.
Grasping hilt, edge, guard-any iron to cut at each other.
Then Iven staggered, perhaps from shoulder pain. Bulki swung without pondering traps or oversights, as Iven had said. Likewise, Iven-as Bulki had-smashed with full force using his own sword.
He'd never tried blocking Bulki's sword power head-on, deeming it too much. But unexpectedly, Bulki's blade flew off easily.
Bulki was right. Iven's sword was incomparably heavier than two years ago. Iven didn't stop, bringing it to Bulki's neck.
"Lost again."
Bulki raised both hands in defeat. But his expression had lightened.
Then the friends saluted each other.
They didn't know it yet, but they guided each other perfectly. Each had what the other lacked. They were each other's shining lodestars.
From birth, right up to the moment of death.
"Shall we head to the dorms then?"
Bulki asked with a smile first, and Iven followed silently.
***
Back at the dorms, the two young knights hurried to wash up and headed to their room. Iven sat on the wooden bed and began discussing Lije's letter. Bulki listened while wrapping his badly scarred hands-which Nia had treated-in bandages.
"The letter ends like that, but as you know, Brnaun's seaside villages are practically its outskirts. Meaning Brnaun citizens could join too."
"Hold on, Iven. They can't possibly enter the walls peacefully, even for a protest?"
"As you hear every night about my duties, letters entering the walls go through me alone. Meaning hardly anyone from other cities enters Sonain. Rules will block this too."
Bulki nodded, glancing at his sword by the bed. Iven continued.
"Lije will be fine. If protesters come, I'll check. I've adjusted my schedule. Even without training grounds, I'll spend half-days at the walls. After that, look into priest dispatches. Lije... No."
Iven stopped, about to tell Bulki not to worry since he trusted him.