Chapter 15: Bonyard (2)

"I heard about you from Sir Sorin. Please leave your horse in our care while you stay."

Thanks to having been invited, Eugene was able to rest Might in the comfortable shelter of the horse market.

If he had simply come to the city on his own, he would have had to tie the horse in a small, filthy stable attached to an inn.

Neigh!

Might was delighted to get a generous feed of oats mixed with carrot pieces instead of plain hay.

There was no murky water in a wooden bucket, either. Clear water flowed ceaselessly through a channel with a soft gurgle.

"Without my teacher and Maria, I wouldn't even be able to pretend to be a knight."

As he stroked Might's mane, Eugene felt the weight of his origins and the power of his connections.

Fine armor and a Barsian warhorse — either one was property so expensive that even if he emptied every coin he had, he would not be able to buy it.

"Getting hungry?"

Homi wagged her tail as if she had been waiting for the question.

'Let's go. The smell is wonderful.'

They spent the remaining time wandering the market and enjoying the street food.

Homi, true to her gatherer's nature, showed great interest in the unfamiliar fruits and vegetables — things like the olives grown nearby and the dates imported from the southeast.

"You're a growing carnivore."

Seeing her so fixated on plants, Eugene handed her a skewer of roasted meat for each hand.

Munch, munch!

While his squire indulged her curiosity and appetite, Eugene considered the future.

To live as a knight, he could no longer be as frugal as before. He did not need to indulge in luxury, but he had to invest in his equipment and the dignity expected of his station.

He could not travel as a pair forever, and there would come a day when he had to hire mercenaries or adventurers. The more money he had, the better.

'Should I hunt and gather herbs the way I've been doing?'

Seeking out places where rare medicinal herbs grew was also a decent option. If he discovered a motherlode, he could earn a tidy sum.

Such locations usually teemed with dangerous beasts or monsters that regular herb-gatherers could not enter, but that did not apply to him.

'Or should I sell my strength?'

A well-armed knight with a horse could command a great reward.

But that was both an advantage and a shackle. He could not simply join a mercenary company like an ordinary mercenary.

It would damage a knight's dignity, and mercenary companies would find his presence too burdensome to accept him anyway.

He needed to catch the eye of a lord who could offer a substantial stipend or a fief. The higher the pay, the fewer the openings.

In times like this, his teacher's lessons always proved helpful.

-During my wandering days, I stayed as a guest in many cities. The hospitality is less than what you'd get staying with a noble house, but it is far freer and easier on the mind.

Goffrey had also often spoken of how he funded his life as a wandering knight.

-When I needed a lump sum of money, there were times I was invited by noble houses or free cities to work as their Champion.

-You mean you dueled for money.

-That is not wrong, but once you are in it, you will not feel as though you are fighting for money. The cheers praising the winner's honor drown everything else out.

Nobles and free cities fought constantly. Legitimacy, debts, pride, honor, grudges, vested interests—there was no shortage of reasons.

But they could not mobilize armies for every dispute, so all kinds of trials by combat were used. That was where Champions came in.

-Was the pay good?

-Of course. The pride of the high and mighty! Honor! Vanity! Countless competing interests! You're throwing all of that into one pot. Of course the cook gets paid well.

-Anyway, look at this brat's heart start racing the moment money comes up. It's not good to get hooked on earning money as a Champion when you're young.

-Anyway, just look at this brat's heart racing the moment money is mentioned. It's not a good thing to get a taste for earning coin through champion's work from a young age.

Goffrey clicked his tongue, but his face was unexpectedly bright. It secretly pleased him to see a disciple who was like a son to him follow the path of his own youth.

Finishing his recollection, Eugene clenched his fist.

"Being a Champion sounds right."

He had accepted the threatened city's invitation partly because, if luck was with him, a few duels could put a large sum of money in his hands.

He might be asked to hunt tedious monsters or stand on a battlefield where stray arrows flew. He could decide based on the danger and the pay.

As he walked through the square, an interesting fountain caught Eugene's eye.

It was not the common sort depicting a barefoot woman holding a water jug, a boy with an extraordinary stream of piss, or a round dish-like basin.

This fountain was at least ten meters across.

"An Ark?"

That was his first impression.

A crude, stout vessel of gigantic stone! It looked as though someone had placed ramparts, mansions, and a grand cathedral atop one.

WHOOOOSH!

It was a spectacle: dozens of streams of water poured from the ramparts and watchtowers of the majestic fortress.

"Incredible, isn't it? I've never seen anything like it."

Beside him, Homi nodded fervently.

Having spent her life only in a backwater village with nothing to see, she seemed elated to witness such a remarkable sight for the first time.

Eugene took out a copper coin and approached a man sitting on a nearby bench.

He had a traveler's pack, a lute, a shortsword for self-defense, and even a stylish hat — a bard who wandered the world selling songs and stories.

"May applause and safety follow your journey."

Eugene dropped the copper coin into the container placed beside the man.

"May boundless glory attend the warrior's path as well."

The bard smiled without rising from his seat. For a single copper coin, he seemed disinclined to stand.

"May I ask one thing?"

"Of course. I was just about to warm up my voice before singing."

Eugene pointed toward the fountain.

"If you know the story behind that fountain, I would gladly listen."

"Ah, you speak of the Wandering Castle."

"The Wandering Castle?"

"Yes! It's one of the chief benefactors that keep Bonyard fed. Many adventurers and nobles come specifically to see it."

The bard brought his hands together toward the fountain as if in prayer.

"Thank you for sending me today's bread money."

The bard sounded remarkably devout, which suggested he made a decent living explaining the fountain to visitors.

"Do you know that the masonry of the Ancient Kingdom was lost with its fall?"

"Of course."

Seemingly anticipating a long tale, the bard patted the spot next to him.

Homi, as befitted a squire, stood at attention nearby. She maintained a disciplined posture and kept watch over their surroundings, but her ears were pricked straight toward the bard's lips.

"The masonry of the Ancient Kingdom is near-miraculous. There is a joke that while earthquakes topple modern castles, the ancient buildings hold the earthquakes in place."

"Is that actually possible?"

"Ah, well, it's a figure of speech. But it is true that during an earthquake, their buildings may tip over, but they do not break apart."

"That in itself is remarkable."

It wasn't like a puppy doing a clumsy somersault, after all. A stone structure of immense weight falling over and yet not shattering ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠— that was astonishing.

"There is actually a case where, in a city destroyed by an earthquake, only a single library left by the Ancient Kingdom remained intact. They say the ground surged and it toppled forward, but the building itself did not break."

"Then couldn't you push it back into place somehow and use it again?"

Homi snickered as if the idea was absurd.

"Yes. Precisely. They used a thousand oxen and horses and more ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ropes than that to right it again. That was a hundred years ago. It still serves perfectly well as a library to this day."

Astonished, Homi's mouth simply hung open.

"The place that contributed most greatly to that sublime masonry is, in fact, this very city of Bonyard."

"Supply lines do matter."

"Indeed. So when the greatest construction of the Ancient Kingdom was begun, the city received a gift meant to encourage their efforts."

"And that would be that fountain?"

"That is correct."

"And this greatest construction looked just like it, I take it?"

"You grasp everything so readily, it makes my job easy."

Perhaps his throat had grown dry from speaking, for the bard took a drink from his waterskin.

"The Wandering Castle! It was a grand undertaking to unite the masonry of the Ancient Kingdom, the magic of the elves, and the engineering of the dwarves into a single castle."

"Can it actually move, as the name suggests? Judging by its shape, it looks suited to being set afloat on the sea."

Though being made of stone, it seemed as though it would simply sink.

"From there, we enter the realm of legend and folklore. The tales differ from person to person, from region to region. To begin with, there is no one who has actually witnessed it."

"No matter how long ago it was, it would have been a national project. Are there truly no records left?"

"Regrettably, no. It is said that opposition was fierce even within the Ancient Kingdom at the time. Several civil wars broke out because of it. That is the reason the related records were lost."

Eugene gazed at the fountain.

There was a good chance the Wandering Castle itself was nothing more than fiction—perhaps bait to lure in visitors.

Judging by how many travelers the fountain had drawn over the years, Bonyard had probably earned back the cost many times over.

"No matter how I look at it, the scale seems far removed from anything that could 'wander.'"

"Right? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Some say it flies through the sky, others say it drifts upon the distant seas. There is even talk that it rides the sands of the Great Desert."

The bard shrugged.

"That is all I know."

"Thank you, you've worked for your coin. It was a truly fascinating story."

As Eugene rose, the bard lifted his hat partway in salute.

'Do you wish to become a castle lord?'

Homi asked in sign language.

"Of that Wandering Castle?"

'No. That thing is obviously a made-up legend anyway.'

Homi was a realist.

"As a knight — no, as a man — is it not only natural to want a domain of one's own?"

He had imagined it many times during his monastery days as a child. What if this monastery were a lord's manor and he were the lord?

The dream of owning a vast land and buildings of his own was sweet in and of itself.

'One day, you'll surely obtain one. The day will come when people call you Lord instead of Sir Knight.'

The look in Homi's eyes as she signed was not merely saying, 'You can do it!' It held the certainty that it was bound to happen.

"If that happens, you won't be a squire anymore. You'll be Sir Homi, a knight in your own right."

'Even when that happens, will you let me continue to serve you? To help you into your armor, to stew the meals you eat on the road... I don't need a squire of my own.'

Eugene burst out laughing.

It was hardly the kind of conversation a fledgling two-person party, only now stepping into the world, ought to be having.

Yet, to repay his squire's devotion, he did think he should aim for at least a small domain.

Though he had no idea whether a knight from the countryside could rise from the bottom all the way to such a position.

Bonyard was governed harmoniously by various officials and representatives of commerce and industry under the direction of the Chief Executive.

Sorin's superior was Panis, the Chief Magistrate who oversaw the city's defense.

Lately, he had been living with dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep and stress.

"My apologies. We failed to recruit him."

"It's fine, get out."

Panis waved his hand dismissively at the subordinate who was bowing ninety degrees in apology.

Listening to the door shut, Panis rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Damn it. Linton failed too, and Hobs brought back some puffed-up, worthless knight. Sir Goffrey... if only Sir Goffrey worked out..."

The neighboring Gord nobles had been receiving tribute from Bonyard for generations.

But lately, as if their greed had grown, they had drawn their swords and were now demanding even the city's various commercial rights.

Fortunately, they were not proposing a full war between armies. Instead, each side would choose three Champions and negotiate with steel and blood.

"Those bastards are thugs in noble clothing!"

The weak had no choice, so Bonyard threw everything it had into gathering capable knights from the surrounding area.

But no matter how hard the city tried, this was the edge of the continent.

There were few free knights within reach, and truly capable ones were rarer still.

As Panis paced in agitation, someone knocked.

"Come in."

"I hope you've been well, Chief Magistrate."

The man who entered was Sorin, the subordinate Panis had sent to bring back Sir Goffrey. It was the mission Panis had placed the most hope in.

"You're back already?"

Panis's already exhausted face twisted.

"Don't tell me the mercenaries took the money and ran. They had good reputations, so that shouldn't have happened."

Sorin looked sympathetically at his superior, who immediately began suspecting the worst. Panis had not always been this negative.

"Not at all. The Beard Mercenary Company performed well and completed the mission. The knight is resting at an inn."

He shot upright!

Panis rose from his chair and pointed at Sorin with his index finger. It was a habit of his whenever he heard good news.

"You succeeded in bringing in Sir Goffrey?! That's it! That's exactly it! But how did you return so quickly? By all rights, it should have taken two more weeks."

"Well, Sir Goffrey was no longer there. It seems he set out on a pilgrimage. Instead, I managed to bring his direct disciple, who had just set out on his own journey as a knight. We met on the road, which is why we returned so quickly."

"Ah..."

Thud!

Panis fell backward, his index finger still raised, and sank into his chair. His finger tilted diagonally toward the ceiling.

"Then it's a bust! It must be the Knight of Prophecy, I tell you!"

"Far from it. Sir Eugene is every bit as strong a knight as Sir Goffrey."

"It seems you haven't grasped the situation. The city is on the verge of being plundered by the bastards of Gord if we make one misstep! Besides, what proof do you have that this knight isn't lying? Did you watch him be knighted yourself?"

"Please, hear me out first."

Sorin reported what he had witnessed on the journey.

Panis sat there looking unimpressed, his face saying, 'Fine, let's hear your excuses.'

Even Panis could not help doing a complete one-eighty when Sorin described Eugene slaughtering ten wolves in moments with his great flail and smashing the skull of a fleeing warg.

"You're saying he beat a warg in three exchanges?"

"Yes. And every exchange was extraordinary. What knight could skewer a warg on a sword held in one hand and lift it into the air? Or send it flying with a single kick? Even Sir Goffrey couldn't do that."

He shot upright!

Panis sprang from his chair as if launched.

Jab!

Then he leveled his index finger at Sorin. For ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the first time in what felt like ages, Panis was smiling.