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236. Childhood Friend – Destiny

“I wanted to become a knight of the Count Simon Family. I pretended to be a wandering swordsman from the locals and took the exam. Thankfully, the exam was…”

– Clang.

“It’s dessert.”

The woman from earlier brought out the dessert, causing Brian to close his mouth. Reb pointed at the steaming stack of hotcakes and asked.

“Did I order dessert? I don’t remember doing that.”

“It’s included in the course menu.”

Hotcakes included in the course menu? That’s a bizarre combination.

But there was still room in his stomach, so Reb nodded. The mixture of breadcrumbs with milk, lightly fried, had a surprisingly delicious taste even without syrup.

However, just as Reb rolled up a flat hotcake to gulp it down, a voice came from the kitchen.

“Did you get paid?”

“Oh, of course! Didn’t I say? It would be great to make a cake with the leftover breadcrumbs.”

“Are you the mother of a child? And which restaurant serves hotcakes after a full-course meal? It’s unpleasant to be too full, so don’t make dessert on your own from now on.”

…I might get nauseous.

However, since he couldn’t leave food behind, Reb forced the hotcake into his stomach, and Brian spoke again.

“The exam wasn’t difficult. During the territorial conflict with Baron Agnak, a few knights died, so they were looking to fill the vacancies. I was planning to approach the Count after being knighted.”

“Ugh… But it didn’t go well.”

Reb swallowed the remaining appetizer while trying to push down the hotcake and spoke. Brian nodded.

“Yes… It was the day I was to meet Count Grunbaum Simon. But coincidentally, there was someone I knew there. A friend I met at the Monastery Church.”

+ + +

“Huh?! Is that you, Brian? Haha! It’s been a while, friend. I see you didn’t make it either.”

“Uh… Oh, it’s been a while.”

“Hmm? Do you two know each other?”

At Count Grunbaum Simon’s question, the young knight smiled widely and replied.

“Yes. We trained as Holy Knights together at the Monastery Church. I failed in the first round, and this friend passed… Congratulations! You’ve acquired a skilled knight.”

“…”

Count Simon stared intently at Brian. Although Brian tried to remain calm, he couldn’t escape the Count’s sharp gaze.

“They say you’re a local. You must have played some tricks.”

Days later, Brian was left battered and kneeling. He realized things had gone wrong and was captured while trying to escape.

Count Grunbaum Simon ripped apart a document sent via the church’s communication and said,

“Seeing you don’t resemble Baron Agnak, you might not be ‘that guy’… What’s your identity? Why is someone recommended by Baron Agnak in the Monastery Church here?”

“…”

“Well, if you don’t want to answer, that’s fine. I can get the lord’s subjects of Agnak to interrogate you. Umberto, go take care of it.”

“…Yes, Father.”

The young man with a square jaw responded reluctantly. He looked at Brian pityingly before turning away, and Count Grunbaum Simon clicked his tongue.

Brian thought he was as good as dead. However, it turned out there was an error in the investigation, and his identity wasn’t revealed.

Brian couldn’t understand it, but it was because Umberto Simon concealed the truth. Young Umberto was once a kind young man who frequently visited Agnes, the Count’s sister, who was held captive, to keep her company.

Now, he had become a cold noble just like his father…

Regardless, since Brian’s exact identity was not revealed, Count Grunbaum Simon let him go without killing him.

In truth, he intended to kill him outright. But Umberto stood in his father’s way, questioning whether there was any need to kill him.

Count Grunbaum Simon cut the tendons of Brian’s index and thumb so that he could never wield a sword again, then advised his weak-hearted son.

“Alright. I spared him as you said. But keep an eye on him and learn. See how your cheap sympathy turns back against you.”

A knight who cannot wield a sword can’t really exact revenge. Count Simon thought Brian would make a good lesson.

However, as a noble, he did not grasp how despairing it was for a knight to lose the power of the sword, and Brian vanished.

Now, over twenty years later, the revenge that had not faded even in the night was about to turn into a blade.

+ + +

Having finished his story, Brian pleaded with the Swordmaster.

“Count Simon is scheming strange things with the Cross Church. The officials in charge of the administration of Baron Agnak’s territory have been replaced with interrogators from the Cross Church. It appears that only the appearance of Count Simon ruling the land remains… This is illegal. Furthermore, the true owner of the Agnak territory is Baron Agatha Agnes… Please help us. If this continues, the Baron Agnak territory will vanish forever.”

Reb silently organized his thoughts in front of the anxious Brian. The tapping of his index finger on the table was Reb’s.

He heard that while the Cross Church has deep roots and enjoys prestige across the continent, they seem to be trying to secure their own territory despite having no land to command.

Yet this was undeniably illegal.

It went beyond being illegal; it was an act that gnawed at the foundations of the Frederick Royal Family, which ruled the Jerome Holy Kingdom.

Reb thought he might know whose doing it.

‘…Cardinal Michael is of royal descent. Although he was the first in line for inheritance, he was not chosen.’

It was clear that the unjustly demoted royal was challenging the rule of the Frederick royal family under the banner of the Cross Church.

If that were the case, it was indeed a stroke of good fortune for me! ─ Reb felt joy for a moment but was immediately gripped by an uncomfortable sensation. It was something he couldn’t tell whether it was dread or just the world tightening around him.

Brian, waiting with his hands clasped for the Swordmaster’s decision, suddenly realized how he ended up in such a plight and felt a chilling thread of fate.

The Divine caused Enen’s death.

That foolish child was lured to Oantahu and torn to pieces, and we were shown that.

That was the beginning.

I had no choice but to stop here to save Enen, but the Divine had made this Brian expose the Church’s errant activities to me. It was cruel to trample on this man’s life just for that.

Reb felt he was also merely a toy of the Divine, a puppet. Every experience he had gone through was part of the Divine’s plan, and even Minseo’s and their struggles were orchestrated by the Divine.

As if a river could only flow along the hollowed-out land.

Reb dashed out of the restaurant.

“Uh, huh?” Dodging Brian’s surprised and wavering finger, he shouted, “I’ll help! See you tomorrow!” and tossed the change from his pocket to the waitress, who had shown interest in him. He couldn’t help but feel a wave of nausea thinking even that woman approaching him could be a part of the Divine’s scheme.

He ran toward the setting sun.

While shoving through pedestrians on the road, Reb stumbled out into a vast plain and forcibly vomited the pancake he had eaten.

“Haha… Hahaha!”

Reb, which had been bent over retching, suddenly burst out laughing. He couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous he looked.

Did Saint Azra ever despair like this?

If an absolute deity presides over everything in this world, and if every event that occurs is part of the Divine’s plan, then what is the purpose of human life? What remains for humanity?

Even the feelings I have for Leah…

[ Achievement: First Meeting with Lena – Lena has a high regard for Leo. ]

Was it all made up?

Reb slumped down.

The wide plain surrounded him with relentless winds, green underbrush, and insects while he bit his lip in sorrow. Today, it was the Blue Lunar Moon. The blue moon rising from the north competed with the red sun setting in the west.

As he removed his hands from his face and faced the intricately colored sky, Reb took a deep breath. After a while, he chose to accept rather than fight destiny.

Opposing the Divine is an impossible task. Doesn’t even that vast sky take on the hues assigned to it by the moon and sun raised by the Divine?

Yes. Rather, let’s be thankful. Be grateful that it allowed me to love someone not anyone else but Leah and hope that the past cycles had some meaning.

Reb realized what Prince Lean de Yeriel had once understood.

To Minseo, it’s a game, but to us, it’s life. To Minseo, it’s an {Event}, but to us, it’s destiny.

Reb shook himself off and stood up.

After catching his breath beneath the now blue-tinted grassland, he let out a long whistle. The sharp whistle returned as the sound of rhythmic horse hooves.

[ Achievement: Mount – Leo can summon a mount. ]

A horse came galloping across the plain.

It was not a Black Horse Monster. It was a horse of ordinary size, much smaller than that monster, and it was brown.

Although it wasn’t a noble steed, it was a speedy gelding, and Reb couldn’t help but smile. Looking into the horse’s eyes, he said,

“Bante. It’s been a while.”

– Neigh.

The once-desirous brown horse, Bante, rolled its eyes. The clever creature seemed to have sensed Reb’s unease and licked his cheek comfortingly.

With a good saddle on its back, Reb climbed onto Bante. Feeling the pleasant sway of the horse, his spirits were lifted, and he turned the horse’s head.

The blue lunar moon illuminated the path ahead of him and Bante.

*

“Captain! There’s a big problem. The Black Horse Monster in the stable has vanished…”

“No need to worry about it. Everyone prepare. We’re leaving this place now.”

Reb ordered his disciples to depart as soon as he returned to the Count’s mansion. Having understood the situation, there was no longer any purpose to remain, and he had already thought about how to deal with Count Simon and Cardinal Michael.

The Cross Church, which was gradually engulfing the Jerome Holy Kingdom. There was no need for a foreigner to directly intervene in this hidden scheme.

The Divine’s mark appeared in the minds of Reb and his disciples, but Reb aimed for Lutetia as their destination.

“Is, is it already time to go?”

He informed the Grand Officer, who had rushed out at midnight, that it was necessary and left Count Simon’s residence. Calling out to Brian, who was anxiously roaming near his previous lodging,

“I’m going to find the king of this country. I’ll lend you my strength, so you must act as a witness to expose the Cross Church’s subversive actions.”

There was no reason for him to refuse. Brian’s eyes glistened with tears of joy, and they set off together. The horse Reb rode became Brian’s.

On their way to Lutetia, they stopped by a small village near Baron Agnak’s territory. That’s where Brian’s home was.

It seemed he was struggling to make a living with unskilled hands, as the house was poorly maintained. Nonetheless, he had married a good partner and successfully married off two daughters. It was only after fulfilling his role as a husband that Brian had come to find Count Simon.

Reb promised the lady, who pleaded, “Please help my husband achieve his revenge,” and handed her a chopped piece of gold he had received from Count Simon.

She initially declined, but upon realizing that the gold had been extracted from Count Simon, she accepted. She mentioned that she hadn’t been able to provide sufficient dowries for her daughters, but now she’d share.

The twelve men and women who had a humble but warm breakfast galloped eastward.

When they arrived in Lutetia, it was autumn, with half of the leaves fallen, and Reb sensed that Leo Dexter and Lena Ainar were very close.

The two were inside that city.

However, Reb did not enter Lutetia. He waited for the weekend and then took his disciples and Brian into a small mountain south of Lutetia.

The prince of this country, Cleo de Frederick, went hunting in that mountain every weekend. Reb planned to request an audience with the king through him…

As those marked by the Divine approached, the Holy Knight and Royal Knight guarding Cleo de Frederick drew their swords. At the moment of confrontation, Brian dashed out, shouting.

“Lo, Lord Lloyd!”

“…Who are you?”

“It’s me! Don’t you remember? I’m Brian. I was the apprentice knight of Baron Agnak. I left for the Monastery Church to become a Holy Knight…”

The Royal Knight, whose face bore a large scar across his cheek and lips, lowered his sword.

His blue eyes belonged to Lloyd.

He had discarded the surname ‘Agnak’ and became a Royal Knight serving the Frederick royal family, honing the blade of revenge as the last heir of the Baron Agnak family.

“Shh!”

Lloyd covered his mouth and scolded Brian for his impulsiveness. But Prince Cleo de Frederick asked in a low voice.

“Sir Lloyd? What is the meaning of this?”