Interlude: What the Brothers Were Up To
A bit of time had passed since Laetitia visited the Bureau of Magic and participated in their crest tool experiment.
A reunion was taking place on the southeastern side of the western continent—a city within the Ringrard Empire.
“Howdy, Hayruth. Long time no see.”
It was a casual encounter, like one would expect after wandering a city and running into a friend. Claude smiled dully as he approached Hayruth.
“What a coincidence. You look like you’re doing well, Lord Claude. How’s the kitty?”
“Meow!”
When Hayruth asked that question, a smile on his own face as well, the black and white Gardener Cat on Claude’s shoulder bowed in greeting. This was Clementine, the orange-loving Gardener Cat, who had apparently taken a liking to Claude enough to follow him around.
Animals usually hate me, but she’s not shy around me at all. She’s just as strange a character as Lord Claude. Hayruth, who could transform into the spirit of his ancestor and take the form of a snake, was a source of fear to dogs, cats, horses, sheep, and other animals. The only exceptions were scaley creatures such as scaled horses or lizards, but Hayruth rarely interacted with warm-blooded animals at all. That was why he took a liking to Clementine, who wasn’t afraid of him.
Claude also saw Hayruth as a good drinking buddy, but knew he wasn’t someone he could let his guard down around.
“Would you like to go out for a drink? Well, that’s what I wanted to ask, anyway…” Hayruth stared up at the sky. The sun was setting—usually a peaceful hour where day faded to night, but something was amiss that evening. He listened closely and heard what sounded like the distant screams of soldiers. “Was this your doing, Lord Claude?”
Hayruth was asking both about the soldiers’ frenzy and the coincidence of bumping into Claude in town.
Claude must have been after this country’s classified information and set off a commotion in the process.
It looks like he beat me to the punch. Now what shall I do…? Hayruth was after the same information Claude had likely obtained. But they weren’t going to be sharing this information as fellow parties concerned with the Ringrard Empire.
It wasn’t just Hayruth this time—other spies from his homeland of Raiolbern had infiltrated the city. But if he called for them now, Claude would probably put all of this to an end.
Just as he was deciding what to do next…
Hayruth glanced to the side, and Claude instantly leaned backwards.
“Mraw?!”
A dagger was sticking out into the air where Claude had just stood. Clementine cried out, nearly shaken off of Claude’s shoulder.
A man patted Claude. His golden eyes blazed as he glared at the other side of the alleyway.
“Ah, I apologize. I didn’t mean to harm you. If you forgive me, I’ll sing you a song some other time.”
This man was Leonard, the bard, and his apology was blatantly insincere.
I didn’t expect Leonard to be here too. Hayruth knew the full story. Leonard wasn’t just a traveling bard, but a spy working for the kingdom of Wolfvarte. He was also the older brother of King Glenreed—a former prince who was believed by the public to be dead. Hayruth’s special eyes had left him nearly convinced of these facts.
Those eyes were able to perceive heat and magical energy that others couldn’t.
A human’s flow of magical energy and its distribution within the body varied from person to person, but blood relatives often shared similar makeups of energy within the body.
Leonard’s magical energy greatly resembled family members of the previous king’s wife. Then there was his age, his behavior, the history of Wolfvarte’s royal family, and various other pieces of information that painted a complete picture in Hayruth’s mind.
Leonard played with the dagger between his fingertips and cast a glance toward Hayruth. “Can you stay out of this? I think you’d agree it would be best for you, no?”
“……”
Hayruth instantly began to calculate the situation. He’d assumed that the soldiers were raging because Claude had stolen classified information. But it was possible that Leonard had succeeded on the same mission.
Is he trying to get rid of Lord Claude so that he can have the information all to himself? No, or did he fail to steal it, and now he wants to take what Lord Claude found? He seems relatively calm, so he probably did obtain some sort of info. Or is he putting on an act to fool me? He might be focusing on Lord Claude and ignoring me just so that I’ll feel safe letting my guard down…
As his mind raced, Hayruth focused on the two men’s movements.
Any two of them could team up to take out the other.
Remaining vigilant, he decided to stay back and watch what unfolded.
Leonard smiled at Claude and spread his arms dramatically. “Three men together with nothing beautiful to lighten the mood? Such a pity. Could I ask you to quickly hand over the information and be on your way?”
“Sure thing. I’ll head home, as you wish.”
Hayruth watched Claude shrug his shoulders, while Clementine dismounted down to the ground. His eyes perceived the intensifying flow of magical energy.
“Whichever two are left can fight it out to decide who walks away with the information.” Claude turned around and made that declaration over his shoulder.
Naturally, Leonard had predicted his escape, so he took off toward Claude on foot.
So fast! He’s definitely “half-beast,” all right.
Leonard was capable of much greater physical feats than any human. Hayruth had always found his magical energy strange for a pure-blood human, but now he was certain of the explanation.
Sometimes “half-beasts,” children of human and beastfolk parents, inherited the strengths of both bloodlines. The strength of a beastfolk, and the magic of a human.
The man before his eyes now, Leonard, was its embodiment.
Leonard threw his dagger forward, where it turned into a blade of wind to cut across Claude’s path. It was a masterful use of physical strength and magic, but Claude wasn’t going to be bested so easily.
“Oops! That’s dangerous.”
Leonard nimbly jumped off to the side.
Claude had fired off an earth magic spell to lay a series of pitfalls, though Leonard easily avoided them all. It seemed his talents didn’t end at strength and magic—he knew how to read a situation too.
But Claude had managed to buy a bit of time with that, so he sprinted further away from Leonard.
“That’s a little harsh, even for Lord Claude. Don’t you think?” Hayruth was speaking to his feet. That was where Clementine had come up to sit. She produced a peeled orange from somewhere unknown and munched on it while watching the fight. “How shameless of you. Or are you just really convinced Lord Claude is going to win?”
Clementine didn’t answer Hayruth’s question. Instead, she continued to watch Claude and Leonard.