“Okay, Gramps. You tell story now?”
“You wanted to know why I always wear this armor, correct?”
“Yeah!”
Sir Aiskoletta stared up at the sky. Charlotte couldn’t see his eyes under the helmet, but she got the sense that his gaze was fixed on something distant.
“It’s already been fifty years, hasn’t it?”
“That is a long time.”
“Most certainly. I’ve worn this armor for half a century now.”
Sir Aiskoletta was born to one of the three most prominent noble families in his kingdom. Both his education and his training in fencing and magic were on par with what any future king would receive. By the age of fifteen, he’d already slain many monsters during his time in the royal order.
Just as people began to wonder if any being in the world could rival his skills, that was when Sir Aiskoletta found himself facing a trial. It happened on a winter day when he was eighteen years old.
“A demon king descended upon the earth.”
“A demon…king?”
“It is a dreadful being capable of plunging this world into darkness.”
The demon king was a wicked monster, his every last thought tinged with evil. He led an army of monsters to attack people and burn down their villages.
“A team was formed at once to slay this demon king. We set out on a journey to reach him.”
Sir Aiskoletta’s party consisted of four men and women of varying ages.
“The first member insisted on being called a holy woman. This holy woman had a pure, maidenly heart, a strong body, a merciful soul, and the most powerful restoration magic throughout our kingdom.”
“Then why insist on nickname?”
“Because…he wasn’t actually a woman.”
“I see.”
Judging by how Sir Aiskoletta seemed hesitant to elaborate, Charlotte decided it was best not to press him any further. It seemed like the kind of thing that was difficult to explain.
“The second member was a bashful knight who fought with a large shield. She would never let any attack slip past her.”
“So she was strong woman?”
“Yes, I would say so.”
“The third was an assassin, and quite the show-off. He’d never successfully assassinated anyone, but he was strong, so we brought him along.”
“Sounds like he picked the wrong job.”
“Right you are about that.”
“And the fourth?”
“He was a sorcerer everyone called a sage, though he was also a shut-in. This man was an alchemist, and he taught me everything I know about magic.”
“Oh, I see.”
It was a nice group of people who left on the journey to slay the demon king.
“The trip was a difficult one. Even fifty years later, I think of it as the hardest struggle of my life.”
They slaughtered demons as they tried to make their way to the land where the demon king had taken up a stronghold.
“After half a year of travel, we finally reached the demon king.”
The demon king had taken over a dragon’s body and transformed into a Dark Dragon. To their shock, they found the demon king had absorbed still-living children into his own body.
“He was truly a despicable creature. Thanks to that move, I could not cast a magic spell that would defeat the monster in a single blow.”
They tried to rescue the children, but it was impossible. The battle merely continued at a total standstill. In the end, the children perished alongside the demon king.
“I was on the verge of turning around and leaving the demon king’s corpse behind me. But I never predicted what was to come next.”
The demon king’s severed head suddenly jumped forward and attacked Sir Aiskoletta.
“That creature devoured the lower half of my body. I thought that would be the end of me…but then my teacher burned the dragon’s head to the ground, taking half of my body with it.”
Charlotte gulped. It was a far crueler tale than she had been expecting. When Sir Aiskoletta saw her reaction, he asked, “I’m sure that’s enough for now, isn’t it?”
“No, I want to hear the rest.”
“I see. In that case…” Sir Aiskoletta resumed the story where he’d left off. “Restoration magic wasn’t enough to heal my missing lower half.”
Not even the strongest restoration magic user was able to bring back so much of his body.
“I lost half of my body, bled profusely, and began to lose consciousness. I believed my time had come.”
“But…it didn’t.”
“Indeed.”
Sir Aiskoletta was still alive. That meant there must have been some method to save him.
“I mentioned that my teacher was an alchemist, did I not?”
“Uh-huh.”
“He was able to restore my missing half out of nothing.” Sir Aiskoletta knocked on his leg with his fist. He was murmuring quietly now. “These are not the legs I was born with. They were forged with the power of alchemy.”
It took less than five years for the process to be complete, then another three years until he could move his new legs.
“Just as I began to return to a normal life, that was when the next problem arose.”
“What was that?”
“The Dark Dragon’s curse.”
The Dark Dragon’s blood had mixed together with Sir Aiskoletta’s, and there was no separating it now. Each day, the Dark Dragon’s blood ate away at Sir Aiskoletta’s life force. It was something that couldn’t be called anything less than a “curse.”
“Once again, my elderly teacher was forced to find a solution on my behalf.”
After one year of work, the teacher alchemized a suit of armor that negated the curse’s effects.
“This armor has been a part of my life ever since.”
“You mean, the dragon’s curse wakes up if you take armor off?”
“Correct. I put my life on the line with each bath.”
“I-Is that safe?”
“A few minutes at a time will do me no harm.”
“I see.”
The secret behind Sir Aiskoletta’s armor turned out to be much graver than Charlotte imagined.
“I nearly died in that moment, but now, I’ve outlived the rest of my party. There is no telling what the ups and downs life may bring.”
“I think so too.”
Charlotte’s forest had burned down. She watched her family be taken from her. Then, after a long series of events, she ended up in this country.
“I was so happy everyone accepted me here.”
“As was I. I didn’t expect such hospitality for a person who cannot even reveal his true face to the world.”
“Everyone here is so nice, aren’t they?”
“Yes, they are.”
A gentle wind blew across the field. Charlotte and Sir Aiskoletta drank their tea in peace.
When they returned home, they found that Zara and Mell had just arrived themselves.
“The bath is ready, Sir Aiskoletta. Feel free to go first.”
When Zara announced that, Charlotte’s cry came instantly.
“Oh! Please take bath together with Gramps!”
“What?!”
Zara was startled. But how could he not be? They weren’t exactly close enough to spend time together naked.
“Gramps is old, and bath can be dangerous alone, right?”
“Huh? Um, well, I guess so.”
“Then go with him, okay?”
“I don’t mind, as long as it won’t bother Sir Aiskoletta.”
When Zara asked if the great hero wanted him to scrub his back for him, Sir Aiskoletta gave a lively smile.
“Indeed. I shall take you up on the offer!”
That was how Zara came to see Sir Aiskoletta’s face for the very first time. Supposedly, no one aside from Sir Aiskoletta’s wife had ever laid eyes on it.
Sir Aiskoletta returned wearing his full suit of armor. “What a refreshing bath,” he declared.
“That’s great!” Charlotte answered him, her voice full of delight.