Chapter 2:
To Be His Majesty’s Sword
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THE PATH TO THE CAPITAL was uncannily peaceful.
We passed through a number of villages and were welcomed by none of them. The villagers shut their doors and timidly peeked at us through the cracks. Yet it didn’t quite seem that they feared our army—rather that the rumors of our defeat had arrived faster than we had.
It was a rather boring journey, so I asked Rigel about what had been on my mind.
“Is it possible to make peace with the orcs?”
He looked at me as if I had turned into some incomprehensible oddity. After a pause, he replied wearily, “Oh, a joke. Your otherworld humor is too much for an old man to handle.”
“I’m being serious.”
The look in his eyes changed to one of genuine concern. “Hero, we’re only a short hop from the capital. You will be able to rest as much as you want once we arrive. Please keep your wits about you.”
“I’m not tired.”
Now misgivings began to show in his expression. He peered curiously into my eyes, weighing their sincerity. No, it’s most likely my sanity he’s judging instead. Evidently, it’s considerably odd to even consider the possibility of peace in this world.
“Hero, they are vile life-forms spawned from the False God. Peace is a dream within a dream. I highly doubt they even have the intellect for it.”
“You’re the one who warned me not to make light of their intelligence. And from what I’ve seen in battle, at least, they seem to be quite smart. Perhaps negotiations are possible.”
“You’ve only seen them in battle. When a pack of wolves venture out to hunt, they may appear to display coordination and unity, but that is not enough to deem them intelligent. Do you find merit in negotiating with beasts?”
Hey now, you know those orcs did more than that. I opened my mouth to argue, but before I could speak, Rigel went on.
“Of course, it’s foolish to underestimate their abilities. But those extend no further than the battlefield. It is a complete mistake to take them as humanity’s equal simply because they are strong in battle. Why, the mere thought of permitting the existence of those filthy, vile beings repulses me. To destroy them is God’s will. It is the duty of every knight!”
His expression was serious. I had thought that he evaluated the orcs more levelheadedly than the others, but by his own words, that extended no further than the battlefield. Under the circumstances, there was no point in continuing the conversation.
“I see. You may have a point,” I said, bringing an end to the discussion.
The next few moments were occupied by an awkward silence. Then Rigel looked around warily, his eyes coming to rest on the priests a short distance away. He made sure they weren’t paying attention before bringing his bearded mouth to my ear.
“I cannot bring myself to endorse your ideas. But still, I must offer you a word of advice.”
“What is it?”
“Be mindful of who you share such words with. Especially around the priests. It’s possible even the hero may be deemed a heretic.”
While his eyes were stern, they were also the eyes of a kind old knight. He still worried for me despite our disagreement. And for my part, despite those differences, I was taking to him even more.
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The palace was on a hill right below Dragon Peak, the highest and most conspicuous point of Dragonbone Ridge. Its accompanying city spread out from the base of the hill, surrounded by walls built of white stone. It was large, magnificent, and beautiful, but all in all a bit underwhelming after I’d just seen Dragonjaw Gate. It was probably unreasonable of me to compare this human construction to a relic of ancient magic.
The first three days after my arrival were wasted learning etiquette. They wanted me to take part in the reporting ceremony, where we’d inform the king of our results. It was just a report, but it was made into a big deal because it was an official royal duty.
It’s the same in any world, really.
Even though I only had to know the manners pertaining to the reporting ceremony, there was much to learn. I was taught the timeline of the event, how to enter the grand hall, what posture to wait in until I was called, how to respond to the minister of ceremonies, and so on. So many things were determined down to the minutest details. The royal court even dispatched an etiquette tutor specifically to teach me. Naturally, teaching took more than kindness. My tutor was a large and muscular man whose cheek had been marked by a sword.
“A hero must conduct himself as a perfect hero. That is what His Majesty demands.” That was the very first thing he told me. Evidently, my role in the country had already been decided.
It was a bother, but I had little to lose by playing my part. That was an important lesson I’d hammered into myself from my first few worlds. There was a time where my poor manners made the nobles take me for a fool and refuse to cooperate. At other times, I had enraged them and nearly lost my life for it.
The day of the ceremony came. Rigel prepared my clothes for me, and after I’d finished changing into them, he looked me over with fondness in his eyes, like the sight of me had stirred up old memories. The unkempt beard that he worked so hard to shove under his helmet on the battlefield was now done up in two tidy bundles.
“That’s the formal wear of the dragon riders. You wear it well. Yes, I can confidently send you out before His Majesty like that.”
“Thank you.” I took a better look at myself. The deep gray looked plain at first glance, but on closer inspection, I saw subtle ornamentation on the high-quality cloth. The tailoring was perfect and clearly expensive. I had to wonder where the clothes came from. They didn’t seem like they had been hurriedly made for me. While it was faint, I had the sense that someone else’s arms had passed through these sleeves before. Not an old man like Rigel, that I was sure of. He was quite a bit smaller than me, in any case.
A boy wearing the same formal uniform entered the room. Something about him reminded me of Rigel. He looked at me dubiously upon seeing what I was wearing.
“What’s wrong, Kyel?” Rigel asked him.
“I came to inform you that we are ready to depart.”
“Understood. We’ve just finished up here too. We’ll be out at once.” Rigel turned back to me. “Well then, Hero. Shall we get going?”
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The path to the palace was jam-packed with people. The dragon riders guiding us were forced to raise their voices and part the crowds with their horses.
“Quite a lively town.”
“The road from the west gate to the temple is the busiest one. These parts are usually supposed to be quieter.”
“Did something happen?”
“Well… Word on the street is that our savior has appeared.”
Meaning they came to see me.
“Word spreads fast.”
“That it does. I’m sure everyone’s just starved for good news… I’m counting on it to drown out the pain of our loss.”
I see, so that’s your game.
“So then… Should I wave?”
“Just carry yourself boldly. That should do the trick.”
We purposely took the long way around before coming out onto the main road. Our horses pressed on toward the palace under the watchful eyes of many onlookers.