After Aht temporarily left Noah’s side, this exchange was carried out in the guardroom of Duke Olipiage’s knights.
“Huh? No no no, father! I can’t do that!” said a young man in his mid-teens. He was waving his hands in front of his face and smiling, as if he doubted the sanity of the person he was talking to. This was Kuzan Rogue, squire of Duke Olipiage’s order of knights and son of its captain, Bach Rogue. His father stood across from him, eyeing him with a terribly stern expression.
Even when they were put side by side, few people would have been able to tell that they were related, or that they were similar at all. Bach had an inflexible attitude, but remained a serious and steadfast knight. His son, on the other hand, acted like a frivolous youth right down to the way he carried himself.
Bach was used to his son’s behavior, but this time he sighed heavily. “You have to. This is a direct order from the master. There’s no getting out of this. The mistress and Master Zeld have put their faith in you too. You’re the only one who can do this.”
“Why do they trust me so much? I’m telling you, I can’t! The Purgatory Forest is monster territory, you know! A lone squire heading there on his own is sure to get killed!”
Kuzan found his father’s orders to be highly unreasonable. Technically, they were orders from their shared master—Seto, the Duke of Olipiage. When he’d joined the knights, he’d sworn absolute loyalty to the Duke and his household, even if it were to cost him his life. But that only applied in situations where it was a reasonable sacrifice. He wasn’t going to simply die on a whim. That was Kuzan’s excuse, anyway. His father would’ve said that orders were orders, and it was his duty as a knight to offer his life regardless. Kuzan had a different opinion entirely, and that was how they’d gotten into this argument.
Bach corrected Kuzan. “But Noah went, and he’s still alive.”
Yes, that was the root of it all. That was why he was being told to find him—or rather, to confirm that he was safe.
Kuzan didn’t have any qualms about that part. Noah was his future master. He’d trained his whole life with that in mind. He didn’t want to throw his life away for no good reason for the current duke, but if it were for Noah...then he’d probably choose to do so with a smile on his face, whether he thought it reasonable or not. He was that dedicated to Noah.
And yet Noah had been exiled. Kuzan hadn’t been told why exactly, but he must have done something incredibly outrageous. That was the only conceivable answer. After all, the Church had come looking for him.
I told you so, Kuzan had thought when he saw the Duke’s household in such a state. The future master thinks of himself as normal and average, but he can screw up and do some pretty heretical things. Every time, I warned him that he’d get tossed out one of these days if he wasn’t careful. He’d reply, with an odd look on his face, “Got it, I’ll be careful.” But look at him now...
It’s because he didn’t listen to me.
But I can’t imagine he’d commit a sin so bad that it’d get him shipped off to the Purgatory Forest, he thought now. I wish I could just leave the Duke’s knights and go look for him myself. Well, the opportunity is right here, so I might as well take it.
But there was still something bothering him.
“Kuzan, why do you hesitate? You were so insistent that I let you go look for Noah, but now you’re getting cold feet? You don’t need to repeat the same excuse. Nobody will get in your way now,” Bach pointed out.
The fake smile on Kuzan’s face faded, and he bit his lip. “Father...I...I’m afraid. Master Noah might condemn me. He might say he doesn’t need me, because I wasn’t there for him when it mattered the most...”
Indeed, that was probably his only reason. That was why he’d taken a flippant attitude and tried to say no. But Bach had seen through his act from the start.
“Ridiculous. You know well that Noah...that your master isn’t that petty. He accepted you and earned your devotion. Well, he probably didn’t think of it that way. I think he became your friend because you were playmates around the same age. But that’s what gave me hope that he would be an excellent duke...”
Yet things had turned out for the worse. Bach restrained himself from saying as much, and took another deep breath. Then he rested a hand on Kuzan’s shoulder and told him straight out.
“Squire Kuzan Rogue, these are your orders. Covertly head to the vicinity of the Purgatory Forest and find Noah. Furthermore, you shall forsake any social status which may hinder you on this mission. Do you follow?”
In other words, his status as a squire was being taken away. That was what going after Noah right now entailed. Otherwise, it’d cause issues for the Duke’s household and Bach. Conversely, this meant that Kuzan would have less liability and could travel across national borders more easily. The Duke’s household would offer him the same assistance as usual, but it was necessary to do this for form’s sake. That was the long and short of it.
Even so, most people would have refused. Social status was important. It was something that people could rely upon. There was usually a very good reason for having one’s status revoked, so Kuzan would probably be accused of some major misdeed. In other words, it was very likely that he would be unable to regain his position as a squire.
Even so, Kuzan said, “I accept. I swear I’ll find Noah and report on his situation!”