“Al…and Master Luke?!”
“Eh? Who are you?”
“O-of course you don’t remember…”
Zack wasn’t at all surprised that Luke had no memory whatsoever of their meeting.
I’m just a fallen pebble by the road to him, I guess. Hard to remember that. I get it, but damn if it doesn’t still make me sad to hear it like this…
“Um, Al…? What’s going on?”
Zack met Canis and Ferris at the royal capital, where the three formed a little connection that led to Zack bringing them all the way back to Gilbadia to introduce them to the best blacksmith in town. The introductions would have to wait, however. Zack decided that calming the immediate situation down was his best course of action.
“Oh, it’s you, Zack… You tell him, won’t you? This blasted idiot says he won’t sell us a sword.”
“R-right…”
Ah…Al’s real angry… I already wanna leave…
Alfred’s voice was quiet and calm on the surface, but Zack was sharp enough to sense the clear anger in his tone. He recognized that the situation was much more chaotic than he’d first thought, and his stomach clenched with anxiety.
“Don’t do anything.”
Canis whispered those three words to Ferris, as the two of them stood rooted to the spot at Zack’s side.
“I know.”
That was her only reply. Everyone else in the room was too preoccupied with their own circumstances, and no one heard their brief exchange.
“I don’t give two hoots if he’s the lord’s son!” snarled the blacksmith. “My swords ain’t for no dress-up! You want a ceremonial piece, go bother someone else!”
“It really is unpleasant to find myself interacting with someone so incredibly stupid.” Luke sighed.
“Wh-what did you say, you little—”
“Ah! Wait, please, Master Luke! Please! Just a second! Will you give me just a minute to talk with him?!”
“Second time: Who the heck are you?”
“My name is Zack, I’m an adventurer! We crossed swords once, several years ago!”
Luke gave him an appraising look. He didn’t answer.
“You don’t remember me! It’s okay! I know you don’t recall!”
Zack raised his voice to try and calm the situation down—his desperation coming across in his facial expressions and in every movement of his hands.
Luke saw the flustered new arrival and felt his disgust and repulsion toward him overtake his anger at the blacksmith—but there was also something about Zack that, strangely, he didn’t immediately dislike.
“Master Luke. When you trained under my instruction, do you remember that I sent a bounty to the Adventurers’ Guild?”
“Yes.”
“You fought against a man named Zack at that time—this man.”
“Zack… No. I still don’t remember.”
Alfred’s whispered words brought no memories flooding back to Luke. His mind, it seemed, would completely wipe all memory of those that he considered insignificant. It was, however, a great victory for Zack that he had managed to convince Luke to pause for just a moment.
“…I will not wait long.”
“Thank you very much!”
Zack bowed his head low and walked over to Dalkin the blacksmith, who was at the center of all the chaos. It was then that Luke also noticed the other two people in the room.
“Oh? You don’t see that every day,” he remarked, glancing over the odd pair wearing turbans. “Beastlings, are you?”
“Gah.”
He had easily noticed that the two of them were not purely human. His mana-detection abilities, refined by constant use, told him that neither had any mana within them whatsoever. His words caused Canis’s and Ferris’s faces to stiffen in fear, but only briefly. They quickly recovered, and Canis took action.
“Y-yeah, we actually are, y’know?”
He unwrapped his turban to show the distinctive features of a beastling—floppy, doglike ears. He then took Ferris’ turban off too.
“Urk!”
Ferris’ ears were catlike. She hadn’t exposed them of her own accord, and so quickly made to cover them with her hands.
“We’re siblings. Hard for beastlings to get along in this kingdom, ain’t it? That’s why we hide ourselves with these turbans to stay out of any unwanted trouble.”
Canis forced himself to offer Luke a pleasant smile. Ferris stayed silent.
“Hmph. Why did you come to this nation?” asked Luke.
“Huh?”
Luke’s sharp gaze pierced right through them, as if reaching straight into their chests to wrap his hands tightly around their hearts.
“The empire’s right across the border. Why come here?” he asked again.
“W-well…”
It would have been easy for Canis to make something up on the spot, but both he and Ferris knew that Luke would see through that in an instant. It was just a hunch, but they were instinctively sure he had the ability to expose their lies. As a result, Canis struggled to find his words. Time dragged on, the seconds feeling longer and heavier as the silence began to smother everything beneath it.
“Um, do you mind if I jump in?”
Just then, Zack returned.
“What, you’ve already talked things over with that guy, then?” asked Luke.
“Yes, well…the blacksmith’s name is Dalkin, you see, and it seems he was under a bit of a misunderstanding.”
“Go on, spit it out.”
“Ahem, well, as I’m sure you’re well aware,” Zack began, “it is customary that the great aristocrats of this proud kingdom…that is, in all their uh, great and noble wisdom, of course…it’s customary that—”
“Speak normally.”
“M-my apologies. It seems he thought that a person of your status, Master Luke, wouldn’t be interested in swordplay at all. He was under the impression that you wanted to buy a ceremonial sword. And well…ahem…”
“Just tell me already.”
“Well, I explained to Dalkin that you’re a swordsman, but he’s really stubborn… He says he’ll believe it when he sees it with his own eyes.”
“Huh?”
“Ah!”
Zack winced, sensing the flames of rage that quickly began to rise within Luke.
“You want me to demonstrate my power to him?” Luke said, emanating a terrible aura of fury. “And who the hell is he? A nobody! A pile of horseshit! And for that matter, who do you think you are?!”
“Aaahh…I’m sorry! Sorry!” Zack wailed and cursed his fate, his stomach twisting itself into knots.
“But,” Luke added suddenly, “heh…I suppose maybe I should, eh?”
“Huh?”
Luke’s expression was pained.
If I’m going to be playing the part of an adventurer, I can’t be getting angry over every little slight…
Luke sighed—an attempt to let out the rage churning inside him.
“Zack, was it? Promise me one thing.”
“Ahem…what can I do for you?”
“I accept. I’ll show you my skills with the sword. But you see…” He hesitated, frowning. “I can’t explain it exactly, but I feel like if I do this, it’ll cause some kind of irritating new problem to manifest.”
“Um…?”
The feeling was only a hunch, really, but it was a well-founded one based on his experiences. He had a bad feeling that he just couldn’t shake; a sense that the action that he was about to take would have unfortunate and unforeseen consequences.
“Look, I’ll demonstrate my sword-fighting abilities…but if that causes some kind of problem, then you’re fixing it. Do you comprehend me, Zack?”
“Y-yes…I understand.”
Zack didn’t understand what Luke was saying at all, in fact, but he agreed regardless.
“You can test your blade in the backyard,” said Dalkin, as he walked off to the rear of his shop, assuming this action alone would be a sign for them to follow.
Luke raged at his insolence, but he endured, reminding himself that he needed to behave like any other adventurer. Alfred let none of his emotions show but felt much the same as Luke did. He was so loyal that he even felt the same rage that his master did when he was slighted. Everyone moved to follow Dalkin, including Canis and Ferris, who tailed them in silence.
“This is the place.”
There were a few bundles of straw in a row in the backyard—a place perfectly set up for testing one’s blade, just as the blacksmith said. Luke quietly walked toward the straw bales and laid his hands on them.