Chapter 20

Chapter 16 The Raging Flames 1 It’s raining. I listen closely to the sound. I hear it splashing against the leaves on the trees in the garden. I hear it falling into the pond. I hear it against the ground. I hear it reverberating off the roof of the distant gazebo. I let the sounds wash over me. On rainy days like this, I open the lid of the box shut away deep in my heart. Flames rage within that box. Flames of a deep-seated grudge that will never die. If I were to release those flames, they would consume me, the people I hold dear, and this entire country, bringing everything to ruin. That is why, on rainy days like this, I gently open the box. The sound calms the raging flames. I just barely escape being consumed by the desire for revenge sealed within. Even then, the flames will occasionally flare up and threaten to engulf me in a scarlet rage. A part of me wouldn’t mind if that happened. A part of me wishes nothing more than for that to happen. The flames were lit within me when I was five years old, and at eighty-one, they are still burning strong. 2 I wonder if that boy knows that although he calls me his savior, he is actually mine. He is the one who saved me. Well, he’s not a boy anymore. He is the head of the twenty-fifth noble family of counsel and the first Defender of the Realm in over one thousand years. He is a rare hero who defeated an invincible monster and won a divine sword, stamped out a rebellion and decapitated the ringleader, overpowered one hundred knights in the presence of the king, smashed the fearless Northern Knights and won the land of Keza. But to me, Panzel Goran, the Defender of the Realm, is still a boy. The way I see him has not changed since he first appeared before me in front of the Sazardon Labyrinth. When I met him, he was holding Alestra’s Bracelet, so I thought Lord Percival must have sent him to me. I thought he was telling me this boy would be a worthy person to raise to support Lord Julius. I don’t think that was wrong. But then I met Panzel’s mother and learned his father was the grandson of Eisha Goran. I knew then that Panzel must also have been sent to me by Eisha. 3 Eisha was born in the south. It’s thought that his birthplace was likely in the northwest of the Gorenza Empire, near the Era Wetlands. He made a name for himself at a young age in the imperial capital as a swordsman. He excelled in military strategy and had great knowledge of history, and many lords wanted him to enter their service. Instead, he wandered the land without an employer and made a living teaching the sword. While touring the countries in the south and challenging renowned warriors in each area, he came to be known as an unparalleled swordsman. His admirers grew in number, and many kings and lords invited him to serve them under extraordinary terms. However, he did not enter anyone’s service. His wandering eventually brought him to the Baldemost Kingdom in the north. At that point, his fame was already great even there, and the lords were vigorous in their attempts to invite him into their homes. Where Eisha decided to visit was the estate of my father, Mazel Sou La Vald. At that time, my father was nothing more than an average knight of the Imperial Guard, but his ability with the sword surpassed that of his peers. Eisha visited my father’s sword instructor, and it was through him that he ended up being introduced to and crossing blades with my father. Their fierce fight became the stuff of legends. Afterward, they drank enough beer to tear holes in their stomachs, and they became great friends. The broad-minded Eisha and my diligent and honest father hit it off immediately. They had shared interests in both their love for swords and their love for alcohol. Whenever Eisha was asked why he came north, he would always say it was because he had gotten tired of southern booze. My father entrusted the education of my older brother and me to Eisha. My brother started official sword training right away, but as I was young, Eisha and I mostly just ran around the hills and fields. I would run with all my strength, laugh, and eat. I learned about grass, trees, and beasts. I also learned about water, the sky, the earth, the mountains, and the way of the universe. My father was often away on business, so to me, it felt like Eisha was my real father. Eisha was by no means my father’s vassal. He simply lived at our estate. My father never ordered Eisha to do anything, and Eisha never humbled himself to my father as one would to their employer. My father must have been giving Eisha some money to live off. I don’t know anything about that. Nor do I need to know. Eisha was my father’s friend, and he was family to all of us. 4 It was beyond astounding when my father was selected to be the Royal Inspector. It was a post of great honor and responsibility. The Royal Inspector is one who works for the king directly. The purview of the position concerns the affairs of government and the administration of justice. The Royal Inspector has the authority to freely scrutinize all governmental activities within the royal palace, press charges for wrongdoing, and submit a detailed report for punishment to their superior. They even carry out a fixed range of punishments by themselves toward local bureaucracies directly under the king’s control. Furthermore, regarding matters entrusted to a lord by the king, they are able to perform independent investigations and report rewards and punishments. If the Royal Inspector reports wrongdoing related to one’s duty, even a cabinet minister or a prefectural governor can be beheaded, and lords can stand to lose a lot of their rights. Naturally, government officials use every means imaginable to get on a Royal Inspector’s good side. Much preparation is undertaken to ensure the position isn’t given to someone who can be won over by bribes or flattery. But the Royal Inspector is a high appointment. The king himself chooses the person for the job, and at least according to regulations, no one else can select a candidate unless the king makes a direct inquiry. The Royal Inspector is also one of the only senior positions at court that can be filled by someone who isn’t a high-ranking noble. Even then, a regular knight of the Imperial Guard ascending to the post went decidedly against precedent, and I have heard the close aides of the king were not happy with it. In the Privy Council, all four cabinet ministers—that is the White, Red, Blue, and Black Ministers—even took the time to write a document to the king arguing that his choice was inappropriate. But the king did not change his mind. The king at the time was known posthumously by the name Shana Eran, which means Kindhearted King. And as the name would suggest, he hated anything unfair or unjust. The royal palace and politics were unfairness and injustice incarnate, though, and the king’s efforts to do the right thing had no impact whatsoever. The king insisted on this one act of selfishness. He was not going to budge on appointing my father to the position of Royal Inspector. It feels disrespectful to call that “selfishness.” However, such an assessment would not be wrong, considering he made an arbitrary decision after rejecting the warnings of all his advisers. After claiming a position that was desperately craved by people from both factions, my father became a villain. He must have used some dirty trick to receive such an impossible promotion. He corrupted political convention by deceiving the king himself. His accusers had no need to offer evidence of what kind of wrongdoing my father had committed. His promotion to Royal Inspector alone was proof enough of his guilt. Thus, the road to hell was paved. 5 First, my father required help. If he was to be the Royal Inspector, he needed a large number of vassals of suitable ability, and so he turned to sword instructors and acquaintances from various training halls. There was violent resistance to this. In the end, though he was able to gather the number of people he needed, none of them had a shred of nobility. It seemed there were many who resonated with my father’s ideals, but the nobles who attended sword training halls were second and third sons at best or fringe nobles who couldn’t hold office. If a noble was told not to join my father by their parents, eldest brother, or their head of family, there was no way they were going to force the issue. It was hard to blame them for that. This made my father’s work at the royal palace very difficult. For starters, people aren’t allowed onto the grounds of the royal palace unless they hold a certain rank, which served as an impediment in his attempts to investigate government offices. He could be allowed into an office as an employee of public service, but if any office simply used the social-rank stipulation to bar him entry, there was nothing he could do about it. The only time he could force himself through was once he had established guilt of a crime. Despite the obstructions, my father tenaciously negotiated with departments he had his eye on to get them to submit documents. He had his subordinates copy, organize, and analyze them. He would then take those documents and try to advance the investigation. However, when he tried to visit those departments again, the documents would always have been altered, moved, or disposed of. The rare government official to cooperate with my father would become a target for either transfer or dismissal, and some were even executed. Of course, on paper, none of these punishments had anything to do with his investigations. My father changed his tactics. He led his vassals to Anpoan and performed a surprise raid of an import and export facility entrusted by the royal government. They carried out the inspection with lightning speed. As he had suspected, he found evidence of goods being sold on the black market, illegal payoffs, and unfair trading, all unhidden. Anpoan was already the kingdom’s largest port town, and it had been upgraded to a marquis’s domain just a few years back. As a result of my father’s investigation, the royal palace dismissed three viscounts in charge of international trade, and Marquis Anpoan was reprimanded and had a portion of his tax collecting rights stripped as punishment. This incurred the wrath of Kurelumo, the Duke of Riga at the time. The viscounts were all members of House Riga’s branch families. House Anpoan had also long been very loyal to House Riga. The Marquis of Anpoan at the time served Kurelumo very well, and his name was being proposed as a candidate for the cabinet. That would have been a massive gain for the Duke of Riga’s faction. But Father ruined those plans. A demotion to an earl’s domain was even being considered for Anpoan, so the Duke of Riga must have felt like years of hard work were amounting to nothing. That anger was evidence of Kurelumo’s conceit. All land, whether it be a marquis’s domain or an earl’s domain, belongs to the king. Despite that, there are many nobles who think of their land as their own. Moreover, I wonder how Kurelumo would have explained how the affairs of a town as important to the country as Anpoan came to be monopolized by people connected to his own house. There are likely to be aberrations in any political system with a storied history. However, powerful nobles who don’t hesitate to abuse those distortions have continued to cast a shadow over the purity of this country. 6 Our nation’s system of peerage is very different from that of other countries such as the Gorenza Empire. For example, House Mercurius is a noble family of counsel, which means that, in terms of court rank, we are equivalent to the highest rank of marquis, but we weren’t called a marquis’s house at that time because we didn’t own any land. Marquises are nobles who have been granted a marquis’s domain by the king. Earls are nobles who have been granted an earl’s domain by the king. The difference between a marquis’s domain and an earl’s is decided comprehensively by the size of the land, the wealth, the development of industry, and other issues such as transportation and military affairs. Viscounts are official nobles who are granted a portion of a marquis’s or an earl’s land. The rank of baron originated in an entirely different way. It was a rank created for lords who possessed land already before swearing allegiance to the king; a baron’s right to own their land was recognized. As a result, the domains of barons vary in size and strength. There are even barons who are richer and possess more land than some marquises. It is also not always the case that a baron will have a lower seat at court than a marquis or an earl. Because of the manner in which barons originated, they are never forcibly relocated by the king. Their peerage is never raised nor lowered. By contrast, marquises and earls can be promoted or demoted, and they can even be forcibly relocated. In reality, relocation never occurs unless there is a big change in the kingdom’s land as a result of a war or some other major event, but officially, barons are the only rank safe from such a shake-up. However, despite their land being granted to them by the king, there are too many nobles who rest on their laurels and live carefree lives on their wealthy domains, completely ignoring the risk of being relocated or having their rank lowered. That land belongs to the king, but they insist on thinking of it and using it as their own. The Duke of Riga is one such noble. House Riga is not actually a duke’s house. A dukedom is a noble house that is established when a sibling or a child of a king achieves special accomplishments and is awarded a portion of the king’s land. The amount of land is never very much, but it is recognized under royal law that their descendants will inherit it. Many examples where duke’s houses were overproduced in order to remove relatives with a high claim to the throne can be seen in other countries. This often backfires when a prince who inherits much land and wealth builds a strong dukedom and becomes a source of disorder for the country. In this nation, it is difficult for duke’s houses to gain much power, so that kind of thing doesn’t happen. The first Duke of Riga was originally the next head of House Onis, which ruled over an expansive land that lies west of the country of Tada and east of the feudal states of Fenks. He managed the affairs of the kingdom in place of the young second king after the founding king’s death. But he didn’t use the political situation for his personal gain. That righteous attitude gained him deep trust not just within the kingdom but also from surrounding countries. When his father, the head of House Onis, passed away, the second king begged the heir to continue giving his all to serve Baldemost, so House Onis was broken up and absorbed into the surrounding lands. The second king thought very highly of these efforts for the kingdom, so he awarded his servant with a pivotal piece of land called Riga and gave him the high-ranking position of duke, which was equal in rank with the royal family. He even recognized his right to have his descendants inherit the land. This is when House Riga was established. I believe the first Duke of Riga was an excellent man. His achievements certainly deserve praise. But it was a mistake to make him a duke. When he was offered the rank from the second-generation king, he should have shown his thanks and politely turned him down. But he accepted. And that is what corrupted House Riga. The position of duke should only be given to members of the royal family. It doesn’t make sense for someone granted land from the king not to be made a marquis or an earl. The first Duke of Riga was attracted by the virtue of the founding king and came to serve the country after it was established, so the rank of baron would have been appropriate. Also, I realize the first Duke of Riga’s accomplishments were great, but House Riga is not the only noble house that has put the kingdom above their domain and given their all to serve the king. Despite that, House Riga has flaunted the accomplishments of its first head and reaped the benefits of his great character, becoming a terrible poison to our country. A certain event played out after I became old enough to remember things. Molzora had inherited the position of the Duke of Riga from Kurelumo. A dispute flared up between one of the feudal lords of Fenks and an earl of this kingdom. If the earl won the dispute, the kingdom would have gained more land. The cabinet ministers were of the opinion that the royal capital should offer its support. Molzora, who was the White Minister at the time, rejected that. He said that if the royal capital intervened, then the surrounding lords in Fenks would join the war. That was well stated. But he had to have been planning something behind the scenes. He then stopped the provision of salt. It is impossible to fight a war without salt. The earl and his relatives tried to buy it from the royal capital, and they also tried to procure it from salt fields. The price, however, suddenly skyrocketed in the royal capital, and all the salt in the salt fields had been sold off to the neighboring country of Tada. As a result, despite the fact that the war was going well, the earl had to declare a ceasefire without having gained any land at all. It is said that the earl rushed to the royal capital still in full armor, tracked down the officer in charge of the buying and selling of salt, drew his longsword, and cut his desk clean in two. The one the earl really wanted to cut down was the Duke of Riga. Everyone understood who was responsible for guiding that war to a losing conclusion. House Riga has total control over this nation’s salt and iron. Their land stretches all the way from the coast to the center of the country. All transports to and from overseas must pass through Riga. In addition, all the seaside towns including Anpoan are either ruled by House Riga or are under their influence. Their territory also includes every village that produces salt. The most prominent ores in the country are all under the control of House Riga as well. Like a kraken from the sea, House Riga has been reaching its tentacles deep into every corner of the nation for many, many years. They gain control over people with sweet talk and blackmail in their efforts to swallow up everything for themselves. Anyone unable to stomach their behavior or who refuses to fall in line is treated horribly. The insidious house will even go to extremes like halting the country’s supply of salt when an earl from an opposing faction simply tries to take more land for himself. House Riga is a pox on this country. 7 Kurelumo was very talented and must have had the ability to charm others. However, his brain was afflicted with the chronic disease of House Riga. Land, wealth, authority, and rank are gifts from the heavens, and anyone who would encroach upon them was a madman who had to be eliminated. Believing that, there was no way Kurelumo was going to leave my father alone. My father returned to the capital to wrap up the case and submit his report. He then mobilized his vassals and reproduced the contents of Anpoan’s investigation without any omissions. On the small chance the documents in the royal palace were to go missing, the facts of the case and the fairness of the investigation would be made evident by those materials. Afterward, once my father confirmed all the work was finished, he gathered his vassals and held a banquet in recognition of their services. It was the year 1024 of the Royal Calendar, the third day of the Third Red Moon. That is when the Duke of Riga’s soldiers attacked. Through Kurelumo’s cunning, he didn’t just send soldiers from his own house. He also convinced two cabinet ministers who were antagonistic to House Riga to send their soldiers as well. That way, he was able to disguise the event as a decision of the royal court rather than a personal grudge. Why those other two houses participated in the tragedy, I still don’t understand to this day, but there must have been some reason. Something to make my father’s death advantageous to them. Or something that would have made it disadvantageous not to kill him. Whatever that reason, Kurelumo sniffed it out. At five years old, I had no way of knowing the circumstances of the houses of the cabinet ministers, but I couldn’t come up with anything even when looking into it afterward. On that day, 343 people were slaughtered in my home. We lived on the outskirts of the royal capital, and there was a mountain behind our estate that was part of our grounds. Twelve thousand soldiers surrounded the property, used magic to burn it to the ground, and killed all who tried to flee. The next morning, Kurelumo visited the royal palace. He waited for the king to take his seat and reported that he had subjugated the traitor. That traitor was Mazel Sou La Vald. His Majesty must have felt a sense of divine retribution. The Royal Inspector he’d personally selected had discovered a group of government officials performing unfair trade with foreign countries and then skillfully brought them to justice. His investigation and his verdict had been perfect, and there was no way the government employees in the capital could deny his talent any longer. Then, as if things couldn’t get any better, the target of the investigation was Kurelumo’s favorite underling, which meant that for the time being, he wouldn’t have to see that nasty smile as Kurelumo suggested the man for Black Minister. How satisfied His Majesty must have been. Had you asked the opinion of anyone who was in court to bear witness to His Majesty at the time, they would have all said he was jubilant. I’ve been told he was always raising toasts to my father during meals at which my father was not present. He had already heard my father’s report on the throne, but he had been planning to invite him to a more intimate recognition of his services and had even prepared a reward for him. He then had to hear that my father had been charged as a traitor and executed. The Duke of Riga may as well have declared that he had killed His Majesty himself. His Majesty’s face turned purple, and he was unable to utter a single word. He withdrew from the throne shortly thereafter. It was an understandable reaction and heartrendingly sad. But. At that moment, His Majesty should have asked a question. Kurelumo had said that he had killed the traitor and that it was necessary for his family and all his vassals to be executed as punishment for the great crime. His Majesty, however, should have asked whether they were already dead. Kurelumo had not yet clearly stated under what evidence he had convicted my father as a traitor. I know that, among Kurelumo’s charges, he accused my father of having taken in a warrior famous in several countries and of using him to train up an army of soldiers who called themselves the warrior’s pupils. This was purportedly done in spite of his position as a single government official. At the time, however, aside from his daughter, Eisha had only taken in three pupils, and he didn’t even participate in the training of our vassals. There was no way that should have sufficed as the primary proof of rebellion. No matter how flimsy the substance of his accusation may have been, though, Kurelumo was not forced to go into detail. He must have been licking his lips like a snake after His Majesty took his leave. Kurelumo had just reported to the king that there had been a plot for rebellion, that the ringleader had already been executed, and that his entire family needed to be executed as well. In response, His Majesty had ended the Privy Council without saying a word. This meant Kurelumo’s actions had received royal consent. Kurelumo gave the order to all the cabinet ministers to send out their soldiers, this time under royal command. All the cabinet ministers became accomplices. All at once, the house where my older sister was living with her husband—as well as the households of my father’s siblings, my mother’s maiden family, and my mother’s siblings—was attacked, and not even infants and retainers were spared. My entire family was wiped out. Seven hundred and twenty-five people died over the course of two days. His Majesty apparently heard how things had played out the next day. His rage caused his physical condition to deteriorate, and he died without ever again leaving his bed. My father’s investigation was made out to be a fabrication. The records that were in strict safekeeping in the royal palace disappeared, and the documents my father had prepared were burned. The three viscounts who were dismissed regained their posts, and Marquis Anpoan was named Black Minister. For a long time after I obtained the list of names of all who were killed, I found the number of people on it strange. The reason for that was that my name was on the list, despite the fact that I am very much alive. I wondered if the corpse of one of the vassals’ children was mistaken for my own. Maybe the 725 count was wrong, and they had simply counted my nonexistent corpse. But neither of those was the case. Seven hundred and twenty-five people did die. I learned that when I asked Panzel’s mother if she knew what had happened during the attack. That night, there was a battle bloodier than I could have possibly imagined, all for the purpose of saving my life. 8 Panzel’s grandfather’s name was Charda, and he came from the borderlands to the west. He admired Eisha and became one of his pupils. He was twenty-two years old at the time of the incident. He was invited by Eisha to the banquet on that day but turned down the offer, saying he was going to look after the house. Charda’s two brothers went in his place. Eisha was their instructor, and he had formerly ordered them to go to Anpoan as escorts. Before tragedy ensued, Eisha noticed the forces surrounding the mansion and the mountain. He never would have dreamed that in the royal capital, though, the estate of a high-ranking official working directly under the king would be bombarded by magic attacks without warning, so he was late to act. Once the attack began, he understood that if they were willing to go to this extent, they would be prepared to let not one person escape with their life. I was with Eisha. I don’t remember the reason for that, but according to Charda, I was there to deliver a message from my father. “I tried to raise a toast to the amazing work of your two pupils, but they insist they only follow your orders and cannot have a drink in your absence. Help me out and come to the banquet.” That is apparently the message I delivered. I have a hard time believing I was able to remember something so complicated at five years old, but Charda said I did so perfectly. My father was a poor knight, but he inherited land on the suburbs of the royal capital from his grandmother. It had a spacious courtyard, or rather, the courtyard was the only thing that was spacious. The main building of the estate was rather compact. At first, Eisha lived in a small shack neighboring the main building. When my father became Royal Inspector and had to build living quarters for his vassals, the garden became crowded with makeshift shacks. Knowing that Eisha probably wouldn’t be able to relax there, my father offered him a secluded cabin a good distance into the mountain. Apparently, I spent more time in this detached cabin than I did in the main building. Eisha lived there with his daughter, Enina, and Charda. Enina was fourteen at the time. She was very nice, and I admired her like a real older sister. She obviously had a mother, but I don’t know what happened to her. She could have died while traveling, or they could have separated for some reason. Charda’s two brothers stayed in the main building and alternated acting as my father’s guard. Eisha made a quick decision. He picked me up, told Charda and Enina to quietly follow us, and jumped into the bushes without even looking at the burning main building. He kept low and walked until he reached a river. There was a small fishing boat tied to the shore. He laid me and Enina down in the boat and covered us with a woven mat. He then ordered Charda to take us all to the waterway in the royal capital. I do remember getting into the boat. But I fell asleep, so I didn’t see anything after that. The enemy knew there was a cabin in the mountain. After the main building was attacked, it would be next on the list. They were probably watching every exit down from the mountain, meaning there was nowhere we could run. Even if we managed to escape down the mountain, we would have ended up in an open plain, so escaping without being seen would have been impossible. For that reason, Eisha decided we should hide ourselves on the river and escape to the royal capital. The river was connected to the capital’s waterway. We could use the dark curtain of night to make it there without being seen. Charda had no idea what to do once we reached our destination, however. Staying low and taking care not to make a sound, he took up the oars and began moving us forward. When we were just about to reach the royal capital’s waterway, enemy patrols advanced on us. Charda brought the boat to a stop in a spot concealed by tall grass, held his breath, and glared at the approaching enemy. “I highly doubt they got this far,” said a man commanding multiple soldiers. That’s Conpachi. Charda realized who he was. Conpachi was the third son of an influential noble who liked to brag about his swordsmanship. For some reason, he bore a grudge against Eisha and had a habit of proclaiming that weak swordsmen from the south had no chance against heroes from the north. He declared all who followed that old man, who couldn’t even become an officer in the south, were fools, and as if trying to expose Eisha’s weakness, he challenged him to a duel on three separate occasions. He was beaten to a pulp every time. You would think Conpachi’s attitude toward Eisha would have changed after that, but he continued bad-mouthing him. As one of Eisha’s pupils, Charda was constantly being ridiculed and harassed by Conpachi. And now the man was right there in front of him, carrying a cone-shaped magic lamp in his left hand and a lance in his right. He was approaching the bank of the river. I could kill him right now. Charda contemplated killing him as he sat in the boat. Conpachi was as skilled as Charda, but with Eisha, the two of them could cut him and any other number of soldiers down in no time. But there were hundreds of soldiers just dozens of meters away. Past them was an even larger force. It would have been impossible to kill Conpachi and the soldiers around him before they raised an alarm. The only chance they had for survival was to not be found. If they were discovered, Charda would have no choice but to fight to the death against an overwhelming number of soldiers. Conpachi spun around to check his entire field of vision and used his magic lantern to illuminate the river. He pushed his way through the grass with his spear and caught sight of the spot where Charda was lurking. Their eyes met. Conpachi averted his eyes instantly and told his subordinates there was nothing there. “Sure enough, there’s no one here. Let’s look upstream.” The soldiers raised their voices in response, and the group walked away toward the mountain. Feeling shocked enough to have a heart attack, Charda got out of the boat. His body had gone numb, and he was unable to move for a while. He felt a huge wave of relief. But that was really strange. Charda tried to convince himself that Conpachi probably just didn’t see anything because his vision was obstructed by the afterimage of the burning building, but their eyes had definitely met. He asked his instructor about it when we made it to the royal capital. “Hmm” was Eisha’s only response. 9 Eisha told Charda where to take the boat, and then we all got out and immediately headed for our destination. Eisha carried me as we ran, and on the way, Charda picked up Enina as well. We reached a large estate, and Eisha unsheathed the sword at his hip and handed it to the person who came to the door. It was an excellent sword in spite of its simple make, and Eisha had used it for a long time. Astonishingly, despite our suspicious nature and our sudden arrival late at night, the servant let us into the house, no questions asked. We hadn’t even given our names. Water and tea were quickly prepared for us, so everyone except for me—as I was still asleep—was able to quench their thirst. Then, in a surprisingly short amount of time, the person who had greeted us at the door returned, said we were going to meet the head of the house, and guided the four of us to a different room. This time, Enina carried me. “I am the head of this family, Baldoran Mercurius. First, let me return this sword to you. Welcome to my home.” Charda didn’t realize whose house it was until then. This noble was a descendant of that hero. “I am a swordsman named Eisha Goran. My apologies for visiting so suddenly at this late hour. I come with the request that you take in the boy my daughter is holding in her hands. He is the second son of Mazel Sou La Vald.” “Has something happened to the Royal Inspector?” “His estate is being set ablaze at this very moment by an unfathomable number of soldiers.” “…What?” The head of the house seemed to be a good-natured man, but after hearing that, his expression suddenly shifted. He gave off an aura that would have driven away even the fiercest of gods, which made it clear that this house had not lost its warrior spirit. He calmed down a short moment later, then spoke again. “I never had the pleasure of meeting him, but I have known of him for some time. I was praying for his success.” “Can I leave the boy in your custody?” The head of the house looked Eisha square in the eyes and answered with a question. “If I take him in, what are you going to do?” “I will do what I must.” The head of the house closed his eyes, looked up at the sky, and sighed. “I see. That’s the way it has to be. Things can’t be left as they are. Your name, face, and character are well-known. Can I get a good look at the Royal Inspector’s son?” After receiving a nod from Eisha, Enina stepped forward with me still in her arms. “Ah, he’s sleeping soundly. Mr. Goran, can you tell me his name and age?” “His name is Adol. He is five years old.” “Five years old. Hmm. Five years old.” The head of the house stared at my face in contemplation and eventually called a maid and gave her an order. “Mr. Goran. You can entrust his second son to me. He and your daughter can share a room.” “You have my humblest thanks. Enina, take him with you to the room.” Enina and I were then led deeper into the house by the maid. “By the way, Mr. Goran. Would you happen to have a dagger?” Eisha handed his dagger to the head of the house, who said he was borrowing it temporarily and then set it on a nearby desk. He proceeded to remove a leather string from the scabbard he was wearing at his waist and fastened it around his wrist and pinky finger on his left hand. His face hardened. The maid came back with a single boy. I’ve been told he had my hair color and was around the same age as me. Charda felt a sense of unease when he saw the boy. The reason for that was he was wearing my clothes. The maid quickly left the room. “This is my son, but due to extenuating circumstances, he bears the family name of my wife. Come, Pan’ja.” Rubbing his sleepy eyes, the boy walked forward. The head of the house hugged his son tight, then took the dagger and plunged it into his heart. He laid the boy’s body on the floor. He then drew the longsword at his waist, stood the blade on the desk, placed the pinky finger of his left hand below it, and cut it off in a single motion. He stopped the bleeding by tying the leather string tightly around what was left of his little finger. He then wrapped the finger in a cloth he produced from his sleeve and laid it on his son’s chest. “Forgive me, Pan’ja,” he muttered softly, and stood up and addressed Eisha. “Mr. Goran. This will not end until they find the corpse of his second son. They’ll leave no stone unturned, and they’ll tear the faces off every burned corpse if they have to. They will not stop until they have confirmed his death.” Eisha took the boy’s small, lifeless hands in his and wept. He cried with all his might, to the point that it sounded like his throat would be left shredded. The tears streaming from his eyes collected in his goatee, and his wails swept through the room, cutting deep into all who heard them. Before long, the tears falling onto the boy’s chest ran red. Eisha was crying tears of blood. “Bear witness, O Zara, to the integrity of the warriors of the north!” Eisha implored his god with words typical of a warrior, stood up quickly, and then turned to Charda. “Stay here for the night. Sorry to ask this of you, but please look after Enina. Use the money I gave you however you please.” He then turned to the head of the house again. “I will never forget your kindness,” he said in brief thanks. “I’m glad we met,” the head of the house responded, also briefly. The two of them bowed to each other. Eisha picked up the corpse of the child and left the room. That was the last time Charda saw him. The next day, Charda collected Enina and left the estate. The head of the house was nice enough to let them hide in a shopping wagon. They escaped together to the borderlands in the west and were married sometime later. Eight years after they left the royal capital, they had a son. Charda taught him how to use a sword. After Charda died, his son Welzea went to the royal capital and opened a sword training hall. There were people who put him down as a country hick, but he was a very strong man and built a reputation for himself by correcting the behavior of even the worst thugs. He ended up very successful. Welzea married, and he and his wife had a child: Panzel. Welzea fell ill and ended up bedridden, however, and they instantly fell into poverty. They were swindled out of ownership of the training hall. Before he died, Welzea told his wife the story behind the incident that his father, Charda, had related to him. The story that Panzel’s mother told me ends there. When she finished, she asked me a question. “What happened to Eisha Goran?” I had previously looked into this. This is what is written in records left in the royal palace. After the rebels and family members were killed in the main building and the surrounding area, the search continued for the second son and the bodyguard, who were said to be living in a cabin separated from the estate. They were having trouble finding them, so they decided to set the mountain on fire, surround it from a distance, and wait for anyone to come running out. The rebels didn’t show themselves even then, but as dawn approached, the swordsman was discovered carrying the second son over his back. He was on the very edge of the encirclement and had been about to slip free, but the talented soldiers’ strenuous search ended up bearing fruit. The swordsman struggled hard like some kind of demon. More than eighty lives were sacrificed in the endeavor to capture him, but his ability to fight was limited thanks to increased efforts with long-distance magic. The swordsman gave up his resistance, killing the second son by stabbing him through the heart and committing suicide by slashing his own throat. After the corpses were inspected, it was confirmed that the swordsman was Eisha Goran, and from his apparent age and clothes, it was confirmed that the boy was without a doubt the second son of the traitor. After hearing that, Panzel’s mother cried silently. 10 I raised Panzel with great care. I assigned him the best teachers I could find with regard to both the military and the literary arts. There were many people who looked at me doubtfully, wondering why I was giving a young servant boy this kind of treatment, but I didn’t pay them any mind. Panzel showed astonishing growth. His improvement with the sword was especially tremendous, as if he had been possessed by the spirit of Eisha Goran. Serendipitously, Lord Julius also grew, as if being guided by Panzel. He was an especially fast learner and showed remarkable skill when it came to the domain of literature. After Panzel became a knight, he started leading the soldiers of House Mercurius and accomplished one military feat after another. The Duke of Riga set a trap for Panzel: He would be named the Defender of the Realm if he could manage to defeat the monster in the labyrinth. The king wanted to promote Panzel to a high rank, so he consented to it. At that time, I had given up my seat as chief vassal and was bedridden in my retirement. As soon as I heard that news, though, I knew it was a trap set by Alkan. I strengthened our surveillance of House Riga. I then learned that Alkan’s eldest son, Garrest, was secretly moving his military forces toward the capital. It looked like they were actually planning a rebellion. I did a lot of thinking, sifted through the various fragmentary pieces of information our spies had collected for us, and arrived at Alkan’s aim. House Mercurius. He was aiming for House Mercurius. He got rid of the cornerstone of House Mercurius’s military strength by sending Panzel to the labyrinth, and he planned to attack us in his absence. Alkan had also added a strict condition that would make it impossible for Panzel to defeat the minotaur or return. His plan was to then gather his forces and surround the imperial palace, forcing the king to abdicate and transfer the crown to the second prince. He was counting on the king’s heart breaking after hearing about the fall of House Mercurius. I wonder what kind of face I was making at that time. I was probably grinning from ear to ear as I sat in bed receiving reports of the developing situation, feeling my chance for revenge was nigh. Alkan made a couple crucial errors. The first was that he thought I couldn’t get out of bed. The other was assuming Panzel wouldn’t make it back. When those two assumptions backfired, that would be the downfall of Riga. Until then, I had not seen a means of bringing down House Riga, with all its power and influence. I hadn’t been able to create a just cause for which House Mercurius could fight House Riga. But now, they were crossing that line for me. They could go ahead and cross it. If they took that one step, the raging flames in my heart were going to burn them to ashes. I wouldn’t have minded burning down the royal capital if it meant getting rid of House Riga once and for all. When Panzel headed to the one hundredth floor of the Sazardon Labyrinth, the Duke of Riga’s army fell on House Mercurius. They attacked our estate in the royal capital in the middle of the harvest festival. See this reckless act of violence? They all always say they do everything for the country and for the people, but that is just lip service. Nothing could be further from the truth. I gleefully got out of bed and took command of Mercurius. Lord Julius was calm. Like me, he did not have a shred of doubt that Panzel would win and return. But we made a miscalculation. The Baron of Paulo had joined his forces with House Riga. Our armies clashed three times, and as we were preparing for another battle, Panzel returned. He said Lord Evert, who had served as the observer, stabbed him with a poisoned dagger. He knew no one would be coming to get him, so he had to return from the one hundredth floor of the labyrinth on his own. When I heard that, I was horrified by my own stupidity. Of course that had been a possibility. There was no reason to doubt Lord Evert’s virtue. However, that virtue was probably what led him to believe that tipping the balance in favor of Alkan’s plan was for the benefit of the country. That sounds probable, but it wasn’t something I had considered at all. Due to it being in the middle of the harvest festival, there was also no chance of Panzel meeting with other adventurers in the labyrinth. It was a death trap. I almost ruined House Mercurius. Lord Baldoran killed his son Pan’ja Raban by his own hands, gave me his son’s name and position, and loved me as if I were his own. In order to repay my debt to him, I trained myself to the best of my ability and served five heads of House Mercurius. And yet, I almost brought the house to ruin. Where? Where did I go wrong? As I was questioning myself, Panzel finished his report, borrowed Alestra’s Bracelet from Lord Julius, and charged alone into the enemy army. When he returned shortly afterward, he presented Lord Julius with a head. “This is the head of the enemy general, Garrest.” Garrest! The voices of Panzel and Lord Julius ceased to reach me. I staggered toward the head, lifted it up to eye level, and stared at it. There was no doubt it was Garrest, the eldest son of the current Duke of Riga. He was to be the next head of House Riga and had been promised the seat of the Baldemost Kingdom’s White Minister. Yes! Yes! Yesssss! I’m pretty sure I cried. I never thought I would reach this point, but now it was in my grasp. I was holding the head my sworn enemy would have wanted to lose the least. The head that bore my sworn enemy’s future. Actually, that head itself was my sworn enemy. At that moment, the dark-red clump in my chest dissolved, and purity returned to my heart. I thought about what I should do next and quickly reached a conclusion. “Lord Julius. This is without a doubt Garrest’s head. I ask that you give me permission to say what arrangements must be made now.” “Go ahead.” “We must have Panzel immediately take one hundred knights and lead them to the royal palace. I will take care of the defense here.” “Do it.” “Ha-ha. Panzel, I’m sure you’re tired. Sorry about this. Please head for the royal palace right away and find the commander of either the First or Third Division of the Imperial Guard. Then say that House Mercurius was attacked by rebels, and you rushed to the royal palace to see if anything had happened. Say that you will enter their command. Understood? On the chance the royal palace is already surrounded by the insurgents or that the battle has already begun, do not engage them until you find one of the commanders. Then deliver a message to the Grand Chamberlain from the head of House Mercurius, saying that he wants to ensure the safety of the first prince. Say that he will send more soldiers if needed. Because teleportation magic is restricted around the palace, use a horse and take one hundred soldiers made up of only cavalry. We have one hundred additional soldiers to send, so use them at your discretion. Move out.” But there was no more fighting after that. When Panzel took Garrest’s head, what the world calls the Pantram Revolt came to an end. 11 Alkan’s performance after Garrest’s death would have astonished even the most wicked of demons. First, he claimed his troops that were going to attack the royal palace had actually arrived to defend it. When the Baron of Paulo saw that, he withdrew to his domain as quickly as he could. Then Alkan convened the Privy Council and insisted that the Baron of Paulo was the ringleader of the rebellion. He said Garrest’s crime of participating in the revolt at the behest of the Baron of Paulo, despite his position as an officer of the Royal Capital Defense Force, was an unforgivable crime, and he presented the heads of Garrest’s children and his closest aides on the spot. Alkan’s questioning brought nothing to the surface except for his destruction of evidence by killing all involved. The investigation was blunted by his ghastly willingness to execute the family members and vassals he had always strived to protect. Alkan then said it would not be appropriate for him to be in charge with his son being the target of the investigation, so the Red Minister, the next highest position in the Privy Council, took over the current proceedings. Lord Julius’s and Garrest’s top knights gave testimony on the events of the battle. It was made clear that Garrest was an active participant and not a spectator. Startlingly, though, despite the use of magic to detect lies, when they were cross-examined, Garrest’s top knights said nothing about a plan to attack the royal palace after toppling House Mercurius. After that, Panzel reported what happened during his subjugation of the minotaur. He said the privy councilor Evert of House Lowell stabbed him with a poisoned dagger and that, before he died, he’d said House Riga was plotting to kill the head of House Mercurius, have the first prince commit suicide, and force the king to abdicate. This was an obvious problem. Alkan, however, insisted that for the last few months he had only seen Lord Evert at official gatherings, that harming Panzel was Lord Evert’s own decision, and that getting the first prince to commit suicide or anything else was nothing more than his own speculation. The next thing he said turned the tide completely. “How about we call an appraiser to take a look at the longsword that Panzel acquired?” After they called an appraiser and had him inspect the blade, they discovered it had blessings worthy of it being called a divine weapon. Everyone’s attention was drawn entirely toward the sword. Panzel then fought members of the Imperial Guard, and the king and his subjects were captivated by the blade’s powerful blessings and Panzel’s superhuman talent. “This man is worthy of the title of Defender of the Realm!” Hearing Alkan shout that made my blood boil. To take responsibility for the failure of his son, Alkan announced his resignation. He did three major things before his retirement. The first was naming the first prince the crown prince. The second prince was then given the title of duke and a poor village as a domain, falling to the status of a subject. The second queen consort was dethroned. The next thing he did was invest the title of Defender of the Realm upon Panzel. Panzel was given the right to establish a new noble family of counsel, and he chose Goran as the name of his house. I was worried people would point out that it was the same name as a well-known swordsman in the past, but it seemed like that name had been forgotten. The last thing he did was organize a force to subjugate the rebel Baron of Paulo. The Baron of Paulo had rejected his summons and refused to explain himself to imperial envoys, so it was decided a subjugation force was necessary. Alkan demonstrated his generosity by having House Riga bear the burden of the army provisions. Inquiring about the guilt of House Riga became quite difficult after Alkan went to such extremes. Many even began to think Garrest may actually have acted independently. Reading the shifting mood with cunning, Alkan recommended his successor to the cabinet. When one of the White, Red, Blue, or Black Ministers retires, it is customary for them to name a successor to join the cabinet. His recommendation was for Draydol, the second son of House Riga, to be named Blue Minister. The brazenness of Alkan naming a successor after taking responsibility for such a major failure raised a lot of eyebrows. He even had the audacity to name his own son. No one thought he would be able to gain the consent of the king, but the king ended up granting it easily. The reason for that was because Alkan paired his son’s appointment with a proposal of marriage for Panzel. House Riga declared it was offering Lady Esseluleia’s hand in marriage to Panzel. Lady Esseluleia was the daughter of Alkan’s second wife and Draydol’s blood sister. Alkan doted on her, and she was known for her abundant beauty and wit. It was well-known that he didn’t want to marry her to another house. The fact that he was willing to give the apple of his eye to the man who killed his son made it look like House Riga was bending the knee to House Mercurius. The next year, in 1097, Lady Esseluleia and Panzel married. His Majesty the King had a great love for Panzel’s valor and was made very happy when he married a girl known in society for her elegance. For the dowry, Alkan sent Panzel fifty knights. That was a larger dowry than is given at the weddings of princesses. He really is a monster. Draydol rose from Blue Minister to Red Minister. At the end of that year, the Black Minister died and Draydol showed himself to be quite the schemer. He recommended Lord Julius to fill the seat. Lord Julius was still only the young age of twenty-three, but because he had earned many achievements as a member of a military family, the recommendation itself was not unnatural. However, House Riga of all houses making that recommendation surprised everyone and definitely changed the way people saw Draydol. Draydol even went out of his way to give hyperbolic praise to the work of Lord Julius and Panzel during their conquest of the Baron of Paulo’s domain. It was very transparent flattery, but many viewed it as a show of magnanimity. Then, once the subjugation of the Baron of Paulo’s domain was complete, Draydol declared to the Privy Council that the land should be awarded to House Mercurius. I was shocked when I heard this. Had Draydol gone mad? He even volunteered himself as matchmaker for Lord Julius, this time offering not a relative of House Riga but instead a young lady from a noble family with a long history in the kingdom. I was speechless. If he was just trying to win over House Mercurius with marriage, he surely would have chosen a lady from his own house. But whoever he chose from House Riga would have been inferior in rank and beauty to Esseluleia, and it might have caused unease among other houses if Mercurius and Riga were joined directly in marriage. Against all expectations, the young lady Draydol ended up choosing was from a family that actually hated House Riga and had always been friendly to House Mercurius. They were even wealthy and had many retainers knowledgeable in domestic affairs. You could not have asked for a better union for a head of house who had suddenly been granted a sizable domain. I couldn’t help being impressed by Draydol’s judgment. Lord Julius married and became Marquis of Keza the next year, which is the current year, and Draydol ascended to White Minister at the young age of thirty-six. 12 Seeing this rehabilitation of House Riga didn’t cause the stir in my heart that it would have before. My grudge will never die out, but as long as Panzel is around, nothing bad will happen. By thinking in this manner, I am able to prevent the flames of my grudge from growing any larger. That’s right—it was then that my heart was saved. The moment I held Garrest’s head in my own hands. These flames will go out when I die. No one else will inherit them. Hate warps everything. My hatred has caused me to make many errors of viewpoint and judgment. I believe that being careful not to pass these flames on to anyone else is my final responsibility. Unneeded memories should disappear with time. Just like the legend of Alestra’s Bracelet. It’s not a story that proves the pledge of master and servant between the royal family and House Mercurius or anything pleasant like that. It’s a story of greed. The goddess Kaldan was the first the founding king had turned to for divine protection. Receiving her blessing would have enabled him to create a new country in the yet-undeveloped region of the continent’s north. Kaldan, however, had been repeatedly abused by human agenda, so she rejected his wish. The founding king then ordered his subordinates—who would later come to be called the twenty-four Defenders of the Realm—to find and kill Kaldan. The only one who followed the order was the first Mercurius. When he actually met Kaldan, though, he was awestruck by her nobility. Mercurius proposed the founding king find another land, but the king and his companions were against that. They had finally found this place after being constantly driven out of others around the continent, so they did not want to leave it. Mercurius then returned to Kaldan alone, planning to die, but Kaldan had grown weary of fighting and chose death without any resistance. When she was on the verge of passing from this world, she gave Mercurius five treasures. When Mercurius returned, the king went mad with joy over the incredible blessings of the treasures. He thought that Alestra’s Bracelet, which had the ability to resist all kinds of magic, was a fitting item for the founding king of this new nation. He then tried to sweet-talk Mercurius into giving it to him. I don’t doubt the founding king was a great man without peer, but he had a bad habit of coveting other people’s possessions. But believing that would go against Kaldan’s wishes, Mercurius did not hand it to the king. The king’s companions were deeply impressed that Mercurius had defeated the dragon god Kaldan on his own, so they offered the opinion that it would be fitting for him to keep it. It soon became clear that its effects only worked for Mercurius anyway, so there turned out to be no point in giving it to the king. So what happened after that? Every time a new head of House Mercurius took over, the royal family would summon them to check whether the king had become capable of using the bracelet or if House Mercurius had lost the qualification to use it. All in order to steal it from us someday. They couldn’t exactly declare publicly that it was a gift from the wicked dragon Kaldan, so they began claiming the bracelet had been bestowed by the goddess Pharah. The story became that the founding king had granted it to the first head of House Mercurius, and that tale ended up being passed down as a valiant myth about the founding of the kingdom. The four other treasures—including Kaldan’s Dagger—all bore names of wicked dragon gods from the past, so they weren’t talked about and eventually faded from memory for all but our house. It’s finally time. Time for our family, too, to forget the secret. I only taught Lord Julius that the five treasures are gifts from Kaldan and about the effects of the blessings. There is no doubt that the royal family has also forgotten the old legend. The knowledge of the burning greed surrounding the bracelet will die with me. When people learned of the abilities of the divine sword with which Panzel had returned, I couldn’t help but have apprehensions that history would repeat itself, that it would be lusted after like the bracelet was. After the Pantram Revolt ended, Panzel told the king everything that had happened on the one hundredth floor of the Sazardon Labyrinth. But because he couldn’t say publicly that Lord Percival died in the labyrinth, he omitted the part about Kaldan’s Dagger. An appraiser was summoned, and the abilities of the longsword obtained from the monster were made clear. The blessings were so transcendent they seemed like something out of a myth. That Panzel forced the monster to give it to him was seen as proof of his victory. One lord raised the opinion that it should be given to the king. Panzel then presented it to the king without hesitation. His Majesty the King took one look at it and handed it back to him, saying that Panzel had earned it, so he should be the one to use it. I think that was splendid of the king. Even with what he did next, I will always consider him a wise ruler. His Majesty the King continued and said he wanted to see Panzel fight with that sword, so a battle was set up between Panzel and one hundred knights of the Imperial Guard, which he won. Panzel then engaged in a match against the commander of the Imperial Guard’s First Division. In this contest, the commander would be the one to use the sword. However, the blessings did not activate for the commander, and Panzel defeated him as well. Many other people tried using the divine sword, but it became clear that only Panzel could access its power. “This is clearly a divine sword given to you by the gods,” said His Majesty. On the same day as the exhibition matches at the royal palace, Panzel invited the one hundred knights he’d fought to House Mercurius. Despite how busy we were with the aftermath of the Pantram Revolt, Panzel shamelessly asked the chief vassal and me to serve his guests food and alcohol. Panzel drank with the one hundred knights and made many friends. He has the strange ability to befriend people with whom he has crossed blades. Panzel can’t possibly understand how much comfort he has brought to my heart. 13 It’s raining. I notice that the sound of the rain has become quite distant and then see the shutters have been closed and the curtain drawn. I smell the oil of a lamp. It seems night has fallen. Logan must have come today. Actually, he comes every day, so that should be expected. But I can’t quite seem to remember. I have a strange relationship with that man. I probably would never have found Alestra’s Bracelet without his help. A little while after the bracelet was found, Lord Julius asked me if the guild president knew a lot about his father. When I told him that was likely, Lord Julius said he wanted to talk to him. That was a reasonable request, so I explained the situation to Logan and invited him to dinner with the head of the house. Logan’s stories were interesting. He had many more direct dealings with Lord Percival than I expected and a great number of anecdotes to share about him. He even did research to learn things he didn’t know and shared his findings with us. I can’t say the way he speaks is elegant, but he showed real expertise. I was thankful for his unbiased viewpoint. Most importantly, his love for Lord Percival was very apparent. The invitations to dinner didn’t stop after the first or second visit, and we ended up inviting him once every six or seven days. Lord Julius wanted Logan to come even more often, but he was a busy man. Eventually, Logan came to talk to Lord Julius about not only Lord Percival but a variety of different topics. He told him about the life of adventurers and their way of thinking, about fighting monsters, about experience points and items, about foreign countries and their scenery, and about divine spirits and heroes from faraway lands. He possesses much knowledge that even I lack, so our conversations were fun. I had a hard time believing everything he said was true, however. The tall tales he told of his youth with Gil Linx were stories I would have paid money to hear. He is also very skilled with a war hammer. Why did I end up fighting him again? That’s right. After I heard his main weapon was a war hammer, I explained the characteristics of the weapon to Lord Julius. “It’s not a weapon that requires skill, but it’s extremely powerful and cannot be managed unless the user has tremendous strength.” I was praising him, but Logan misunderstood me and fired back angrily. “What was that? ‘Not a weapon that requires skill,’ huh? How about I give you a taste of my skill?” I took up a longsword and fought him. After he broke three of my swords and two of my ribs, I surrendered. The next time, of course, I prepared a proper weapon and scored a slash across his chest. I hadn’t had a good dueling partner in a while, so I was probably lonely. He proved to be an unfair matchup for me, though. I’ve gotten old and now can’t even get out of bed. No matter how much time passes, however, he looks just as healthy as a man in his twenties or thirties. When I asked him his age, I was shocked by the answer and asked why he wasn’t slowing down like a normal person. “My old man was a dwarf, so I’m not totally human,” Logan answered. I took that as a joke at first, but now I think he may actually have been telling the truth. I’m sure there would be a big commotion if it came out that creatures such as dwarves still exist somewhere in the world. But now that he said it, being half-dwarf would explain his unnatural build and stamina. When he quit his job as the president of the guild, I recommended he move to the estate. I thought he had taken a liking to this place. “I think I’ll take you up on that offer,” he answered, and he has lived here ever since. Have seventeen years really passed since then? 14 Did Panzel come today or yesterday? Or was that earlier? He came with happy tidings. He said his child was born. It’s a boy. It sounds like he is getting on very well with his wife, too. I was worried because I had heard Lady Esseluleia could be a little too smart for her own good, but it seems that fear was unfounded. Lord Julius and his wife are also as happy as can be. Their child is going to be born very soon. It will be the same age as Panzel’s son, which is delightful. The friendship between House Mercurius and House Goran will surely continue for hundreds of years. Now that I think about it, the bond between the two families was probably formed by Lord Baldoran and Eisha on that tragic night. I was quite surprised when I was told to name the child, but I thought that was very like Panzel. I’d had a name in mind that I thought would be wonderful, so I decided to go with it. The naming ceremony was heavily simplified due to my bedridden state, but Panzel and his wife seemed satisfied. After hearing the name Arza, Panzel gave nothing more than a simple thank you. He didn’t ask even one question about the origin of the name. Once again, that was very like him. Esseluleia thanked me for giving him the name of a hero and left the room. That is right. Arza was a hero said to have been an attendant who protected the goddess Pharah from all of her enemies. He was a human and also a god. It is also said that Arza pioneered the sword technique of humans. But Arza had one other role. He was known as the arbitrator of the gods, and he would bring the disputes of fighting gods to an end after listening to what both sides had to say. Eisha taught me an old myth when I was very young. A long time ago, humans fought over the gods. People who wanted the blessings of the land contended over Bora, people who wanted the blessings of the mountains contended over Gahra, and the people who wanted the blessings of the sea contended over Elvetta, all wanting to make each respective god their own. The humans hated the gods for giving their blessings to others instead of them. Eventually, the selfish desires of the humans caused discord among the gods, which led to infighting. The strife between the gods broke Zara’s heart, as did the strife between the humans. So Zara became wind, invisible to the naked eye, soared up to the heavens, and decided to watch over the fate of gods and humans from on high. One day, a hero named Arza appeared on the earth and calmed the conflict between the gods. He then also soothed the conflict between the humans. Arza was none other than an incarnation of Zara, who had assumed the form of a human and brought peace to the land. Drawing on the myth taught to me by Eisha, I wished for good fortune in the life of Panzel’s son. Oh, Eisha… Did I…? Did I live a life worthy of your sacrifice? Eisha! 15 In the year 1100 of the Royal Calendar, first day of the Third White Moon, the former chief vassal of House Mercurius, Pan’ja Raban, passed away. His funeral was the first in the new Keza domain held for an honored retainer. Marquis Julius Mercurius of Keza served as the chief mourner, and Panzel Goran, the Defender of the Realm, was in charge of the affair. It was a modest funeral, but it was also a noble ceremony that touched the hearts of all who attended. One thing worthy of mention is that an imperial envoy was dispatched. Pan’ja Raban was not a direct descendant of the house, so no one would have expected the royal family to send a messenger. Some people said the reason for the special treatment may have been because he was a father figure for two young heroes. Strangely, the envoy did not read the funeral speech that he brought with him. He just gave his condolences in silence and laid it in the coffin. No one knows what it said.