For the most part, Kei and Ferris were used to dealing with Arc’s whims.
The large man always did the most outlandish things as soon as he thought up of them, and it was actually because of Arc that all three of them were senior statemen of Leyfan to begin with.
But even then, even Kei and Ferris were surprised upon hearing what Arc had to say as they were visiting their empress’, Saya’s, personal chambers.
They were having tea in their liege’s room as the told Saya about the incident with Rain——but then, just as they were in the middle of talking about Arc’s fight with Rain, Arc suddenly made a fist in the air and vigorously said,
“Alright, I’ve decided! I’m gonna be a Dragon Slayer too!”
As expected of you, Lord Arc! —but it was only Saya, their liege, who cheered him on.
The sheltered girl ruler’s mauve eyes sparkled as she looked up to her trusted grand general——Arc, that is, perhaps because she didn’t fully understand how terrifying a dragon was.
“I’ve never expected you to be the type to give up just because of one difficult battle, Lord Arc.”
“Haha! ‘Course not, Little Saya. Besides, the reason why I had such a hard fight is obvious. I just need to fix that part right up.”
“Wait, hold on a sec!”
Ferris frowned and cut Arc off before Kei could. He continued,
“you aren’t ‘fixing up’ anything. Chief, aren’t you forgetting how scary ancient dragons are? They’re the strongest out of all the dragons, and they’re the strongest species in the world save for the daemons, you know? There’s no way you could beat one.”
“Now that ain’t true! He’s defeated one already. If he can do it, there’s no way I can’t.”
……Just where exactly does your baseless confidence come from?
Kei thought as he froze in place while still holding his cup, and Ferris shared his sentiment.
“You know, Chief……”
“Ya idiot! Quit killin’ my flow, Ferris. I’m gonna go find myself an ancient dragon, beat it up, and become a Dragon Slayer! I’ve already made up my mind!”
He had said this as read~ily as though he was simply talking about catching fish that was already caught in a net. Kei and Ferris’ mouths remained agape, and Saya happy-go-luckily said, “Saya’s cheering you on, Lord Arc!” and was the only person on board with his plan.
Well, technically, Arc was on board too.
“You know……I’m pretty sure that most people die within three seconds of challenging those things. And you don’t even leave behind a corpse. Right, Kei?”
Kei nodded immediately when the conversation turned to him.
He pushed up his sunglasses and attempted to persuade Arc.
“Ferris is correct. Just how many people do you think have died while trying to challenge them until now? (It was only then that Saya looked puzzled about the whole ordeal.) This world has always had beings that should never be provoked. It’s far better to consider Sir Rain as an exception among exceptions.”
“Ya can’t ever give up!”
Arc refuted stubbornly.
There had already been multiple instances where Arc had refused to give in until he had fulfilled his original intentions, and his eyes had sparkled the way they did now each and every time. He continued,
“The very moment ya think ya can’t do something——that’s when ya lose. In the end, yer the one who decides whether ya win or lose. Ya can’t give up, don’t ever give up!”
Kei and Ferris looked to each other and signed.
At this point……there’s no way we can persuade him out of this……we’ll have to find another solution.
“The stuff that Chief says is obviously super wrong, but it’s so weird because it always sounds like the right thing to say in the moment.”
“What’d ya say?! I’m always right!”
Saya looked between Arc, who had stood up from his seat, Ferris, who was visibly exasperated, and Kei, who had deep wrinkles of mental anguish etched between his brow, and quietly asked,
“Um……I’ve never had the chance to see one before. Are dragons really that strong?”
~~*~~*~~*~~
There was a hilly region on the outskirts of Sunkwoll where many warriors were laid to rest.
There was only darkness and silence in the graveyard.
Usually, people did not visit the graveyard at night in the middle of winter.
——And yet, there was a single woman standing before a grand gravestone made from black shadow stone with her head bowed in silence.
She offered the deceased a few minutes of silence before gently placing the bouquet of flowers in her hands in front of the grave.
She crouched down and stared at the gravestone. Naturally, the deceased did not make an appearance no matter how polished the gravestone was, and all she could see was the epitaph that had been engraved on it.
“Here lies Garblake, a valiant general from Zarmine. He was an honorable knight until his very end.”
She read the epitaph over again and again. But she didn’t cry. She had already cried her eyes out back at her hometown. She no longer had any more tears left to shed.
“I suppose I should be grateful, Father, that they’ve given you such a wonderful grave,”
she whispered quietly into the darkness.
Her white hand traced over the top of the epitaph’s plate.
“And I’m truly grateful to the people of Sunkwoll for being generous enough to bury you. ——And yet…”
She blinked her blue eyes and spoke her next words with determination.
“And yet, I cannot keep myself from taking revenge on the enemy who killed you, Father. I know I am being ungrateful, but I can’t find it in myself to forgive and forget……no, my heart simply won’t allow me to.”
A shadow fell over her once clear expression.
She began whispering again a little while later.
“All of the bad rumors about him were simply that —rumors. Sir Rain is a knight who was worthy of being your final opponent. He’s so strong that none could ever defeat him, and……he’s probably a genuinely kind person…… But even still…”
……I must kill him.
For better or worse, the hesitation vanished from her heart as soon as she had uttered her last few words.
Yes……I will have my revenge. I don’t care how I do it, but I will definitely kill him. And I will pay the price of my discourtesy with my life. Falna stood before the grave and gave her father her final farewell. Then, she turned around and left the graveyard without any lingering regrets.
——And on her face was the steel of her resolve.
For the most part, Kei and Ferris were used to dealing with Arc’s whims.
The large man always did the most outlandish things as soon as he thought up of them, and it was actually because of Arc that all three of them were senior statemen of Leyfan to begin with.
But even then, even Kei and Ferris were surprised upon hearing what Arc had to say as they were visiting their empress’, Saya’s, personal chambers.
They were having tea in their liege’s room as the told Saya about the incident with Rain——but then, just as they were in the middle of talking about Arc’s fight with Rain, Arc suddenly made a fist in the air and vigorously said,
“Alright, I’ve decided! I’m gonna be a Dragon Slayer too!”
As expected of you, Lord Arc! —but it was only Saya, their liege, who cheered him on.
The sheltered girl ruler’s mauve eyes sparkled as she looked up to her trusted grand general——Arc, that is, perhaps because she didn’t fully understand how terrifying a dragon was.
“I’ve never expected you to be the type to give up just because of one difficult battle, Lord Arc.”
“Haha! ‘Course not, Little Saya. Besides, the reason why I had such a hard fight is obvious. I just need to fix that part right up.”
“Wait, hold on a sec!”
Ferris frowned and cut Arc off before Kei could. He continued,
“you aren’t ‘fixing up’ anything. Chief, aren’t you forgetting how scary ancient dragons are? They’re the strongest out of all the dragons, and they’re the strongest species in the world save for the daemons, you know? There’s no way you could beat one.”
“Now that ain’t true! He’s defeated one already. If he can do it, there’s no way I can’t.”
……Just where exactly does your baseless confidence come from?
Kei thought as he froze in place while still holding his cup, and Ferris shared his sentiment.
“You know, Chief……”
“Ya idiot! Quit killin’ my flow, Ferris. I’m gonna go find myself an ancient dragon, beat it up, and become a Dragon Slayer! I’ve already made up my mind!”
He had said this as read~ily as though he was simply talking about catching fish that was already caught in a net. Kei and Ferris’ mouths remained agape, and Saya happy-go-luckily said, “Saya’s cheering you on, Lord Arc!” and was the only person on board with his plan.
Well, technically, Arc was on board too.
“You know……I’m pretty sure that most people die within three seconds of challenging those things. And you don’t even leave behind a corpse. Right, Kei?”
Kei nodded immediately when the conversation turned to him.
He pushed up his sunglasses and attempted to persuade Arc.
“Ferris is correct. Just how many people do you think have died while trying to challenge them until now? (It was only then that Saya looked puzzled about the whole ordeal.) This world has always had beings that should never be provoked. It’s far better to consider Sir Rain as an exception among exceptions.”
“Ya can’t ever give up!”
Arc refuted stubbornly.
There had already been multiple instances where Arc had refused to give in until he had fulfilled his original intentions, and his eyes had sparkled the way they did now each and every time. He continued,
“The very moment ya think ya can’t do something——that’s when ya lose. In the end, yer the one who decides whether ya win or lose. Ya can’t give up, don’t ever give up!”
Kei and Ferris looked to each other and signed.
At this point……there’s no way we can persuade him out of this……we’ll have to find another solution.
“The stuff that Chief says is obviously super wrong, but it’s so weird because it always sounds like the right thing to say in the moment.”
“What’d ya say?! I’m always right!”
Saya looked between Arc, who had stood up from his seat, Ferris, who was visibly exasperated, and Kei, who had deep wrinkles of mental anguish etched between his brow, and quietly asked,
“Um……I’ve never had the chance to see one before. Are dragons really that strong?”
~~*~~*~~*~~
There was a hilly region on the outskirts of Sunkwoll where many warriors were laid to rest.
There was only darkness and silence in the graveyard.
Usually, people did not visit the graveyard at night in the middle of winter.
——And yet, there was a single woman standing before a grand gravestone made from black shadow stone with her head bowed in silence.
She offered the deceased a few minutes of silence before gently placing the bouquet of flowers in her hands in front of the grave.
She crouched down and stared at the gravestone. Naturally, the deceased did not make an appearance no matter how polished the gravestone was, and all she could see was the epitaph that had been engraved on it.
“Here lies Garblake, a valiant general from Zarmine. He was an honorable knight until his very end.”
She read the epitaph over again and again. But she didn’t cry. She had already cried her eyes out back at her hometown. She no longer had any more tears left to shed.
“I suppose I should be grateful, Father, that they’ve given you such a wonderful grave,”
she whispered quietly into the darkness.
Her white hand traced over the top of the epitaph’s plate.
“And I’m truly grateful to the people of Sunkwoll for being generous enough to bury you. ——And yet…”
She blinked her blue eyes and spoke her next words with determination.
“And yet, I cannot keep myself from taking revenge on the enemy who killed you, Father. I know I am being ungrateful, but I can’t find it in myself to forgive and forget……no, my heart simply won’t allow me to.”
A shadow fell over her once clear expression.
She began whispering again a little while later.
“All of the bad rumors about him were simply that —rumors. Sir Rain is a knight who was worthy of being your final opponent. He’s so strong that none could ever defeat him, and……he’s probably a genuinely kind person…… But even still…”
……I must kill him.
For better or worse, the hesitation vanished from her heart as soon as she had uttered her last few words.
Yes……I will have my revenge. I don’t care how I do it, but I will definitely kill him. And I will pay the price of my discourtesy with my life. Falna stood before the grave and gave her father her final farewell. Then, she turned around and left the graveyard without any lingering regrets.
——And on her face was the steel of her resolve.
