Chapter 41
There was nothing particularly strange about Hana coming to recruit the wandering swordsman.
This mountain range, where the swordsman lived, formed the border between the Sneria and Providence domains.
“I hear merchants can now cross the mountain without worry because this swordsman settled here.”
As they climbed the mountain together, Hana shared what she knew.
Although she was marked as a recruitment rival by a vermilion dot, Rex regarded her as the only ally bound by pure goodwill rather than self-interest.
Thus, the faint hostility marker merely indicated friendly competition and did not lead to any mind games.
Of course, judging by the frequent sidelong glances she cast toward Duke while explaining things, one could not say she had no ulterior motives.
“He’s famous not only among merchants but among the residents as well. Apparently, the bandits who used to come down from the mountains every winter haven’t been seen in the past few years.”
She watched Rex’s reaction,
naturally assuming he would have this information.
But this was the first Rex had heard of it.
“Bandits?”
“You look like you haven’t heard of them.”
“Our citizens haven’t mentioned anything about bandits. Monsters, perhaps, but not bandits.”
This was a difference caused by orographic rainfall.
Even within the same mountain range, the regions where people lived were divided according to the climate.
The Rex-side ridges, rich in water and vegetation, were home to monsters, while the Sneria side, with its gentler slopes and drier climate, had more bandits.
What an exquisite mystery of nature!
As leaders, Rex and Hana grasped the difference in that brief exchange.
“How fascinating.”
Hana only understood the difference after hearing Rex’s supplementary explanation,
“Hmm? Is that important?”
Jane, an elf who had lived for over a century without a family, let alone an education, could not understand even after hearing the explanation.
And Duke···
“Hmm.”
As always, he pretended to understand by folding his arms and remaining silent.
In any case, because of the difference in climate, the information each side had gathered about the swordsman differed somewhat.
To the Sneria domain, he was a gallant knight-errant who kept the peace for a bottle of liquor,
while to the Providence domain, he was an eccentric swordsman who hunted monsters in search of drinking snacks.
And the two leaders could not hide their dismay after sharing their information.
‘Oh no. This is bad. I thought wine would be enough.’
‘Huh? I think I planned this strategy wrong.’
Hana had wine, the pride of the Sneria domain, stored in her shadow,
while Rex had an assortment of delicacies made with a transmigrator’s knowledge in his inventory.
Both regretted not having enough information about the wandering swordsman.
But it was too far to turn back now, and doing so would give the other side far too much time.
The two lords quickly began devising plans for competing with the items they had brought.
And Duke, having roughly grasped the feelings of both lords···
‘It won’t matter anyway.’
Whatever they thought of the wandering swordsman, the swordsman Duke knew was not that sort of person.
He was somewhat more complicated···
“Hmm?”
Duke stopped thinking and stood stock-still, staring at the mountaintop.
“What is it? Are you feeling unwell···?”
After gesturing to the worried Hana that he was fine, Duke dashed to the very front of the party.
The instant he drew a greatsword from subspace, blue sword energy resembling a bolt of lightning shot down from the summit.
“Master!”
“Everyone, into the shadows!”
While Ari and Hana looked after their companions, Duke swung his greatsword as though to oppose the blue sword energy.
Blue and silver sword energy collided in the shape of a cross.
Duke emerged the victor.
The silver sword energy cut through the blue sword energy and shot toward the clear blue sky.
While everyone stared up, captivated by the sword energy that had shot into the heavens, Duke spoke.
“That’s a rather rude greeting, Peter.”
“Do you have the right to say that when you haven’t sent word for several decades?”
Only then did the party look toward Duke.
An old man who had appeared where no one had been a moment earlier was crossing blades with Duke, holding a single-edged sword in a reverse grip.
However, judging by the atmosphere between them, their relationship seemed too ambiguous for them to be enemies.
Although their swords were clearly crossed, the old man’s expression was utterly calm.
If one had to describe it, it felt like watching two longtime frenemies meet.
Unlike the old man, however, Duke looked genuinely furious.
“My lord nearly got caught up in that.”
“Oh. Don’t tell me···
The old man broke into a cold sweat as he looked at the party standing behind Duke.
“Is it that person?”
The old man pointed at Hana as he asked.
Duke shook his head.
“Then that person?”
It was neither Ari nor Jane.
“Then··· that slender lady···?”
“···He’s a man.”
“I must be going senile.”
When Duke raised his left fist, the old man hurriedly tried to smooth things over.
“What an imposing build you have!”
“You can’t even see me.”
“I mean your aura!”
Duke sighed and sheathed his sword.
The old man also returned his sword to its cane-shaped sheath.
Turning his back on the old man, Duke looked toward Rex and introduced him.
“Allow me to introduce him. This old man is Peter.”
“You fool. Haven’t I been telling you for centuries that my name isn’t Peter?”
The old man called Peter tapped Duke’s military boot with his cane before approaching the party.
It was hard to believe that the blind old man approaching with his eyes closed and tapping the ground with his cane was the same person who had just launched that sword energy.
For some reason, the old man faced precisely toward Rex and bowed.
“Greetings, Duke’s liege. My name is Duke Perseverans Esperance Taidar Escarandis (Perseverans Esperance Taidar Escarandis Royal Highness).”
“You may call me Peter for short, my lord.”
“Gah!”
Ignoring the old man shouting and striking his military boot with his cane, Duke put his cloak back on.
The old man eventually gave up and spoke as though exhausted.
“Yes. Just call me Peter. As an apology for the rudeness I showed earlier, I would like to invite you to my home. Would that be all right?”
Rex nodded.
Hana, who had been listening, quietly asked a question.
“Elder Peter, would it be all right if I came along too?”
“Hmm? Weren’t you part of the party?”
“Well···”
Hana glanced at Duke and Rex.
The old man roughly guessed the situation and nodded.
“This sounds like it will be a long story. Very well. Come along.”
***
The party followed the old man toward the mountaintop.
During that short journey, Jane and Ari realized that they were the weakest people present.
Aside from Rex and Duke, everyone in the party was Tier Four. (At least, that was how things appeared on the surface.)
However, the way Hana and Elder Peter moved as they climbed the mountain showed them that even among Tier Fours, there were differences in level.
‘Is this the difference in technique? Their upper bodies are so stable.’
‘Not a trace of mana is leaking from their ankles.’
An ordinary Tier Four would not have noticed such minor differences.
But thanks to Duke’s tutoring, their eyes had been sharpened, and they could feel that their own technique was the weakest here.
The difference in realm revealed by such minor details, and the fact that they had grown enough to notice it, sent shivers through both of them.
Meanwhile, Rex also shuddered at the old man, but for a different reason.
==========
Name : Peter (Perseverans~)
Age : 890
Race : Human (?)
Level : 48 (?)
==========
It was the first question mark he had seen in a long time.
However, Rex’s shudder did not lead to fear or terror.
‘Hmm. So he’s an acquaintance of Duke’s.’
Rex’s ability to gauge strength had already broken down, so he was confident that he would not be surprised regardless of what sort of person this old man was.
‘As for viewing···’
Impossible.
But Rex assumed they could simply exchange an oath as he had with Duke, and approached the old man with an easygoing attitude.
While the blind old man demonstrated his abilities to the party, they arrived at his home.
In Duke and Rex’s words, it was a fairly sizable thatched cottage.
The blind old man looked back at the party and smiled.
“It’s humble, but please, come in and have something to eat.”
Rex and Hana, the representatives of both sides, led the way.
Before the old man even told him, Rex, familiar with the customs of this region, took off his shoes without hesitation and entered the thatched cottage.
Hana, being from the Eastern Union as well, also took off her shoes with ease.
“Oh?”
The old man did not miss that minor difference.
Both sides +1 point.
Considering this was a comparative evaluation, their practical score increase was zero, but the old man’s favorable impression of both still rose.
And then Duke···
“How many centuries have I been telling you to take off that helmet and cloak when you come inside?”
“I did take off my shoes.”
“What sort of person enters someone else’s house dressed like that? Tsk, tsk. In any case, you’re an unpleasant fellow.”
The old man gave up quickly and sat in his place.
Rex -1 point
There’s nothing wrong with the lord; it’s that knight’s fault.
Soon, Rex sat cross-legged like the old man, while Hana sat demurely in the formal kneeling position.
At this point, evaluating the two by etiquette was meaningless.
“Hmm. The ceiling is low.”
But as soon as Duke entered and disparaged the old man’s house, Rex lost another point.
“Do you not think you’re the one who’s freakishly tall?”
“All the houses you’ve lived in had low ceilings, didn’t they? If I’d known you were coming, I would have gotten a bigger house.”
“Tsk.”
Rex broke into a cold sweat at Duke’s behavior.
What was the point of his trying at all if things were like this?
By contrast, Hana rejoiced.
However, both of them were also puzzled by Duke’s behavior.
‘Why is Duke acting like that?’
‘The knight is not usually like this.’
It was strange to see the normally polite and dignified knight act rudely in front of this old man.
In particular, the old man they had spoken with while climbing the mountain had been unfailingly polite and cultured.
He was the very picture of wisdom in old age.
So why did Duke act that way toward him?
The two set aside their puzzlement and focused on the old man again.
Since they had introduced themselves sufficiently while climbing the mountain, the two moved straight to the main point.
“It’s a humble offering, but this is the wine our domain is proud of.”
“I heard you enjoy meat, so I prepared this.”
Hana and Rex each took out wine and beef tartare.
The old man’s eyes lit up (he could not open them, but that was the general impression).
The old man cheerfully popped the cork from the wine with a pop! and···
“It’s been a long time. Until a hundred years ago, I drank like this with that man every day.”
Everyone’s gaze turned toward Duke.
Duke nodded with his arms folded.
“We often shared drinks. When he got drunk and collapsed, I was the one who threw him back home.”
“Ah···”
The old man poured the wine into a glass with a hearty laugh, saying that was a memory too.
Under ordinary circumstances, drinking in front of guests was unquestionably bad manners, but superhumans were an exception.
Unless they got drunk and made a spectacle of themselves, that was. Superhumans could not get drunk.
Thus, drinking at a first meeting was not much different from drinking tea.
“Would you care for a drink?”
The two lords declined the old man’s offer.
Hana did so out of courtesy, while Rex was simply weak to alcohol.
Peter deemed them truly excellent lords and took a drink.
As the wine passed down the old man’s throat, Duke let out a deep sigh that seemed to make the earth cave in.
“Hmm···”
“You fool. Don’t sigh while drinking! It ruins the taste!”
Duke did not even reply to the old man.
The old man almost clicked his tongue, but realized he was in front of guests and straightened his posture.
“I’m sorry. I apologize for such disgraceful behavior in front of my guests.”
The two lords waved their hands, saying it was fine.
At the same time, they could not stop being bothered by Duke’s rudeness.
What on earth had this old man done to make Duke act like that?
Their questions did not last long.
Once the alcohol loosened the old man’s tongue, he immediately gave them the answer.
“As you can see, I introduced myself as a duke, but strictly speaking, I’m a duke from a fallen empire. These days, I’m just an ordinary old man with no title.”
Only then did the two understand Duke’s attitude.
Over the past ten years,
thanks to Duke, who had detailed his past in the annals on the grounds that records must contain no falsehoods,
Rex, Duke’s direct retainers, and the chroniclers had been forced to learn about Duke’s past.
And the highest status one could obtain through strength was the rank of marquis,
while the title of duke could only be obtained through blood relations or some kind of contract with the royal family.
Thus, it was only natural that Duke, who had destroyed an empire, hated the ducal family descended from imperial blood, and that the ducal family’s descendants hated Duke as well···
“Ah, I should clarify in case you misunderstand, but I don’t resent that knight. I doubt he resents me either.”
“?”
“What?”
That was not the case.
Even before the empire fell, Duke and the old man had been longtime frenemies.
In fact, the old man had even insisted that the empire’s downfall was justified.
“Those people deserved to die a thousand deaths.”
“Then···”
The old man continued his explanation.
He had watched the empire collapse and his own family fall with his own eyes.
In the process, Peter came to realize one thing.
“The royal family and the ducal family alike were filled with arrogance and greed. They were wary even of their own children and devoured them if necessary.”
The old man poured himself another glass sadly.
“This is where it led. Their dreams ended, and the royal family was even torn to pieces and reduced to being hunted by those they had mocked as weak.”
It was a common story.
As new kingdoms declared their sovereignty, the old imperial royals became traitors to establish the new regimes’ legitimacy.
“So I thought about why they had fallen so far. And I realized that they had refused to entrust their dreams to anyone else.”
They had been obsessed with pulling the ladder up behind them.
They had allowed even their children to rise only as high as their chins, never permitting them to surpass them.
If their lifespans had been limited, the generations would have changed naturally, but because their lives had no end, their wariness toward their successors had only grown more intense.
As a result, they rotted, stagnated, and decayed, providing the first spark of their own destruction.
“That is why I would like to ask the lord I serve the most important question of all.”
Gulp.
The two lords swallowed dryly.
What could he be about to ask?
Was he going to ask whether they could entrust their dreams to the next generation?
If so, were they truly prepared for such a thing?
As the two steeled themselves, the old man wet his lips with wine and opened his mouth.
“Have the two of you had sexual relations? Or do you have someone to do it with?”
“···?”
“What?”
Despite their reactions, the old man asked confidently.
“I mean, have you had seX?”
Reeking of alcohol.
Only then did the two understand why Duke had acted that way.
This old man.
He was more than a little senile.