WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Order
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◈ I Became the Dark Knight in the Game World ◈
Chapter 59: In Search of the Lost Heirloom (2)
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“You stole an heirloom? What are you talking about?”
“That’s the thing. Everyone says I stole the heirloom, but I don’t remember it. I don’t just not remember stealing it. I don’t remember anything from that day, so I couldn’t even defend myself.”
Kriel felt a sharp headache coming on. People like this appeared from time to time, unpredictable sorts who gave no clue what they might do next.
The best thing was not to get involved. What if one strange misunderstanding led to another, and people started saying he was a servant of the Abyss who had lured out the family’s prodigal to steal an heirloom?
“No, seriously. Even if I owed a mountain of gambling debt, would I sell an heirloom? I may get so drunk my memory goes fuzzy, but I’m not so out of my mind that I’d do something like that.”
So he did have some common sense. Kriel had just raised his assessment of Alberic from an heirloom-selling madman to someone who was slightly mad but still close to being a person. He had almost thought ‘close to being human,’ then remembered that Alberic was a direct descendant of a prestigious elf family and corrected himself.
“An heirloom would be far too easy to trace, even if I sold it as stolen goods. I could sell just one of my mother’s jewels and have enough money for a year’s worth of drinking. Why would I sell something like that?”
“What?”
“Hm? Ah, I see. You don’t know much about the world!”
Tuon whispered, [Master. I think that elf is a little insane.]
“Why do you think it’s called an heirloom? Because it’s valuable! I don’t like throwing my family’s name around, but the Lir Family is doing fairly well, you know? How many fences could handle an item considered an heirloom by a family like that?”
There were only so many fences with enough capital to handle a deal involving an heirloom from a prestigious elf family. Even the major figures of the Empire’s underworld would have to step in personally, and they still might not offer a fair price.
Even if he sold it as stolen goods, there would be another problem. The buyer would have to sell it again, but an item labeled an ‘heirloom’ had an owner far too obvious to make finding another buyer easy.
“No matter how drunk I get, I wouldn’t forget something that basic. Rather than sell an heirloom, get on the elders’ bad side, and end up thrown in prison, I’d sell my mother’s jewels instead. The elders won’t go easy on me, but Mother will!”
[That crazy, fiery filial son of a...]
As someone from a land of Eastern courtesy steeped in the spirit of scholars, Kriel felt an urge to wash out his ears. He rubbed his temple for a moment before speaking.
“I see. So you claim you didn’t steal the heirloom. Why didn’t you tell the family elders that?”
“I did, but then they asked what I was doing at that time. I told you, didn’t I? I wanted to defend myself, but I couldn’t remember anything, so I kept my mouth shut and got thrown in here.”
Clap.
An unexpected clap rang out.
“Now that I’ve told my story, tell me yours. Hardly anyone comes down this way, and my boredom crossed the line long ago!”
Their story. Kriel stroked his chin. It was hardly an interesting one.
“A Spirit was tainted by the Abyss, so we came to see whether they could be purified.”
“A Spirit? I was wondering why there were so few footsteps for three people being locked up. Two of you are Spirits, then. Which one is it, the proud one or the friendly one?”
[It’s me, you bastard. How can an elf live like that!]
“The friendly one, then. Well, well. I suppose you can’t trust Spirits either. Such a clear, lovely voice, yet they’ve been tainted by the Abyss. What kind of life have they led?”
Orisin, an old Spirit, began lecturing Alberic about why an elf, a supposedly noble race, lived in such a state. Alberic countered by asking what a Spirit like Orisin had done with their life to become tainted by the Abyss.
With a strangled cry, Orisin retreated into the Horn Dagger.
Kriel revised his assessment of Alberic to ‘a madman with an alarmingly quick tongue.’
“But purification? Isn’t that usually the work of priests?”
“We already stopped by the Sacred Kingdom. Neither miracles nor magic worked, so we had no choice but to ask those who know Spirits best.”
“Ah, I see. Then why were you locked up here?”
“We found an Abyss-tainted ring on the road. Since this area is under your family’s management, we handed it over and asked you to deal with it properly. It seems some misunderstanding occurred.”
“What? My family can be a bit old-fashioned, but they aren’t the sort to lock people up without reason...”
As Alberic was bewildered by his family’s high-handed behavior, footsteps echoed through the corridor.
“Here! There’s someone in here! Is it time to eat?”
“Young master... How many times do I have to tell you that rice is hard to come by in the Lir Family?”
“Rice! Rice! Rice! Rice!”
The person who entered with heavy sighs wore something like a robe. It seemed to be some kind of artifact, judging by the strange sense of incongruity around it. The skin visible beneath the robe was bronze or brown. In the fantasy novels Kriel had read on Earth, they might have been called a ‘dark elf.’
Of course, dark skin did not mean someone was connected to the Abyss. Kriel himself was a Dark Knight, yet his skin was excessively pale.
The prevailing theory was that elves were close to Spirits by origin, so the natural elemental power they were born with appeared in traits such as their skin and hair color.
‘Born with earth elemental power, perhaps.’
“Oife. Are the elders thinking of letting me out soon?”
“No one in the family is talking about you. They’re busy discussing some strange, insane servant of the Abyss who broke in.”
“Hm? A servant of the Abyss? My friend in the next cell?”
“Friend? What kind of lunatic...”
“Greetings.”
Kriel waved from where he sat in the corner. Oife, the elf who had come to give bread to the ‘young master,’ stared at Kriel in confusion. He certainly had the menacing appearance one would expect of a servant of the Abyss.
“If I may add, I don’t believe I’ve grown close enough to call Alberic my friend.”
“No! We have opened our hearts to each other in the lowest of places. We haven’t shared a drink yet, but aren’t we practically friends already?”
“Don’t consider alcohol a sufficient condition for friendship.”
The servant of the Abyss spoke more sensibly than expected. Oife hesitated, unable to think of a response.
“When you go upstairs, please pass on a message. Ask Lewein Lir, the Advisory Mage of the Gate City, whether he knows the name Kriel.”
Only then did Oife compose herself.
“That’s unfortunate. Collin Lir’s plan failed. The position he tried to steal from Luwain remains unchanged.”
“I know.”
“What?”
“I’m the one who laid that fellow called Collin to eternal rest.”
As Oife froze at the sudden revelation, Alberic added another word.
“He said the Abyss-tainted ring he brought was found in a village near here. Ask around!”
* * *
Oife headed for her lord, or rather, Alberic Lir’s father.
“The one imprisoned... Kriel claims that he defeated Collin Lir.”
Nawiden Lir stroked his beard. Among elves, who could maintain a youthful appearance for their entire lives if they wished, Nawiden was one of the rare few whose outward appearance had aged.
It had not been entirely his own choice. The scars he received from the Abyss during the Demon King War had left lasting effects on both his soul and body.
Still, Nawiden’s wounds had not been beyond recovery. If he had received treatment at the right time, he could have preserved his youth. He would have done so, if not for his wife, who had suffered even deeper wounds while protecting him.
Watching his wife grow older day by day as the Abyss consumed her, Nawiden gave up his youth. He had resolved to enter eternal rest alongside her.
If there was one thing he wished to set right before leaving this world, it was his son’s misconduct. How long would that thoughtless son continue living like this?
“...Elder Nawiden?”
At Oife’s voice, Nawiden awoke from his regrets. This was not the time to worry about his son.
“If he laid Collin Lir to rest and resolved the trouble that befell our family’s land, then our treatment of him is a grave insult. Send a letter to Luwain at once and investigate the nearby villages. If he truly did good deeds as he claims, the villagers will remember him.”
* * *
Clank.
The door opened. Two elves stood outside.
“Oh. It seems things went well.”
“I’m sorry!”
One of the bowing elves was Oife, while the other was the elf who had greeted him yesterday. Kriel said it was fine without much feeling. Even when he wandered from place to place, drawing suspicion and hostility had been an everyday occurrence.
The elf he was meeting for the second time since yesterday bowed and spoke.
“I don’t know what compensation we could possibly offer... My hasty judgment dishonored your name as a knight. Please accept my apologies again.”
“Don’t concern yourself with it. It happens from time to time. But has Advisory Mage Luwain’s reply arrived already?”
“No. Instead, we asked the people of the nearby villages about your actions. Everyone in the villages you passed through praises your virtue.”
Kriel tilted his head.
“I never gave my name in the nearby villages.”
“They all understood when we described you as a knight who looked strangely frightening.”
Ah.
Footnotes:
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