WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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Chapter 155: At Winter's End (4)

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The Knights of Ash, once the greatest knightly order on the continent, had several exceptionally powerful knights. Aside from Kyle, all of them had completed their personal sword forms.

Their Commander, Rowen, and a handful of veteran knights older than him.

And Hermann, the Deputy Commander.

He was a middle-aged knight and one of the older members of the order. Though he had never married, he had spent all the more time as a knight. Naturally, he possessed a wealth of experience. His skill went without saying.

Kyle had learned much from Hermann because of that. Most of it was advice on maintaining the right mindset in battle and dealing with concerns he could not share with anyone else. He had learned swordsmanship from Commander Rowen and magic from Cecilia, the order's mage, but no one could rival Hermann's life experience. That had not changed, even after Baldheim, Hailen's capital, fell, until the very end.

"We need to split up here."

After Rowen died, Hermann nominated Kyle as the next Commander. Those were the words Hermann left him with, his expression resolute as he silently supported Kyle from behind.

"Go ahead."

That was our last time together. I couldn't bring myself to stop him. I knew Hermann's stubborn nature too well. On top of that, the situation had been far too urgent.

Afterward, I tried to forget it. I struggled desperately to do so. I tried just as desperately to forget the other members of the Knights of Ash. Even when I arrived in Renvel and Count Perian gave me the welcome news that surviving Ash Knights remained, I did not allow myself to hope too much. The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment when it fell short.

And yet.

"It's been a long time, Kyle. Are you all right?"

Hermann approached Kyle with the same easygoing smile he had worn in the past. Kyle stared at him blankly, as if time had stopped.

Am I dreaming?

He was really alive? Here and now?

"How..."

"How did I survive?"

For a moment, Hermann's expression grew complicated. He glanced toward the sunset outside the window, then looked back and tilted his chin toward the open door for Colin.

"Sorry, Colin. Could you give us some time alone?"

"...All right. You have a lot to talk about, right?"

"Yeah. We do. A whole lot."

"I know. You said he was a precious comrade. I'll close the door, so stay as long as you need. I'll have dinner with Mom. Oh! And I won't even go near the room. I promise."

The boy rambled on as if making excuses, glancing between Hermann and Kyle before closing the door and leaving. Hermann watched the shut door for a moment, then pulled a chair over from beside the bed and sat before Kyle.

"Where should I start... First, are you feeling all right? I called for a priest, but I wanted to make sure."

"...I'm all right. It still hurts, but I can bear it."

Kyle rubbed the dark red bandages around his chest. The wound where Cassius Mortein had pierced him had mostly healed.

It had been a mortal wound, one that had made him ready to die. Surviving would have been the stranger outcome.

Yet he had not died. Instead, he was alive and well. Even Kyle found it strange. This was not something an ordinary priest could heal. Had something changed in his body while he absorbed Prisia's mana?

"Is that so? That's a relief."

When Kyle showed no particular reaction, Hermann seemed to swallow a sigh of relief. Kyle asked him,

"More importantly, where is this?"

"A village."

"A village?"

"A small settlement on the southeastern outskirts of the Kingdom of Valone. I've relied on this place from time to time over the years. It's quiet, but it has everything we need."

"How long was I unconscious?"

"Ten days."

Hermann answered immediately. The number was far greater than Kyle had imagined, and his gaze dropped on reflex.

"The war..."

"It has temporarily stopped. A lull... no, you could call it an unspoken truce. Cassius Mortein, Commander of the Celestial Knights, withdrew to the rear, and the Imperial Army has stopped advancing. They're rebuilding their front around the center of the Kingdom of Russel. Right now, the Celestial Knights and the Chevaliers are merely keeping each other in check."

Kyle raised a dry hand and roughly wiped the sweat from his face. Lying still for ten days was one problem, but the world had changed far more quickly while he was unconscious.

The situation has already slipped from my hands.

Worse, he had failed his most important mission. He had broken his own contract and failed to protect Elysia.

"You must be very confused. I understand."

Hermann looked at Kyle with pity. Kyle took a long, deep breath, then looked back at Hermann with determination in his eyes.

"No. More... Please tell me more. Tell me what happened while I was asleep, how I ended up alive and lying here. Everything."

The broad, middle-aged knight and the pale, black-haired knight locked eyes. The silence did not last long. Hermann broke it first, frowning as he ruffled the back of his head.

"I don't know everything for certain. But based on what I've heard and the circumstances, there are things I can infer. First..."

Hermann began calmly explaining everything that had happened, one piece at a time, so Kyle, who had just awakened, could understand. Every word came as a shock to him.

First, Cassius Mortein, who had driven Kyle to the brink of death, had returned to Archandia. No one knew his exact reason or purpose. After that, the rapidly escalating war between the Empire and the Federation had entered a lull. Aside from half of the Kingdom of Russel being occupied, the Federation was gradually returning to how it had been before. Wyvern Knights and Council Knights still faced each other on the front lines, but nothing significant had happened yet.

"We had been operating separately, even before the war."

"......"

"Finding you, Kyle... was just luck. We were moving to hold back the Imperial Army's advance, even a little, without even knowing Marent had fallen."

"That's when you found me?"

"Yes. It was a few days east of Marent, on a snow-white plain. We followed the battle's roar and shockwaves to their source, and found you half-dead there. Nearby, two Wyverns and their knights had already gone cold. It was a complete mess. You'd lost too much blood, and the sword you used was nowhere to be found..."

Hermann closed his eyes as though recalling events from only days ago. Even amid his confusion, Kyle tried to sort through what he had heard.

The two wyvern knights left behind to clean up had died.

There was only one thing that could mean. Kyle had killed the two wyvern knights. There was no other explanation. Anyone who traveled with Commander Cassius Mortein would have been among the strongest in the order, yet only one person could have killed two such wyvern knights. After all, only Kyle and the two wyvern knights had been there.

Was it because of the Dragon Heart?

Kyle recalled the pure white Dragon he had seen before losing consciousness. The same thing had happened when he fell into the Pargon Strait. Ever since he had seen Prisia in person, miraculous things seemed to occur.

Hermann said Cassius Mortein rushed back to Archandia.

Was Elysia captured in the end?

Kyle did not know whether he should be happy or sad about that. She was alive, so they could meet again someday. But he had no idea what might happen to her in the meantime. More than anything, the guilt and self-loathing of breaking the contract made at Ligrid Gate with his own hands, then failing to protect Elysia, weighed heavily on his shoulders.

"Kyle."

"...Yes."

"Do you remember the day we parted ways?"

Kyle had been suffering in silence when Hermann's low voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"That day, I told you we should split the order into two groups and go our separate ways. If we stayed together, our annihilation was inevitable."

"......"

"After we separated from you, the other members and I kept retreating while fighting the wyvern knights. Calling it a fight would have been generous. A Wyvern in a pursuit battle, rather than a direct clash or ambush, is no different from a disaster. Still, we didn't give up. We survived through sheer stubbornness."

Hermann's expression was strangely calm as he spoke of those painful memories, as though sorrow and tears had long since been worn away.

"What about you, Kyle? What happened to the members who left with you?"

"I..."

For the first time, Kyle avoided Hermann's eyes. His head lowered on its own.

"They're... all dead."

"...I see."

"I'm sorry."

"It wasn't your fault. The day the Imperial Army invaded, we were all prepared. Those men knew it too. They knew they would die someday."

Even so, it did not change the fact that they had thrown away their lives for him. Kyle could not bring himself to lift his head, and Hermann continued quietly.

"You probably expected this, but there are surviving members in the Federation."

"...How many?"

"Eight, including me."

It was not even a fifth of the Knights of Ash at their peak. Yet to Kyle, who had prepared himself for their complete destruction, it was an astonishing number.

"We're working with Grand Duke Rivelius now. More precisely, we're acting alongside him to oppose the Empire."

Just as Count Perian had said. Members of the Knights of Ash had survived in the Federation and were closely connected to Grand Duke Rivelius, the exiled member of the imperial family.

It's not over yet.

A faint light flashed through Kyle's deeply sunken dark eyes. He had been defeated, but he was not dead. Elysia had been captured, but she had not lost her life. And now, he had learned that Deputy Commander Hermann and the other members he thought he would never see again were alive.

"You'll be able to meet them again before long."

"......"

"Though meeting the Grand Duke comes first."

Silence lingered for some time. Hermann watched the deep crimson sun slowly setting beyond the window, then rose from his seat.

"For now, get plenty of rest. You may be much better, but you aren't fully healed."

"Wait."

Just as Hermann was about to turn away, Kyle reached out into the air.

"I..."

"Are you planning to confess your guilt, Kyle?"

Hermann grinned. It was the cheerful smile Kyle had often seen back when Hailen still stood.

"I'll tell you now, I don't resent you."

"But..."

"Not even once. Not me, not Rowen, not Cecilia, not Prince Yurian. The other members all feel the same."

"......"

"So focus on resting for now. As for what we'll do next... we'll talk about it later. There's someone who hasn't returned yet. They'll be truly happy to know you're awake."

Kyle could not answer in the end. Hermann, who never lost his smile, left the room like Colin had earlier.

Creak, thud.

Once he was gone, only quiet stillness remained in the modest room. Kyle rubbed his rough hands together, then turned toward the window.

Did the people who died because of me really not resent me?

Not even once?

As time passed, darkness settled over the sunset like paint spreading across a canvas. Kyle watched the view for a while, then lowered his gaze to his hands. His fingers were ugly, slightly bent from gripping a sword for over ten years and covered in calluses. A hollow laugh escaped his lips before he realized it.

I lost my sword. I failed to protect Elysia. The Dragon Heart is gone.

But I haven't lost everything. I'm still alive.

As long as I'm alive.

Kyle slowly closed his eyes. There was no white ring on his empty left hand. Even so, he could clearly feel his sharpened senses and every particle of mana in the air. Somehow, they seemed even more refined than when he was at his peak.

Izra's Thorn, which had eaten away at his body for over four years, had disappeared without a trace.

Mana, different in nature from before, raced through his entire body.

Instead of the pain that came when purple thorns burst forth, an unbearable sense of omnipotence swept through him. Kyle slowly opened his eyes.

In the twilight mixed with darkness, a pure white light bloomed in his palm. It was faint, yet unmistakably clear. It was Prisia's mana, which had felt like a part of him for so long.

Footnotes:

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