WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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◈ Sword Master of the Fallen Kingdom

Chapter 64

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Two Exiles (11)

After finishing their meal, Kyle and Elysia went straight up to the second floor.

The inn room they had been given was smaller than expected.

A moderately sized bed sat in the corner. Beside it stood a small nightstand, and on top of the nightstand was a lamp powered by a Lower-grade Magic Stone. Of course, there was no bathroom. There was no window either. It was a room meant for one thing and one thing only: sleeping for a single night.

"Sorry. We should have gone somewhere else."

"No. This is enough. It's better than sleeping outside."

Kyle spoke with a slight frown. Elysia, on the other hand, did not seem to mind. In truth, while fleeing from Archandia all the way here to Brendel, she had grown used to uncomfortable sleeping arrangements.

"You chose a place like this on purpose, didn't you?"

Elysia asked as if it were nothing. Kyle did not deny it.

It was not that he lacked money. He had more than enough.

The problem was that Kyle and Elysia were currently being pursued. Going to a well-appointed inn in the city center carried too much risk. If a search began, it would be the first place they checked. The outskirts were no different. If Kyle were the lord of the fortress, he would search the largest inn and the smallest inn first.

So he had chosen somewhere a suitable distance away from the center.

If they went any farther toward the outskirts, they would end up in places that were little more than a roof over their heads. They should be grateful the room had no bugs or cobwebs. Ordinary mercenaries usually stayed in rooms of this level. If anything, Kyle was the one who felt a little awkward, since he had always stayed at the best lodging available after becoming a Silver-rank Mercenary.

This was the only room left, so there was no helping it.

They were only going to close their eyes for a short while before leaving anyway. As long as it kept out the wind and rain, it was enough. After looking around the room for a moment, Kyle turned on the lamp on the nightstand. The interior was in fairly decent condition, likely because it was cleaned often.

"Rest for now. We don't know when we'll be leaving."

Kyle pulled over the chair near the bed and sat down. Elysia hesitated, then came closer and carefully sat on the edge of the bed.

"You should at least close your eyes. We pushed hard again today."

Kyle removed the sword tied at his waist. He took the Inventory Pouch from inside his clothes and pulled out a small bottle. When he drew the hilt, a cold blade emerged, pristine despite all the battles it had gone through. He was tired, but he still intended to maintain his weapon.

"Will we leave at midnight?"

Elysia, who had been quietly watching Kyle, asked. Earlier, Kyle had said he would watch the situation until around midnight.

"I don't know. Nothing is certain. It depends on how the other side moves."

"Because of the messenger hawk."

"...Yes. If the lord of Ligrid Fortress decides to search inside the fortress, we'll have to move whether we want to rest or not."

So far, though, there had been no sign of that. The scale of the fortress city also made it difficult.

A population of roughly ten thousand. Travelers and merchants passing through alone numbered in the thousands. Searching that many people one by one would require mobilizing most of the fortress guard. Naturally, that would cause a major commotion.

They could use that opening to escape. Because of that, Kyle was not too worried.

"The problem is the wyvern knights."

Elysia, who had at some point leaned back against the wall by the bed, murmured softly. Kyle's hand paused as he wiped the blade with oil and cloth.

"...Are you very tired?"

But it lasted only an instant. Kyle moved his hand again and spoke. She paused for a moment as if thinking, then answered with a self-mocking tone.

"If I said I wasn't tired... that would be a lie."

"Then rest, even if it's only for a little while. Even if we shake off the wyvern knights, we'll still have to cross the border and pass through the highlands of the Duchy of Tervan."

"The Duchy of Tervan... I hope we can make it that far."

Elysia's golden eyes stared into the darkness on one side of the room. Under the dim lamplight, everything inside looked faint and blurred.

"Strangely, I can't seem to sleep. My body is this tired, but my head feels clear...."

She muttered to herself. Arriving in Brendel, meeting Kyle, and making it this far. So much had happened. There had been many days when she had wanted to give up.

Even so, she had struggled on. She had always moved with her body soaked in exhaustion. It was the same now. Crossing the mountain range and reaching the fortress had been a punishing forced march. It would not have been strange if she collapsed at any moment.

Yet her mind was clear. Clearer than ever. As if her body had sensed something and was burning its final flame.

Was it just an illusion, or was she dreaming?

Kyle silently wiped his sword. Each time the already clear blade became cleaner still, the worries and anxieties inside him slowly melted away. Idle thoughts disappeared. Even his awareness of himself.

"Kyle."

"Speak."

After some time passed, Elysia opened her mouth again.

"Can we win against the wyvern knights?"

"We won't know until we try. Like I just said, we know nothing. How they will move, or what is waiting ahead."

"Kyle."

Her voice was low. It sounded almost intoxicated, and unlike usual, it was endlessly calm. Kyle stared at his face reflected in the blade, then turned his head to the side. There, Elysia was looking straight at him with the same eyes she had shown when they first met.

"Though I am being pursued, I am still the First Princess of the Empire. Even if I am defeated by the wyvern knights, I likely will not die. If I am to be punished, I will be taken back to Archandia and put on trial."

Elysia continued in a confident tone.

"If I am lucky, I may live. Though I might lose an arm or leg, or one or two eyes."

"What are you trying to say?"

"If there is no chance of victory, you may leave midway."

She gave a bitter smile.

"No, if you want, I do not mind if you abandon my commission right now. This is... an extremely personal matter of mine."

"So, are you telling me to run away?"

"I am not telling you to run away. I am telling you to abandon the commission. I do not know who you are or what circumstances you have, but you have no need to risk your life for the affairs of the Imperial family. If there are not one but two wyvern knights...."

"Don't misunderstand."

Kyle slightly twisted the hilt of the sword he had finished maintaining. The smooth blade reflected the lamplight and shed a soft orange glow.

"I accepted that commission, but not for your sake."

"Ah...."

"It was for myself. The commission is only a means."

Kyle put the oil bottle back into the pouch along with the cloth. When he slid the maintained sword into its sheath, the blade's light vanished with a tiny, clear ring.

"Kyle, are you... not afraid of death?"

Elysia, who had been staring blankly at Kyle's face, asked the question that came to mind.

"Are you afraid?"

"I... am. I fear death. I fear my existence disappearing. I fear not knowing what lies after death. That is separate from being ready to throw away my life if necessary."

"I'm not."

"Why?"

"Because I already died once."

Kyle's voice did not waver in the slightest.

"Because there is something far more frightening than death. So if I can achieve my goal, nothing else matters. That is what it means to have nothing to lose. At least for me."

Kyle stood the maintained sword upright. The star iron sword he had held for more than five years since his knighting shed the same razor-cold light it always had.

"And today is not that day. I still have things left to do."

So he had no intention of quietly offering his neck. That held true even if two wyvern knights were tracking them. Even if all his precious people had vanished and his body had been eaten by a curse, making him weaker than he had once been, that was not a reason to give up.

Two wyvern knights chasing a princess who had become a traitor.

He had fought them until he was sick of them. Imperial knights, and the wyverns they rode. Kyle recalled old memories buried in the past, memories of killing wyvern knights. The vivid sensation of flesh being pierced, and the heat of bright red blood spraying up, came alive again beneath the hand that touched his sheath.

How many wyvern knights had died by his hand? What had their weaknesses been?

His thoughts were brief. There was nothing to agonize over. Even if his body had declined, what he had to do had not changed. Since the fall of Hailen, Kyle's goal had been one thing alone.

"Sleep now. I'll wake you when the time comes."

Kyle put out the faintly spreading lamplight. He held the maintained sword against his chest as he always did. Once the only light source disappeared, the inside of the windowless room sank into complete darkness. Between the faint sounds of Elysia's breathing, Kyle slowly closed his eyes.

***

Late at night, the streets of Ligrid Fortress City were a little more chaotic than usual.

"If you find anyone suspicious, report it immediately!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Do not overlook a single person. We must find them!"

The fortress guard swept through the city, searching innocent mercenaries and merchants. Those who had gone to sleep early, and even those who had been drinking to unwind before crossing the border and passing through the mountains, were caught up in the great wave.

It all happened in an instant.

Those who did not know what was going on lowered their heads under the threats of the soldiers who stormed in and prayed for the storm to pass. There was no time to respond. As soon as Konrad, the fortress lord, gave the order, the fortress guard left only the minimum number needed for watch duty and turned all other troops toward the city interior. It was an extremely swift operation.

From well-appointed inns in the center to shabby inns on the outskirts.

Places where the traitors might be hiding were subjected to surprise inspections all at once.

The complaints that broke out in the process were thoroughly ignored. That was how powerful the fortress lord's authority was here.

"Is this the place?"

"Yes, sir. It is the last remaining inn in this area."

"I see."

A group of soldiers stood before an inn. The guard squad leader in command looked up at the inn's sign for a moment, then opened the door without hesitation and went inside.

"Ah, welcome...."

The serving girl who had approached to greet the newly arrived guests froze. The others were no different. Everyone on the first floor who had been drinking and chatting loudly until a moment ago turned toward the open door as if they had all agreed to do so.

"What? Soldiers?"

"Aren't they the fortress guard? Why are they here at this hour...."

"Is some criminal hiding here?"

Whispering voices replaced the noisy conversations. The soldiers did not care. They stepped into the inn with disciplined strides. The guard squad leader entered last, looked around, and narrowed his eyes.

Inside the moderately sized inn, located a little away from the center, a fair number of guests sat eating and drinking. Mercenaries and merchants who had crossed over from the Duchy of Tervan or descended from the Ligrid Mountains. After scanning every one of them without exception, the guard squad leader shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Attention!"

His booming voice made the first floor fall silent in an instant. The guard squad leader looked around again, as if threatening the guests inside the inn, then continued.

"Starting now, we will conduct a surprise inspection under the lord's orders."

"What?"

"An inspection? Out of nowhere?"

"Quiet! Everyone be quiet!"

The guard squad leader shouted. Those who had been complaining shut their mouths at once.

"The order has been issued not only here, but across the entire fortress. Cooperate."

"......."

"Has anyone seen a tall male mercenary carrying a sword? He is accompanied by a shorter female mage wearing a black cloak. If you know anything, raise your hand."

The guests on the first floor looked at one another. Because of the incident in the Duchy of Tervan, there were far more people here than usual. No one in this noisy inn dining room remembered the appearance of every stranger they had never met. On top of that, the description he had just given was common enough to be seen anywhere. There was nothing distinctive about it.

"Truly no one? Nobody?"

He shouted again. The guests shifted under his questioning gaze, their eyes full of confusion. At least in this place right now, there were no guests matching the appearance he had just described. There were people with swords, tall people, and people accompanied by female mages, but no one who fit all three conditions at once.

"No choice, then...."

"W-What is going on?"

The guard squad leader was letting out a sigh when the innkeeper, who had noticed the soldiers one step late, rushed over from the kitchen.

"Are you the owner of this inn?"

"Yes, yes! I am the owner of this inn. Soldiers, what brings you here so suddenly...."

"The lord's order has come down. We are looking for people. One tall male mercenary who uses a sword. One female mage wearing a black cloak. Does anything come to mind?"

"That is...."

The innkeeper trailed off. When he could not answer right away, the guard squad leader glanced up at the ceiling and spoke.

"Sorry, but we will need your cooperation for a moment. It will not take long."

"Pardon?"

"Search it. All of upstairs."

"Proceed as planned?"

"Yes. If you discover the targets, kill the man and capture the woman alive."

"Understood."

It happened the instant the innkeeper let out a questioning voice. At the guard squad leader's command, the soldiers climbed the stairs leading to the second floor.

"N-No! You cannot just go up there...!"

The startled innkeeper shouted too late. But his voice did not reach them. While the innkeeper's hollow cry lingered on the first floor, the soldiers reached the second floor and began forcing open locked doors to continue their search.

"Aaagh!"

"What the fuck! Who the hell are you!"

"P-Please spare me! I haven't done anything!"

Unlike the first floor, it did not take long for the quiet second floor to become chaotic. Guests who had fallen asleep early pointed and shouted in shock at the sudden arrival of soldiers. Some lowered their heads first, perhaps because they had a guilty conscience. The soldiers paid none of it any mind and moved quickly to find the people matching their targets' descriptions.

"Have you found them?"

"Not yet, sir."

"I see."

From the room right in front of the stairs leading to the second floor, all the way down the corridor.

The soldiers and the guard squad leader, who had been forcing doors open one by one and searching them, stopped before the final room.

"This is the last one."

"...I see."

The soldiers exchanged glances and looked back at the guard squad leader. The moment the man with command authority jerked his chin toward the firmly closed door.

Shnk!

All of a sudden, a sharp silver blade thrust out through the wooden door.

A soldier standing near the door had his throat pierced and choked as he vomited blood. Bright red blood poured down like a waterfall around the twisting blade. Soon, with a creak, the closed door slowly opened.

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