WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle

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◈ The Wandering Knight and the Moving Castle ◈

Chapter 15: Bonyard City (2)

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“I heard about you from Solin. Please leave your horse with us while you stay.”

Thanks to the invitation, Eugene was able to let Might rest in a comfortable shelter at the horse market. If he had come to the city on his own, he would have had to tie Might up in a small, filthy stable attached to an inn.

Neighhh!

Might seemed pleased to receive a hearty meal of oats and sliced carrots instead of hay.

There was no cloudy water sitting in a wooden trough, either. Clear water constantly trickled through a channel.

“If it weren't for Master and Maria, I couldn't even pretend to be a knight.”

As he stroked Might's mane, Eugene keenly felt the power of connections and having support behind him.

Fine armor and a Barsian warhorse. Even if a man and woman from the countryside emptied every last coin from their pockets, they could never dream of owning such wealth.

“You're getting hungry, right?”

Swish!

Homi wagged her tail as though she had been waiting for him to ask. They spent the rest of their time wandering through the market and enjoying street food.

True to her nature as a gatherer, Homi showed great interest in fruits and vegetables she had never seen before, such as locally grown olives and dates brought over from the southeast.

“You're still growing, and you're a carnivore.”

Since she kept looking only at plants, Eugene placed a grilled skewer in each of her hands.

Munch, munch!

While Homi was absorbed in both the novelty and flavor of the food, Eugene considered his future.

If he wanted to live as a knight, he could no longer be as frugal as before. He didn't need to be extravagant, but he had to invest in equipment and maintaining his dignity.

The two of them couldn't travel alone forever. There would come a time when he needed to hire mercenaries or adventurers. The more money he had, the better.

‘Should I keep hunting and gathering herbs like before?’

Exploring places where rare herbs grew wouldn't be a bad idea either. If he discovered a rich area, he could make a tidy profit.

Herb gatherers couldn't enter such places because dangerous beasts and monsters were common there, but that didn't apply to him.

‘Or should I sell my strength?’

A knight with good equipment and a horse could command substantial pay.

Still, that was both an advantage and a shackle. He couldn't join a mercenary band like an ordinary mercenary.

It would tarnish a knight's dignity, and mercenary bands would find him too burdensome to accept in the first place.

He needed to catch the eye of a lord who could offer sufficient pay or land. The higher the salary, the narrower the path to employment became.

At times like this, his master's teachings always helped.

“I stayed as a guest in many cities during my wandering days. The treatment isn't as generous as staying with a noble house, but you have far more freedom and peace of mind.”

Gopri had also occasionally told him how he earned money while living as a wandering knight.

“When I needed a large sum, I was invited by noble houses or free cities to work as a Champion.”

“So you fought duels for money.”

“That isn't entirely wrong, but it won't feel that way once you become a Champion. The city will devote itself to burnishing your honor.”

Noble houses and free cities were always fighting. In such chaotic times, there was no shortage of reasons.

Still, they could not mobilize armies every time, so various trials by combat were held. That was when Champions came into play.

“Did it pay well?”

“Of course. Isn't it a dish made by throwing the bigwigs' pride, honor, vanity, and countless competing interests into one pot and boiling them together? The cook can't help but be paid handsomely.”

“Oh.”

“Anyway, look how your eyes change the moment money comes up, you rascal. It wouldn't be good if you got a taste for making money as a Champion while you're young.”

Gopri's face, even as he clicked his tongue, had been unexpectedly bright. Deep down, he was pleased that his disciple, who was like a son to him, was following in Gopri's own youthful footsteps.

After recalling that conversation, Eugene clenched his fist.

“Being a Champion sounds good.”

By accepting an invitation from a city under threat, he could earn a large sum through just a few duels if he was lucky.

They might ask him to handle tedious monster subjugations or stand on a battlefield where stray arrows flew. Still, he could decide after considering the danger and the pay.

* * *

As Eugene walked through the plaza, an interesting fountain caught his eye.

It wasn't an ordinary fountain with a barefoot woman holding a water jar, a boy with an unusually powerful stream of urine, or a round dish-shaped basin. It was a massive work of art, about ten meters wide.

“An ark?”

That was Eugene's first impression.

A crude, squat giant ship made of stone. It looked as though it would turn out like that if one built city walls, mansions, and a grand cathedral atop it.

Whooosh!

Dozens of streams of water poured from the walls and watchtowers of the majestic fortress, creating a spectacular sight.

“Isn't it amazing? I've never seen anything like it.”

Homi nodded vigorously. Having lived only in a rural place with little to see, she seemed excited by such a strange spectacle.

Eugene took out a copper coin and approached a man sitting on a nearby bench.

A traveling backpack, a lute, a shortsword for self-defense, and even a stylish hat. He was a bard who wandered the world, selling songs and stories.

“May applause and safety follow your journey.”

Eugene dropped the copper coin into the container beside him.

“May boundless glory accompany the warrior's path as well.”

The bard smiled without rising. Apparently, one copper coin wasn't enough to make him stand.

“May I ask you something?”

“Of course. I was just about to warm up my voice before I started singing.”

Eugene pointed to the fountain.

“If you know the story behind that fountain, I'd like to hear it.”

“You mean the Wandering Castle.”

“The Wandering Castle?”

“Yes! It's one of the greatest contributors to keeping Bonyard City fed. Many adventurers and nobles come to see it.”

The bard clasped both hands toward the fountain as though praying.

“Thank you for sending me money for my daily bread today as well.”

His attitude was remarkably reverent. He seemed to earn no small amount by explaining it here.

“Did you know that the Ancient Kingdom's stonecraft was lost with its fall?”

“Of course.”

Perhaps expecting a long story, the bard patted the empty space beside him.

As a Squire, Homi stood nearby. She watched the surroundings with a neat posture, but her ears perked up, trained on the bard's lips.

“The Ancient Kingdom's stonecraft was close to a miracle. There's even a joke that while earthquakes can topple castles, their buildings hold earthquakes in place.”

“Is that actually possible?”

“Oh, it's only a saying. Still, it's true that when their buildings topple in an earthquake, they fall over rather than break apart.”

“That alone is incredible.”

It wasn't like a little puppy simply toppling over with a thump. A massive stone building could fall without shattering?

“There was a city destroyed by an earthquake where only a library left behind by the Ancient Kingdom remained intact. The ground rose, and it toppled forward, but it didn't break.”

“Wouldn't it be usable again if they somehow lifted it back into place?”

Homi giggled as though that was absurd.

“Yes, exactly. They brought together a thousand cattle and horses, along with even more rope, and put it back in place. That was a hundred years ago. It's still being used as a library today.”

Astonished, Homi could only open and close her mouth.

“And the place that contributed most to such magnificent stonecraft was Bonyard City itself.”

“A reliable source of materials is important.”

“That's right. So, when the Ancient Kingdom began its greatest construction project, Bonyard City received a gift to encourage it to work even harder.”

“So that fountain is the gift?”

“That is correct.”

“And that greatest construction would have looked just like it?”

“You understand so quickly that it makes my job easier.”

Perhaps because his throat had gone dry from talking, the bard took a drink from his waterskin.

“The Wandering Castle! It was a grand undertaking that gathered the Ancient Kingdom's stonecraft, the elves' magic, and the dwarves' engineering into one castle.”

“Could it really move, as its name suggests? From the way it looks, it seems better suited to floating on the sea.”

It was made of stone, though, so it looked as if it would simply sink.

“From that point on, it enters the realm of legends and folktales. The story changes from person to person and region to region. No one has seen it in the first place.”

“Even if it was a long time ago, it must have been a national project. Are there no records left?”

“Unfortunately, there aren't. They say there was great opposition within the Ancient Kingdom at the time. It even caused a major civil war. That's why the related records were lost.”

Eugene looked at the fountain. There was a good chance the story was fiction, perhaps bait to draw in outside visitors.

Considering all the travelers the fountain had attracted so far, Bonyard City had surely made back its investment long ago.

“No matter how I look at it, it seems far too large to wander anywhere.”

“Right? Some say it flies through the sky, while others say it's adrift on a distant sea. There are even stories that it rides across the sands of the Great Desert.”

The bard shrugged.

“That's all I know.”

“Good work. That was a truly interesting story.”

As Eugene rose, the bard lifted his hat halfway in salute.

“Do you think the story of the Wandering Castle is true?”

Homi shook her head. Through signing, she said it was obviously a legend someone had made up.

“You're a realist.”

This time, Homi asked him a question. When she asked whether he wanted to become a lord, Eugene nodded.

“As a knight, no, as a man, it's only natural to want land of my own.”

During his childhood at the monastery, he had imagined it many times. What if the monastery were a lord's manor, and he were its lord?

The dream of owning wide stretches of land and buildings was sweet in itself.

After hearing Eugene's dream, Homi clenched both fists and nodded.

Her eyes didn't say, ‘You can do it!’

They held the belief that it couldn't possibly turn out any other way.

“If that happens, you won't be a Squire anymore.”

‘Even then, you'll let me serve you, right? I'll help you put on your armor and cook stew for you during your travels. I don't need to be a Squire.’

Seeing Homi sign more vigorously than ever, Eugene burst out laughing.

It wasn't the sort of conversation a two-person party of rookies who had only just stepped into the world should have been having.

Still, perhaps he should aim for even a small territory to repay his Squire's devotion.

Whether there was a place for a knight from the countryside to rise from the bottom was another matter.

* * *

Bonyard City was governed harmoniously under its Chief Magistrate's leadership by various officials and representatives of commerce and industry.

Fannis, Solin's superior and the Chief Constable responsible for the city's defense, had recently been living with dark circles beneath his eyes from lack of sleep and stress.

“I apologize. I failed to bring him.”

“Enough, get out.”

He waved a hand at the subordinate bowing at a perfect right angle in apology.

After hearing the door close, Fannis rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Damn it. Jimi failed too, and the knight Hobbs brought back was nothing but a puffed-up fraud. Sir Gopri. Please, let things go well with Sir Gopri at least...”

The neighboring nobles of Gord had received tribute from Bonyard City for generations.

Lately, perhaps their greed had grown. Claiming they wanted the city's lucrative rights and concessions as well, they had drawn their swords.

Fortunately, they weren't calling for war with armies. They wanted each side to choose three Champions to represent them, then negotiate with iron and blood.

“Those bastard thugs wearing noble skins!”

The weak had no choice, so Bonyard City was doing everything it could to gather capable knights from nearby.

Yet no matter how hard the city tried, this was the edge of the continent. There were few free knights to call upon, and truly skilled ones were even rarer.

As Fannis stamped his feet in frustration, there was a knock.

“Come in.”

“Have you been well, Chief Constable?”

The person who entered was Solin, the subordinate sent to bring Sir Gopri. That mission was Fannis's greatest hope.

“You're back already?”

Fannis's already weary face twisted.

“Don't tell me the mercenaries took the money and ran. They were supposed to be reputable men. They wouldn't do that.”

Solin looked sadly at his superior, who had begun with suspicion. Fannis hadn't always been such a negative person.

“Not at all. The Beard Mercenary Band did well, and they completed their mission. The knight is resting at an inn.”

Fannis sprang from his chair and pointed at Solin with his index finger. It was a habit he showed whenever he heard good news.

“You succeeded in bringing Sir Gopri?! Yes! That's it! But how did you get back so quickly? It should have taken another two weeks.”

“Well, Sir Gopri was already gone. We heard he had set out on a pilgrimage. Instead, we were able to bring back his direct disciple, who had set out to train as a knight. We returned this quickly because we met him along the way.”

“Ah...”

Thump!

Still holding up his index finger, Fannis fell backward into his chair. His finger tilted diagonally toward the ceiling.

“Then it's a bust! It has to be the Knight of Prophecy!”

“Not at all. Sir Eugene is a knight as strong as Sir Gopri.”

“You don't seem to understand the situation. If things go wrong, those bastards from Gord will strip this city bare! And how can you be sure that knight wasn't lying? Did you even see him being knighted?”

“Please hear me out first.”

Solin reported the impressive experience he had witnessed.

Fannis sat there with an indifferent expression that said, ‘Fine, let's hear your excuses.’

Even he had no choice but to make a complete about-face when Solin described Eugene swinging a huge long-handled flail to kill ten wolves in an instant, then smashing the head of a fleeing Warg.

“A Warg in three exchanges?”

“Yes. And every part of it was remarkable. What knight could skewer and lift a Warg one-handed with a sword? And what about sending one flying with a single kick? Even Sir Gopri couldn't do that.”

Fannis shot up from his chair.

Snap!

Then he pointed with his index finger.

For the first time in a long while, a smile appeared on his face.

Footnotes:

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