WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle
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◈ The Wandering Knight and the Moving Castle ◈
Chapter 56: The Knight's House (2)
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The meals provided by the Knight's House were closer to military fare. They were not as lavish as those served by noble houses, but they were exceptionally healthy.
Largo, the instructors, scribes, and other administrators attended the meal.
“To receive a fief at such a young age. That is remarkable.”
“Of course it is. He is the knight who cut down Sir Geist in a single stroke.”
‘It wasn't with a sword. I beat him to death with a shield.’
As rumors passed from mouth to mouth, they had become distorted in all sorts of ways. Still, killing someone with a sword did sound better in an epic tale. Eugene simply smiled and accepted the praise.
“Sir, now that you've seen him for yourself, you know Haind is a capable swordsman. If you're willing, would you consider taking him with you as a trainee knight on your future travels?”
“...!”
At Largo's proposal, Eugene clenched his fist beneath the table. He did not show it, but he had been hoping for this all along.
A Squire was someone who shared a knight's fate at their side and inherited everything from that knight. They formed a community of destiny, bound more tightly than even a vassal contract.
A trainee knight, on the other hand, had a looser connection. It was like a mercenary contract between a famous knight and a fledgling knight.
The difference was that the knight only needed to provide food, lodging, equipment, and money to maintain appearances. In exchange, the trainee knight received combat experience, instruction, and connections from the knight they followed.
That still cost as much as hiring several mercenaries, but from Eugene's perspective, it was a most welcome offer.
“I'd be glad to. Where else could I find such a fine knight? Still, Cadet Haind may have other plans.”
“Haind has worked toward only one goal, becoming the best here. He has no plans for what to do from tomorrow onward.”
“Could he not return to his family? He seems to come from a rather well-off household.”
There was no chance Haind had grown up roughly, judging by his looks and manner of speaking. He seemed like someone who had spent his childhood cherished by a wealthy family.
“Haind's father is a merchant who made his fortune in a free city. He married a wife from a fallen noble house and had the boy.”
“Ah!”
That explanation alone was enough for Eugene to roughly guess the story.
Those born common who entered noble society carried an unextinguished jealousy within them, directed toward true nobles born with noble blood.
It was inevitable for that obsession to be focused on their children. It was not unusual for children of successful merchant families to receive knightly education.
“Haind's father won't be satisfied with his son simply receiving a knighthood. But it is a different matter if he serves at the side of an outstanding knight who received a fief from Count Morad.”
Eugene realized anew that he had become someone worth backing. He was still a weak connection, standing at the lowest rung among noble lords, but a connection nonetheless.
“Have you discussed this with Haind himself?”
“He has been considering his future plans as well. If I recommend it and you accept him, it will be settled.”
Largo stepped back at that point. The instructors seated with them were clearly itching to ask questions.
They bombarded Eugene with questions as if a dam had burst, but they were not about his martial prowess or duels.
They desperately wanted to know how Gopri had trained him. As educators raising future knights, it was a subject they could not help asking about.
After the lively meal ended and night fell, Eugene was assigned a private room.
“This is my first time seeing an eclipse directly.”
The moon, always present in the sky, had vanished completely. It was not a pleasant sight.
Even the village was utterly still, as though everyone had shut themselves indoors, whether they were mages or not. Not even the neighborhood watch, which normally patrolled with torches, could be seen.
* * *
Was it because of the eclipse, which made every mystery in the world unstable? That night, Eugene had a strange dream.
He stood naked and alone inside a massive stone building. There was not even a stove or a single candle, yet he did not feel cold.
Splash, splash.
The stone floor beneath his feet and the castle walls he groped along in the darkness were warm. It was as if hot water, no, blood flowed within the stone walls.
After wandering aimlessly, Eugene arrived before an enormous door. When he pushed against it, it opened without a sound.
A vast space spread out beyond it, and at the far end stood a throne alone beneath a faint light.
[Come to me. Come to me now.]
For some reason, the throne yearned for Eugene.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
Eugene walked as though entranced and finally reached the throne. He turned and slowly sat down.
Rumble.
The entire stone building trembled.
The throne, the floor, the walls, the ceiling. Every part of the place seemed to shake with joy.
It felt like the tremor of embracing someone who had been sobbing from loneliness. Eugene gently stroked the armrest as well.
Everything was fine, except it was so dark he could see nothing. What was the point of sitting on such a splendid throne if he could not see it?
“It is too dark.”
Flash.
The moment Eugene spoke without thinking, the building brightened as if responding to him. Glass tubes scattered throughout the hall emitted magical light, driving away the darkness.
“...!”
The place he had thought empty was strewn with traces of death in every direction.
Skulls filled his sight wherever he looked. Skeletons clad in splendid armor, old-fashioned scribes' robes, and the clothes of maids and servants lay collapsed all around him.
Startled, Eugene reflexively tried to rise, but failed.
[Do not leave. Remain with me.]
Chains rose around the throne and bound Eugene as an intent that seemed to echo through the entire castle spoke to him.
Crack!
Even in a dream, Eugene's strength remained intact. He tore his arms free, and the chains shattered at once. Yet chains two, then three times as numerous immediately tangled around him.
A sickening pressure, like being pinned down in sleep! The cold of the chains felt as though it pierced his soul.
At that moment, leaves and flower petals poured down from the ceiling. The chains they touched crumbled away in heaps.
A brilliantly shining woman descended through them. A beautiful naked elf embraced Eugene. Warmth and gentleness wrapped around his entire body, as though protecting him.
At the same time, Eugene realized he was beginning to wake.
It felt as though his consciousness was being pulled somewhere. From deep within his mind, lamps seemed to switch on one after another.
Click. Click.
* * *
Eugene opened his eyes.
As he raised himself in bed, he found himself in Varda's embrace. White pajamas and a soft sensation pressed against his face.
“Are you awake? You were suffering terribly.”
“Lady Varda? What in the world...”
“The mystic energy in the room beside yours was in turmoil. I also heard groans as though you were in pain. If I had not woken up then, I would be unfit to call myself a mage, or an elf.”
Twitch, twitch.
Varda's long ears moved. As befits an elf, she was as light a sleeper as Homi.
“Thank you for worrying about me. But it was only a nightmare.”
“Shh.”
Eugene felt Varda stroking his back. Her scent was the same as the one he had smelled in the dream.
“You should not dismiss it as a nightmare. The dreams of someone who understands magic are not simple replays of memory. Do you remember what happened in the dream?”
“Some of it is hazy, but it was a sight I have never experienced before.”
Eugene described what he had seen. He told her of wandering through a dark, vast stone building, sitting on a throne, and nearly being bound there. The pressure and cold from the chains still felt vivid.
“What are you checking?”
Varda lifted Eugene's pajama top and examined his chest, back, and arms.
“You said it was terribly cold. You might have frostbite or some other injury.”
“It was only a dream.”
“If a mage dreamed it during an eclipse, it cannot be ignored. It might have been a prophetic dream, or your mind may have briefly traveled to another world. There is a chance the effects from there remained in your body.”
After checking him over, Varda let out a relieved breath.
“Fortunately, there is nothing wrong with your body.”
“Just as I thought the chains would bind me completely, you came down and saved me, Lady Varda. You looked like an angel.”
Varda smiled shyly.
“My desire to pull you from the nightmare must have taken that form.”
It was common for sensations felt by the real body to appear during sleep. If someone became hot while sleeping, their dream might turn to fire or boiling water.
“I am curious where the place you saw in the dream was.”
“It was a grim place unlike any building I have ever seen.”
It had been too dark, and the sights too fragmented, for him to be certain of anything. Perhaps for Eugene's peace of mind, Varda did not ask any further questions.
“Will I have the dream again if I fall asleep like this?”
Eugene feared nothing in the world, but being thrown defenselessly into a nightmare was not a pleasant feeling.
“You will be fine.”
The yellow moon beyond the window had emerged again from its curtain of shadow.
“The eclipse is over, and the world's magic has stabilized again. Even if you fall asleep now, you will not be trapped in a nightmare.”
Eugene moved back in relief and finally noticed Varda's state. She sat with her legs folded to either side, barefoot.
She must have rushed over so urgently that she had not even put on shoes. The soles of her delicate feet were black with dust.
Seeing that, Eugene felt something beyond gratitude tighten around his heart.
“Are your feet hurt?”
When Eugene tried to touch them, Varda hurriedly knelt and hid her soles behind her.
“They are perfectly fine, without a single wound. You need not worry.”
“...I was thoughtless.”
Come to think of it, it was something that could easily embarrass a noble lady.
Click.
The door opened, and Homi entered with a deeply worried expression. She carried a basin of water and a towel.
“Nothing is wrong, so don't look like that. I only lost a little sleep.”
Relieved, Homi placed the towel and basin in front of Eugene.
Trickle.
She carefully wiped Eugene's bare upper body. As the cool towel washed over his sticky neck and back, it felt as though the remnants of the nightmare had vanished as well.
“Good work.”
Eugene stroked Homi's hair, which always felt good to touch.
After talking a little longer and sending the two ladies out, he looked up at the moon beyond the window.
‘Is this also part of becoming a mage?’
The moon, which he normally took for granted, felt especially precious today, like a guardian.
A little later, Eugene lay down in bed. As his consciousness sank, he slept soundly as usual without dreaming at all.
* * *
The next day, Largo stood with a sword before the kneeling Haind. Every instructor, scribe, and senior stood around them.
“From this day onward, I declare that you are no longer a trainee.”
Largo's sword tapped Haind's left shoulder.
“The harsh training here has ended. From now on, true trials will stand before you. They will be an eternal vigilance against compromise and comfort.”
Largo's sword tapped Haind's right shoulder.
“Always look around you when you fight. A knight's sword exists to protect honor and the weak. If you focus only on killing the enemy before your eyes, one day you will stray from the path of a knight.”
Largo lowered his sword.
“Rise! Rise, Haind, Border Knight!”
All the instructors applauded and blessed the birth of a new knight. Eugene, who had been specially permitted to observe despite being an outsider, clapped as well.
‘This is what a knighting ceremony should be. I wish Master Gopri had done something at least somewhat like this for me.’
It was an event that happened only once in a lifetime. Even Eugene, who had been indifferent to such things, could not help feeling regret as his life as a knight grew more meaningful.
-Just be a knight from now on.
Wasn't that too much of a contrast to him, who had received only that one line?
A boy of around ten approached carrying a wooden box. Inside was a patch proving Haind had graduated as a Border Knight. It could be attached anywhere, to armor, a shield, a surcoat, a cloak, or a helmet.
Largo personally fastened it to Haind's chest.
“...”
Eugene had seen many knights before.
But this was the first time he had seen a man kneel as a trainee and rise as a knight.
Years of endurance, built through sweat weighing dozens of times his own body weight. Masters and seniors who had shared that time with advice and affection, now blessing him.
‘The knights I killed must have also been forged through their own long and precious journeys.’
At the same time, he felt a touch of sadness. Knights seemed so fleeting.
* * *
A new companion had joined Eugene's group as they left the Knight's House behind.
“I look forward to working with you.”
“I look forward to working with you as well, Sir Eugene.”
Wearing fine chain mail and carrying a sword, Haind radiated the dignity of a knight.
Senior knights who had left their cradle and found success. Cities and lords who owed the Knight's House a debt after needing martial strength.
Their support allowed departing knights to receive equipment and warhorses.
It was Roman culture, something like a medieval network built through schools and hometown ties. In Haind's case, his wealthy merchant father's donations must have played a part as well.
The feeling of having another knight follow them differed from the reassurance Eugene felt from loyal Homi or respected Varda.
It was a different kind of strength, one only a fellow knight, and a knight who gave him heartfelt recognition, could provide.
‘Even after his internship ends, I'll keep him by my side and work him for the rest of his life.’
The longer the journey became, the more Eugene's desire for talented people seemed to grow.
Footnotes:
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