WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle
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◈ The Wandering Knight and the Moving Castle ◈
Chapter 68: Prophecy (7)
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“I’m sorry we’re late.”
“Don’t apologize. Aside from the guards on patrol, you were the first to arrive.”
Eugene reassured the warriors and mercenaries, who kept bowing their heads, then checked on Marbas.
The flames of Hell had gone out, but the aftereffects of all he had endured could not be minor.
“Are you all right? Is there any chance your condition will worsen?”
“There’s no problem. I was born with a sturdy body, and I’ve never missed a day of training.”
Marbas swung an arm and clenched his fist. The strength in that motion was as solid as a warrior’s.
“If I can’t stop the fire serpent within from eating away at my flesh, there’s only one solution. Build more muscle.”
“That makes sense. Your strong foundation must be why you endured for thirty years.”
No matter how strong his willpower had been, if that was all he possessed, he would have been reduced to skin and bones and driven mad.
Marbas had been strong in both body and mind, allowing him to endure until fate linked him with Eugene.
There were no bandages left anywhere on his body. He stretched out a hand toward the wind and drew it deep into his monastic robe.
“I had forgotten for far too long that the world is filled not with heat and pain, but with coolness and freshness. No matter how many times I give thanks for this grace, it will never be enough.”
“You can repay it slowly by my side from now on.”
“You learn quickly.”
There was no displeasure in Marbas’s smile.
“Your Squire is perceptive too.”
His gaze shifted toward Homi behind them.
She was removing the ruby embedded in the golem’s eye. She pushed the tip of her dagger into a gap, adjusted it this way and that, then lightly tapped it with a warhammer.
“May I have it?”
“In this situation, it should be fine. It is a divinely ordained principle that a warrior who defeats a monster takes spoils from its corpse.”
It was a right generally guaranteed regardless of region, but Dark Elf society tended to respect it especially strongly.
“Judging by the size of the ruby, it must be extremely valuable.”
For Eugene, who had suddenly risked his life in battle, that level of compensation was only fair.
“The original owner won’t be able to protest. If they did, every family attending the festival would condemn them. Besides, don’t you have powerful backing now?”
“The Black Hand family?”
Marbas nodded.
“Goodwill earned through might and words, and a spiritual bond forged by prophecy. You’ve become their closest friend. They’ll be more dependable connections than House Morad.”
Spectators surged in from all directions like waves, eager to see the end of the terrifying flame monster with their own eyes.
A heavily armed elite unit hurried over from the other side, escorting tribal shamans.
“Let’s leave soon. If we stay, we’ll only be bothered with questions. The spectators and guard warriors will explain the situation themselves.”
When Eugene led the way, his mercenaries, Rex, and the ranger unit followed behind.
Rather than a group simply returning in the same direction, they looked like a single army following its lord.
* * *
The festival continued as though nothing had happened.
“After that commotion, they aren’t even uneasy?”
“If the golem has been destroyed, what is there to worry about? The shamans have repeatedly confirmed that it’s safe.”
Rex said with a grin.
The wandering people were accustomed to being attacked by all manner of enemies, as well as resting and eating atop the bodies of those enemies after killing them.
“More importantly, are you feeling all right?”
“I wasn’t hit even once, so there’s no need to worry.”
“No, that’s not what I meant...”
A young woman from the tribe approached with a bottle of liquor.
Bells hung from her ankles, ringing clearly with each step.
“This is grain wine I brewed myself, Sir Knight. Would you please accept a cup?”
Eugene held out an empty cup, and she filled it to the brim with cloudy liquor. It took less than a second for it to disappear.
Cheers erupted at the hearty sight, and the young woman bounced in place. The bright sound of bells rang out.
“I meant, are you all right after drinking it like that? It’s rather strong.”
“Ah, was it? It only tasted sweet.”
“It is the sweetest of our family’s traditional liquors, but still.”
The young woman bowed with a flushed face, then hurried away.
“Just how much can you drink?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never been drunk.”
After returning to the family’s area, Eugene had to accept liquor offered to him from all sides.
When he first sat in the banquet hall on the first day, there had been plenty of wary looks and, at times, outright glares.
Things had improved greatly after he overwhelmingly defeated the warriors in their sparring matches, then changed completely after he destroyed the golem.
“This may have worked out for the best. It’s created a much better atmosphere for announcing the prophecy.”
“The forest mage is right. No one will doubt that the knight is the one spoken of in the prophecy.”
Announcing the enormous crisis hanging over the family was burdensome even for the chieftain’s family.
Yet if such a powerful warrior was bound to them by fate, it would be a tremendous comfort.
“Thump! Thump! When the drums sounded, the Bugbear turned blue, I’m telling you! You all should have heard that sound!”
“Two bandits were skewered by a thrown spear and rolled over and over, so the fight came to a stop.”
The drunk mercenaries drank the liquor poured for them by the tribespeople and loudly recounted heroic tales from their travels.
Amid the cheerful mood, envoys from other families arrived one after another.
“These are pearls, a specialty of the Eastern Small Kingdoms. Thanks to you, the warriors of our family who were serving in the guards were unharmed.”
“This is traditional liquor brewed personally by our chieftain. Please accept it.”
They had come to show respect for a powerful warrior and gratitude for protecting the festival.
“Thank you so much, Sir Knight! If not for you, we would have been utterly humiliated.”
In particular, the head of the family that had displayed the golem came in person and tightly gripped both of Eugene’s hands.
“If you don’t mind, would you visit our family? Many wish to entertain a great warrior.”
“I gratefully accept the sentiment, but this is the only place I’ll be staying during the festival.”
Unlike the disappointed family head, the Black Hand Tribe members around them could not have looked more satisfied.
One visitor was a painter carrying a large painting.
Even amid the chaos, the painter had demonstrated professional dedication and quickly put the battle scene to canvas.
It depicted a knight standing firm before a monster shaped like a blazing red horse.
“Hehe, what do you think?”
The painter rubbed his hands together as he spoke.
The painting differed from the actual battle in many ways.
Eugene held a sword rather than a long-handled flail, and the warriors who had provided covering fire around him were gone. For some reason, the weather had changed to dark clouds, and the golem’s flames seemed twice as large.
“You finished this in just one day?”
“Street painters are naturally quick. Some can finish a painting in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. It captures the knight’s majesty very well.”
Rex also looked impressed.
Homi liked it most of all. She took out a cute purse and was already paying for it.
“Thank you!”
The painter bowed repeatedly and withdrew.
“You like it that much?”
Nod, nod.
Homi hugged the painting to her chest and smiled. She seemed satisfied with this in place of the golem’s head, which had shattered beyond recovery.
Ever since Eugene gained a fief, she had shown a strong obsession with trophies that proved his achievements.
Clink.
Eugene took out a silver coin and slipped it into her purse.
“Uh.”
“Don’t spend your money on things like this anymore. Spend it on yourself.”
Eugene patted Homi’s head as she refused, saying she could not possibly accept it.
* * *
Alesa, chieftain of the Black Hand Tribe, and the elders watched the entire scene from the seats of honor.
“He certainly is remarkable. Now I understand why Rex is so taken with him.”
Her gaze fell upon the tribal warriors taking turns swinging Eugene’s long-handled flail.
All of them were strong and muscular, so lifting it was not a problem.
“Urgh!”
“You idiot! Where are you swinging that thing?!”
The instant they swung it, though, the long-handled flail stole all control from them.
They flailed helplessly against its heavy, shifting center of gravity, sending those around them fleeing in panic.
Even though no one could wield it properly, challengers kept appearing. They had all seen the golem lying shattered in the festival grounds.
A weapon that had defeated a monster they could not even imagine facing alone. As warriors, how could it not stir their desire to challenge it?
“Feel free to swing it as much as you like.”
Eugene had generously allowed them to handle his weapon.
“Grrrgh!”
Only a large female warrior like Helga could control it properly. Still, there was no way she could use it as unpredictably as Eugene did with one hand in actual battle.
The elders nodded at the friendly sight.
“Look at the position that knight has built for himself in only a few days. It’s not as though he grew up here with us from childhood.”
“When I was young, I traveled all across the continent, but I’ve never met a man with that sort of presence.”
“I was honestly worried that our family could only enter the cradle as guests. Yet if he is the master of that place, it should be all right.”
Dark Elves were the proudest and most self-respecting people on the surface.
What if the prophesied master of the cradle had been arrogant and unable to earn their recognition?
From the lowest members of the family onward, they would choose to face their fate with honor, even if it ended in ruin.
But after seeing what Eugene had shown during the festival, it seemed they no longer needed to worry about that.
The festival lasted two weeks. Eugene had expected it to continue for at least a month, so it came as a surprise.
“Isn’t that short for a grand gathering of the people that only happens once every few years?”
“If it continued for a month, fights would break out between tribes. Two weeks is already pushing it.”
“...I underestimated your people.”
“It used to last much longer, but bloodshed broke out every time, so it kept getting shorter until it was fixed at two weeks.”
The family’s members had been warm toward Eugene, but Dark Elves were fundamentally far from harmonious people.
“They say that in the distant past, we all gathered and formed one kingdom. It’s only an old tale, though.”
After the festival ended, Eugene prepared to return to Northfork.
Marbas, clad in a black monastic robe, joined the group.
“His joining us is a tremendous gain. Even the king of a nation would struggle to keep a summoner of his caliber at their side.”
“But Varda will always be my first priority.”
Varda gave a small laugh at Eugene’s flattery.
“I understand well enough that you cherish me, so there’s no need to say such things.”
Despite her words, Varda’s long ears twitched twice, as though she was pleased.
‘This certainly isn’t the sort of force a lord who rules a single village should possess.’
There were three mages alone, counting the lord, and each was exceptionally talented in their respective field.
In addition, tribal warriors, including Rex, stood arrayed behind Eugene. They had not been hired for silver coins.
“Can you leave your post like this as the deputy chieftain?”
“As I said, we are a matriarchal society. The tribe’s affairs will run perfectly well without me. More importantly, I must be with the one spoken of in the prophecy. That is the unanimous opinion of the chieftain and the council of elders.”
Being able to enter the cradle only as guests also meant that Eugene had become more than a friend. He was someone they protected.
After the festival, Eugene and the Black Hand Tribe signed a mutual defense treaty.
1. Eugene permits the tribe to establish a base in Northfork and use it as a garrison.
2. The tribe will obey the laws Eugene establishes in Northfork, and violations will be punished according to Eugene’s judgment.
3. The tribe is granted the right to bear arms freely, perform religious rites, and receive tax exemption in Northfork.
4. If external enemies invade Northfork, the tribe will automatically join the battle without separate negotiations.
5. If Eugene hires tribal warriors, the cost will be limited to a specially negotiated rate.
6. All the above provisions will also apply to territories Eugene comes to rule in the future.
They exchanged mutual benefits, and some provisions even encroached on a lord’s authority.
Eugene did not consider it a loss at all. He held the most important authority to judge and punish, and the treaty included the powerful benefit of automatic participation in wartime.
“This is a pact close to marrying the Black Hand family itself.”
Varda was surprised by a bond far stronger than she had expected, but she viewed it positively.
Eugene had more than enough ability as a lord, and he could expand his territory as much as his efforts allowed.
But a capable, trustworthy army could not be built overnight.
“If a fairly high-ranking noble house could form this kind of relationship with the Black Hand Tribe, they would gladly offer up their eldest son or daughter.”
It was such an appealing pact that Varda nodded again and again.
Footnotes:
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