WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle
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◈ The Wandering Knight and the Moving Castle ◈
Chapter 88: Time of Purification (2) Illustration
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Varda and Homi headed straight for the guest bath. Maids were already waiting inside with heated water prepared.
“Will you require assistance?”
“No, that’s all right.”
Bathing assistance was a luxury not offered even to most visiting nobles. It was reserved for the lord of a fief or guests of great-noble rank.
Varda, however, was popular for both her beauty and kindness. Above all, superstitious beliefs had spread because she was a forest fairy and a mage.
“They say touching the forest mage earns you the blessing of elemental spirits.”
“They say a fairy’s energy drives hidden illnesses out of your body.”
Eugene thought it was nonsense, but many people sincerely believed it.
This was a world where priests worthy of being called saints could perform miracles that healed diseases and wounds.
Varda’s magic and medicine possessed healing powers similar to those miracles. The way elves had been romanticized in countless stories only reinforced that belief.
“I appreciate the thought. You may all leave.”
“Yes.”
The maids bowed and withdrew with regretful expressions, carefully clutching Varda’s discarded clothes and socks as if they had to settle for a substitute.
“I’m grateful for their respect, but this is embarrassing.”
Varda’s face, even her ears, turned red with embarrassment.
Her clothes were one thing, but her socks smelled after marching through the wasteland for so long.
Splash!
Varda scooped water over herself, then carefully washed her ears while looking in the mirror. She hadn’t shown it, but she had been ashamed throughout the journey at the thought of Eugene seeing her dirty ears.
Rub, rub.
Homi was doing laundry.
Kneeling down, she dipped her long, thick tail into a basin of water. She lifted her tail from the water, its fur spread out like a duster, and worked in plenty of soap.
Trickle.
Brown water ran away, and the fur of her tail gradually returned to white. A small smile spread across her lips.
“Why don’t you stop there and wash yourself first?”
Though a fair amount of time had passed, Homi had not put a single drop of water on her body.
Her plump bottom, resting on the soles of her feet like cushions, her slim waist, and her defined abs were all mottled gray with dirt.
Unable to watch any longer, Varda poured water over Homi’s back and soaped her up herself.
Homi knelt quietly and gave herself over to Varda’s care, looking deeply content.
“Eek!”
Her tail happily flicked a few times, scattering water droplets everywhere.
Press!
“You need to stay still.”
Varda raised an eyebrow and stepped on Homi’s tail to pin it to the floor.
Yet the elf’s soft sole and gentle pressure felt more like a massage, only making Homi happier.
“You’re so brave and disciplined outside.”
Homi was still a girl who had not yet come of age. She hungered for a kind of affection and pampering Eugene could not give her.
Varda, who had spent a happy childhood under the devoted care of her dryad nursemaid Grace in the Emerald Forest, understood that absence.
After finishing their bath, the two young women changed into the silk clothes the maids had prepared.
Varda carefully applied fairy perfume she had made herself to her ears, while Homi hummed as she combed her tail.
“That took a while.”
Eugene had prepared drinks and refreshments for three on the balcony.
“After showing Eugene such an unsightly appearance throughout the journey, shouldn’t we take care of ourselves?”
“I thought you were strong, capable young ladies. I never once thought you looked ugly.”
“Your tongue works surprisingly well for a knight.”
Varda laughed. The man before her would have done well even as a bard.
“I missed this feeling and atmosphere.”
The two young women reclined in the chairs on either side of Eugene, took off their slippers, and stretched. The freshness and languor after a bath wrapped around them comfortably.
The river breeze slipped between their still-damp toes and along the backs of their necks. It felt wonderful.
Gulp, gulp.
With refreshing fruit drinks flowing down their throats, they had no reason to envy even a king. It felt as though they had been fully rewarded for the battle in the Wandering Castle and the grueling journey through the wasteland.
* * *
Prrr!
The next morning, Eugene went to the lord’s private stable, where Might welcomed him.
As soon as Eugene hugged Might around the neck, the horse flopped onto the ground. Raising and lowering its hind legs, Might was clearly asking to have its belly scratched.
“You were startled when I suddenly disappeared, weren’t you? I’m sorry.”
Eugene scratched the soft, warm skin of Might’s belly as though giving Might a massage. The horse let out a pleased sound.
In the past, Eugene had thought of dogs first when he considered animals capable of emotional bonds with humans. Living as a knight had changed his mind.
Horses connected with humans far more deeply than he had imagined. Sharing life-or-death moments on the battlefield also made the bond stronger.
“This time, you’re coming with me too.”
Prrr!
Eugene had spent the whole time considering how to deal with the remaining monsters in the Wandering Castle and which routes to take while infiltrating it.
His thoughts seemed to come together more easily while feeling Might’s warmth than they did in a quiet office.
“Sir, may I interrupt for a moment?”
Haind came to the stable entrance and gave a military salute.
“Come in.”
“There is something I would like to say.”
“Speak freely. There’s no need to feel burdened.”
Haind swallowed nervously. It was not an easy matter for a mere trainee knight, and not even an official vassal, to bring before him.
“It concerns the Black Hand Tribe.”
Eugene had a rough idea of what Haind wanted to say.
The tense expression and trembling voice were unlike a brave knight. Combined with the fact that Haind had approached him while Eugene was alone, the subject was easy to narrow down.
“You think I’m relying on them too much?”
“Yes.”
Eugene brought it up first, sparing Haind the difficulty, and Haind nodded.
“An open fief like this may be different, but in an isolated castle, you could end up handing them control.”
“You seem close with your tribal friends. I didn’t expect you to be so wary.”
Through real battles, hunts, and swordsmanship sparring, Haind had become close to Rex and the other tribal knights.
“Before I am their friend, I am your trainee knight.”
Haind was a man of principle who kept personal and public matters separate. Regardless of his friendship with them, the tribe was a group they needed to begin watching carefully.
“It is true that the Black Hand Tribe shows you great respect. But they are, at their core, a mercenary company and a nomadic people. They are still outsiders to you.”
“You’re right. Their race is different from ours as well.”
Throughout history, many powers had suffered after allowing powerful outside armies deep into their territory. Haind, who had been taught at The Knight's House, and Eugene, who had read history books, both knew that well.
“But considering the castle’s capture and the troubled times ahead, we need their strength. No one else can replace them.”
“I understand. What I wish to say is that if this is a relationship that cannot be broken, perhaps you should deepen it further.”
“For example?”
“The Black Hand Tribe is a matrilineal society.”
Because Eugene spoke comfortably with him, Haind seemed to gain courage. He hesitated for a moment before offering even more difficult advice.
“I believe you should consider a marriage alliance with their next leader.”
“An arranged marriage...”
Eugene did not react negatively, and Haind grew more earnest.
“They may call themselves a mercenary company, but they possess strength and influence far beyond that of most noble houses.”
“I know. There are already a double-digit number of noble houses whose marriage proposals they turned down.”
The Black Hand Mercenary Company’s infamy did not come only from their pride in looking down on humans and their habit of stabbing nobles who withheld their wages.
The wounded pride of nobles bitter over having their marriage alliances rejected was tangled up in it as well.
“Doesn’t that prove their value?”
Haind was the son of a merchant family, yet The Knight's House had instilled thoroughly aristocratic ways of thinking in him.
Marriage was only a tool, and love did not matter. Political gain came first.
If a lord with many daughters declared they would give gold equal to a bride’s weight, Haind was the sort who would choose the heaviest young woman without hesitation.
“Thank you for the honest advice. But it’s too early to discuss marriage. It’s the most valuable card I have to play.”
“Of course. Still, if there is no marriage alliance, I don’t think I’ll ever stop feeling uneasy.”
Haind did not believe in prophecies. He believed only in honest sweat and steel, which made him all the more cautious of the Black Hand Tribe.
“People often change once they have gotten what they want. That castle looks so remarkable from the outside, so what desires might arise after living inside it?”
If something happened within the castle, Eugene’s human forces alone would find it nearly impossible to suppress the situation.
Eugene had considered Haind’s concerns as well.
“You needn’t worry about that. That castle is special. Normal life inside it is impossible without the Castle Lord’s protection.”
The Wandering Castle was a living being in itself, one that chose its own master.
Mystical power flowed throughout the castle like veins of water. It could act as both medicine and poison.
“A comfortable place can turn into a dungeon in an instant. Stay there for a few weeks, and you’ll understand what I mean.”
“If you say so, Sir.”
“Thank you for the advice. Keep speaking honestly in the future as well.”
Haind gave a respectful military salute, then withdrew.
* * *
Eugene rested while waiting for supplies to arrive through the waterway.
The Black Hand Tribe’s silver weapons would be a great help in purifying the castle. Against undead and other nonliving creatures, silver was the most effective means.
He also mobilized every craftsman in the village.
“Aren’t these a bit too big?”
The mercenary captain looked uneasy at the large shields.
“Didn’t I already tell you?”
“You did, but I didn’t expect them to be this big.”
They covered the entire body and were thick enough to offer tremendous protection, but they required both hands to hold.
“You’re uncomfortable with entrusting your life entirely to someone else?”
“We are mercenaries.”
Every person for themselves was the foundation of a mercenary’s life, and comradeship could go to the dogs.
Giving up their weapons just to hold shields was difficult enough to imagine, and even harder to put into practice. In a crisis, the only thing that could protect their lives was the sword in their own hands.
Even when arguments broke out over dividing loot after a battle, the one holding the better weapon had the best chance of taking it.
“The enemies won’t be easy to handle, so this much is necessary. The companions behind you will take care of the attacking.”
The silver-plated spears that had arrived first were refitted into pikes.
Eugene had learned the range of the weapons inside the castle during the infiltration and escape. He wanted to secure the greatest possible attack range without allowing the weapons to snag against the walls.
“Thrust!”
“Hup!”
Under Haind’s instruction, the mercenaries trained fiercely.
“You must not use it like an ordinary spear. What you are wielding is a pike. Drive the strength of every muscle, from your planted feet to your legs, waist, back, and shoulders, into a single point.”
As the shield bearers formed a wall, the pikemen behind them drove their weapons powerfully forward.
“Lower!”
Thwack!
“Argh!”
A mercenary whose thigh was struck by Haind’s swinging scabbard immediately corrected their posture.
It was intensive training, but they were all veterans, and the equipment was high quality. Even watching from the side, they looked like a fortress capable of both attack and defense.
“Seeing it in person really is different. This will be far better than fighting the conventional way.”
The mercenary captain swallowed and nodded.
Applying that formation to a human army with cavalry and archers, especially one with insufficient training, would have been madness.
Yet it looked extremely effective against monsters inside a castle, where space was limited.
“My lord, it is complete.”
“What is that supposed to be...?”
When the blacksmiths brought over a giant wheeled shield, the mercenary captain looked sick.
“It will be given to those who break through at the very front. Offer triple pay and recruit volunteers.”
“Understood.”
The captain had learned that their employer liked words such as “high efficiency” and “specialization.” Still, this felt excessive.
Even so, it was reassuring.
When the mercenary captain gave the giant shield a pull, it looked incredibly sturdy. With a formation built around those shields, they might endure even if a troll swung a club at them.
A few more days passed before a transport ship carrying silver arrows, silver spears, and additional reinforcements arrived.
Dwarf warriors carrying flags marked with red hammers disembarked.
“It is an honor to have been called.”
A red-bearded dwarf centurion bowed respectfully.
“Some of the enemies we’ll face in this battle will not be easily cut or stabbed. I’m counting on you.”
“Leave it to us. Smashing things is our specialty.”
The centurion grinned and raised a hammer.
The Hammer Brotherhood.
As their name suggested, every member of the mercenary company was uniformly armed with iron hammers.
‘I should start increasing my forces, but I can’t just take anyone.’
Eugene had not hired any mercenaries besides the heavily armored soldiers he had brought from Bonyard City because he had been waiting for them.
After several more days of preparation, Eugene gave the order to march beyond the wasteland.
* * *
Fishing on the river was temporarily suspended.
Gulp.
Though Eugene had not forbidden it, the fishermen watched anxiously from the riverbank.
He had hired three large transport ships outright, and troops and supplies crossed to the other side one after another.
“Thank you for your cooperation. I’ll remember the name of the Harris Trading Company.”
“Thanks to your wise rule, my lord, we have been able to conduct business comfortably. It is only natural.”
The merchants bowed politely. This was the same trading company that had gifted Eugene a pair of camels when he first took office.
‘What could possibly be over there?’
‘It’s driving me mad with curiosity. There seems to be money in it somehow.’
No lord of Northfork had ever sent an expedition into the wasteland beyond the river. There was nothing there.
That was why, even when supplies had been stockpiled across the river before the march, no proper investigation had been conducted.
“The wasteland? No matter how much you pay us, we’re not going there.”
Every mercenary and adventurer had refused requests to explore the place.
The merchants tried to get information from Eugene’s mercenaries by pressing fine liquor and silver coins into their hands, but that proved useless as well.
“Oh, you shouldn’t have.”
“There is one thing I’m curious about.”
The mercenaries accepted everything they were offered, but never revealed any important information.
They were beginning to think of working under Eugene as a lifelong career, so they kept their mouths firmly shut.
“You do not need to pay us for this. Please take this money back.”
“Keep it. I don’t like owing debts. Business should be settled clearly, even between parents and children.”
“...That is truly an admirable attitude.”
The Harris Trading Company merchants wore expressions that were half pleased and half troubled.
They were sick of nobles who withheld money, demanded tribute, and abused their power. Still, the favors they offered made the nobles feel indebted.
When they needed a noble’s cooperation, those debts became an invisible source of influence. Eugene, however, did not leave even the smallest crack for that kind of arrangement.
After crossing the river, Eugene’s army marched into the wasteland beyond.
“What a sight.”
Everyone watching could not help but marvel at the unusual scene.
Mercenaries carrying shields that covered their entire bodies marched like moving walls, while silver-plated pikes glittered as they pointed high into the sky.
Dark Elf skirmishers armed with composite bows marched alongside dwarves carrying hammers that looked capable of smashing boulders.
Though small in number, their fierce presence intimidated every onlooker. One could not help feeling sorry for whoever would have to face them.
Footnotes:
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